low light mixes

Mystical Ambience 2: Tactile Ground by Paul Asbury Seaman

Cover art created by and courtesy of Robert Rich, https://robertrich.com/graphic-art/.

 

As regular visitors to this blog have probably figured out, I don't really plan things out here. Sometimes it's a mix a week, sometimes it's a month between mixes. The last Blade Runner mix is the perfect example, I wasn't even thinking about that mix until we hit Nov. 2019 which is the month and year of Blade Runner. So I quickly threw that mix together and boom, there it was. So then other mix ideas get pushed back or forgotten about until some other piece of music catches my ear.

 

So it's not a big surprise that Paul emailed me the tracklist for this mix back in May. Every time I'd think about starting this set something would distract my social media addled brain and the mix would get pushed back. With the end of the year closing in I finally have laid down all the tracks and Mystical Ambience 2: Tactile Ground is here.

 

This is what Paul has to say about this mix:

 

"A listener on Bandcamp described a recent Spotted Peccary label sampler as “Not too sweet, not too dark.” Which is the same balance I try to bring to my selections for Low Light Mixes. This one is another journey concept. I’ve always had a special fondness for artists who can sensitively blend electronic and acoustic instruments to create beautiful juxtapositions of textures, and also offers a metaphor for balancing the ethereal and the concrete. In that spirit, this mix includes some slow- earthy, cross-cultural jazz before ending with cosmic tranquility.” 

 

Thanks Paul!

 

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00 Remote Vision - The Glittercliff (Into Light 2018)
• 06:17 Hibernation - Wabi Sabi (Second Nature 2012)
• 11:35 Hibernation - The Uncarved Block (Second Nature 2012)
• 16:00 Marion Brown Jazz Cussion - Naima (Echoes of Blue 2006)
• 22:09 Kaya Project - Forgive(ambient mix) (Ambient Mixes 2 2019)
• 27:42 Jan Garbarek - Cloud of Unknowing (In Praise of Dreams 2004)
• 32:49 Massergy - Phenakistoscope (A Novel Sense of Calm 2015)
• 38:15 Chronotope Project - A Prayer for Tenderness (Lotus Rising 2018)
• 43:20 Hollan Holmes - Prayer to the Energy (Prayer to the Energy 2017)
• 48:45 Northumbria - Sacred Ground (Helluland 2015)
• 52:35 Robert Rich - The Abiding Wheel (Tactile Ground 2018)
• 58:55 Meg Bowles - Chalice of Shadows (Evensong: Canticles for the Earth 2018)
• 63:30 Steve Roach - Spiral Triptych 2 (Texture Maps 2002)
  

 

Blade Runner Is Now

 

I wasn't planning on doing this mix. But then on Friday, someone on Twitter posted that we have caught up to the time when the film, Blade Runner supposedly takes place. I knew immediately that I had to make a mix.

 

This collection is pretty straight forward - all the tracks sound like they fit into the Blade Runner soundtrack universe.

 

Enjoy!

 

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00    Pye Corner Audio - Prismatic Gateway (2019)

01:22    Jean Michel Jarre - The Watchers (2018)

04:15    Tale Of Us - Alla Sera (2017)

08:32    SaffronKeira - Aesthetic of Surrealism (2019)

14:15    Ryuichi Sakamoto - Fullmoon SURVIVE version (2017)

17:20    36 - Origin Beach (2018)

20:46    Steve Hauschildt - Cloudloss (2019)

24:00    Johnny Jewel - Candlelight Burns (2015)

26:40    Ben Chatwin - Black Castle(Sevendeaths Remix) (2019)

31:01    Vector Lovers - Long Wave (2007)

33:36    Trevor Jackson - Off World (2018)

35:51    Time Rival - Cambrian Explosion (2019)

39:58    Mac Quayle - 1.0_1-hellofriend.wav (2016)

40:40    Lázaro Pereira - Follow The Leader (2017)

44:41    MUUI - Cinematic Structures (2019)

51:03    Abul Mogard - Half Light Of Dawn (2018)

56:30    Fennesz - In My Room (2019)

67:27    end

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Sequencer Euphoria

Cover art by Sven Geier, http://www.sgeier.net/fractals/

 

 

I have talked many times here about how a single track or artist can inspire a mix. Well, that seems to have happened with this latest mix from Paul.

 

He emailed me about a month ago about Kubusschnitt, a group creating berlin school style electronic music. That discovery set him on the course of creating a mix of sequencer tunes. And we did our usual thing - Paul sends me the tracklist, I twiddle the knobs and a mix is born. All the music used here is fairly new, ranging from 2010 to 2019.

 

Here's what Paul has to say about this mix:

 

“Not for the faint of heart, this one’s full-on sequencers front and center, all the way through. Highway driving motorcycle music. Or vacuuming the house, aerobics music. Yet, part of the magic of this type of electronic music is the amazing way it has a soothing effect, even as it’s so propulsive. In any case, here’s a Perfect Seven from five of the current giants in the genre and two of its historic pillars.”

 

Thanks, Paul!

 

Cheers!

 

T R A C K L I S T : 

• 00:00    Kubusschnitt - Enter Through The Nave(2019)
• 16:00    Broekhuis, Keller and Schönwälder - Tea With An Unknown Girl(2013)
• 28:15    ARC - Rise(2010)
• 41:42    Tangerine Dream - Hamlet(2013)
• 49:27    Jeffery Koepper - Belief(2015)
• 57:30    Chuck Van Zyl - All Souls' Day(2010)
• 63:00    Klaus Schulze - Chateaux Faits de Vent(2018)
• 76:03    end

 

 

Ambient Twang

 

I remember the first time I heard the Daniel Lanois tunes From Eno's Apollo album, I didn't really care for them. I didn't like the pedal steel guitar. I absolutely hated country music back then and I associated the sound of pedal steel with country and nothing else. 

 

Eventually, the tunes grew on me and I've come to love the sound of pedal steel guitar. I also came around on country-tinged music as I fell in love with indie-folk which can make great use of traditional instrumentation minus the pickups trucks, girls & booze of crappy country.

 

This brings me back around to pedal steel in ambient. There's not a ton of it out there but definitely enough for a good mix. There are four main practitioners of ambient twang - Daniel Lanois, Chuck Johnson, Bruce Kaphan and Chas Smith. I think they all have appeared in earlier Low Light Mixes. All four are in this mix as well as Eno/Lanois tunes, some oddball selections, and some YouTube recordings. Many of the tracks here use an actual pedal steel guitar and some use lap steel.

 

Up next - synth sequencer heaven.

 

Cheers!

 

 

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Brian Eno - Weightless
• 04:15    Bruce Kaphan - Outpost
• 11:55    Chas Smith - Santa Fe
• 14:00    Chuck Johnson - Balm of Gilead
• 21:05    Daniel Lanois - In Crystal
• 24:22    Will Van Horn - Aphex Twin - Avril 14 on pedal steel
• 26:18    Joe Carolino - Ambient drone with lap steel & guitar
• 32:53    Youth - Lotus Rhubarb(Colliding Sky Whale Dub)
• 34:18    The National Pool - Solace
• 36:15    Ryan Lutton - Ambient Improv XXIII
• 39:03    Brian Eno - Deep Blue Day
• 42:28    Xploding Plastix - Ritalin For Four Pedal Steel Guitars
• 49:05    Chuck Johnson - Eye on the Sparrow
• 55:42    Brian Eno - Last Step from the Surface
• 59:31    end

 

 

 

 

 

 

Almost Home

 

I'm not sure exactly where this mix started. I heard a few tunes that had a wistful, almost melancholy feel to them and began collecting tracks.

The result is this new mix of mostly modern classical music but with a good dose of electronics and atmospherics. Most of the music is new with 10 of the 15 tracks from 2019. I think this mix would also work well as a soundtrack for fall.

 

Cheers!

 

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Glåsbird - Isbjørnøya(Svalbarð 2019)
• 04:44    Halftribe - Maybe(Backwater Revisited 2019)
• 07:40    William Ryan Fritch - Time Curves So Subtly(Deceptive Cadence 2019)
• 10:56    Slow Meadow - You Felt Like Home(Those Who Rush Across the Sea 2018)
• 15:12    Caminauta - Almost Home(Fragments 2018)
• 21:12    Emanuele Errante - Old Summer Afternoons(This World 2019)
• 25:56    36 - Lahaina Noon(Healing Sounds: A Compilation for Hurricane Recovery 2019)
• 28:39    Sven Laux - Being Too Optimistic(The Writings 2019)
• 35:05    Christoph Berg - Coda(Day has Ended 2013)
• 38:45    Dakota Suite - Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You(What Matters Most 2018)
• 42:22    Dan Romer & Saul Simon MacWilliams - Goodbye Lizard Island(Chasing Coral 2017)
• 45:37    James Murray & Mike Lazarev - Living Treasure(2019)
• 48:57    Loneward - Memories Past(Home 2019)
• 56:02    Porya Hatami & Aaron Martin & Roberto Attanasio - Xakelewe(Sallaw 2019)
• 65:33    Mikael Lind - Ending WithThe Beginning(Contingencies 2019)
• 69:54    end

 

A Rhythmic Passage

 

Two years ago I did a mix called "A Distant Pulse" which featured a lot of tribal ambient sounds. I've been meaning to do a sequel and now it's here with "A Rhythmic Passage."

 

What finally got the ball rolling for a new mix is a new album from Louigi Verona called "Nocturnal Creatures." Recommended by my ambient collaborator, Paul Asbury Seaman, the album is similar to classic Steve Roach tribal albums. But the drum sound is huge with deep, booming low end to shake your speakers and rattle the windows. Add in some drones and subtle arpeggiated electronics and you've got an excellent album. You can find it here...

 

https://louigi.bandcamp.com/album/nocturnal-creatures

 

The rest of the mix is a collection of old(Tibbetts, Craig Leon, Biosphere) and new(Spheruleus, Pike, Keszler, Kilchhofer, Selman) tunes. 

 

Enjoy the rhythms. Cheers!

 

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Louigi Verona - Darkening(Nocturnal Creatures 2019)
• 07:38    Biosphere - Ancient Campfire(Shenzhou 2002)
• 09:50    Byron Metcalf - A Perfect Place(Inner Rhythm Meditations 2016)
• 18:18    Dino Sabatini - And It All Ends Here(Omonimo 2016)
• 22:30    Steve Tibbetts - Full Moon Dogs(The Fall Of Us All 1994)
• 27:37    William Selman - The Island Before The Internet - Borne's Snail Mail Shimmer(Interpretations Vol II - Musica Enterrada 2018)
• 36:10    unknown - Cloudless(2007)
• 41:20    Laurence Pike - Holy Spring(Holy Spring 2019)
• 44:25    Eli Keszler - Fifty Four To Madrid(Stadium 2018)
• 47:36    Craig Leon - One Hundred Steps(Early Electronic Works 2014)
• 51:20    Spheruleus - Intercoastal(Light Through Open Blinds 2019)
• 53:55    Benjy Wertheimer & John de Kadt - Underwater(One River 2012)
• 61:01    The Heart Is Awake - Os(Echosphere 2017)
• 64:25    Kilchhofer - Leng(The Book Room 2018)
• 71:23    end 

Mostly Flute: Ambient New Age by Paul Asbury Seaman

 

I've been heckin' busy this summer. First of all, it's summer so beer gardens, baseball games, northwoods vacations, beer gardens, yard work, beer gardens, etc. Plus I've been doing a ton of freelance work. And lastly, my daughter is getting married in a month and I'm editing a video for the reception. I have not been able to get any new mixes going in a while.

 

So it's Paul Asbury Seaman to the rescue! Thankfully this excellent mix from Paul will fill the void. It's another great collection from my partner in ambient crime. Here's what he has to say about it:

 

“This is a crossover mix, as the title suggests, and may be the sweetest one I’ve ever done. I’ve kept the emphasis on an atmosphere of tranquility, tailor-made for going-to-sleep music. All of the tracks here are from the fairly-new Heart Dance Records. I discovered this label while looking on Bandcamp for an album recently featured on Hearts of Space. As I dug deeper, and contrary to my stereotypes about “uplifting” (read: new age) music, it became obvious that there was plenty here for space fans to like, or if you’re looking for something calm for meditation. Feel the flow around the stillness. (Cover image for this mix courtesy of Sherry Finzer, from the album LET THERE BE LIGHT.)”

 

Definitely check out more music from Heart Dance Records here...

https://heartdancerecords.bandcamp.com/

  

Thanks, Paul!

 

 

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00    Sherry Finzer & Darin Mahoney - White Sky In November(Transformation 2013)

04:32    Tom Moore & Sherry Finzer - Star Trails(Sound Currents 2019)

10:05    Paul Horn - Mumtaz Mahal(Inside 1969)

12:20    Ivan Teixeira - Abundance(ALLAYER Project One 2019)

16:37    Monica Williams - Wandering(Journey Of Tears 2018)

22:43    ANAAMALY - A Peaceful Drift(Fileds Of Light 2018)

29:18    Tom Moore & Sherry Finzer - Midnight Mystique(Sound Currents 2019)

34:48    Monica Williams - Love From A Distance(Journey Of Tears 2018)

38:18    Majestica - Aurora Australis(In the Midst of Stars 2016)

48:26    Sherry Finzer - Breathe(Acceptance 2018)

64:47    end

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lost Tribe Sound: The Western Divide

 

I can't tell you how excited I am for this mix. Well, actually I'm telling you right now so that first line was bullshit. Suffice it to say I love this mix. It comes from our good friends at Lost Tribe Sound, an amazing record label that is having a hell of a year. Of course, last year was pretty darn good as well.

 

Ryan Keane, the man behind Lost Tribe Sound, has put together a mix that is interesting and varied. It's cohesive without sounding all the same. This is a wonderful collection of tunes. 

 

Here's what Ryan has to say about this mix:

 

Rarely do I get the chance to work on creating mixes of music, but I’m definitely more inspired to do so when I can ground the mix in a solid theme or concept.  When I was given the chance to create one for the highly-esteemed Low Light Mixes, I figured, it better be decent.

 

‘The Western Divide,’ my latest mix, is a grab bag of emotions, sort of manic, nostalgic, playful, with the ever-present tinge of dread and uncertainty that really mirrors how I’ve been feeling about life and society as a whole lately.  I partly wanted to see how bizarre the music I mixed together could get while still remaining palatable. Honing in on some pieces of music that come across as somewhat otherworldly spaghetti western sounding, I set about juxtaposing them with odd forms of jazz, electronic, hymn-like horn and organ pieces. It may have a bit of that Ennio Morricone score to some dystopian future General Hospital sort of vibe to it.  

 

I’ve been infatuated as of late with unique uses of horns in experimental music, it seems that most of the time horns can easily be a pitfall in many styles of music. Either from overstaying their welcome, riding too long on what I like to call the “Dad Chords,” where it just gets cheesy, or simply becoming too noodly and irritating that the song would be better off without them. So hopefully I’ve combined some enjoyable uses of horns into the mix that avoid these situations, but who knows, I’m quite possibly out of touch.

 

In full disclosure, I run the label Lost Tribe Sound, so a few of the selections in the mix are from recent or upcoming albums on the label.  The opening piece is from a brilliant electro-acoustic Danish trio, Skyphone, which we’ve have the honor of putting out two albums for this August.  Kali Malone follows with her perfect use of a church organ as the ultimate drone machine. Next, a very odd find from a Spotify suggestion of all places, Jeremy Krinsley and Greg Heffernan’s only album together, ‘Material Culture 9.19.15’ is some left-field electronica, filled with loads of charming moments.   

 

Next, Hampshire & Foat kick in, their ‘Saint Lawrence’ album from this year is an instrumental masterpiece for those into dim-lit jazz fueled folk. Sailcloth up next, also blew my mind, primarily an experimental upright bassist, the featured selection works more off of a droning horn and subdued bass notes than some of the other more pronounced tunes on the EP, ‘Close Keeping.’  Then, Danny Scott Lane who’s recent album on Shimmering Moods is about as perfectly refined an example as one could hope for from an experimental drone/classical album. Hoera is a mixed bag of tricks as well, bizarre combos of electronics, jazz, ambient and folk somehow fold into a very satisfying whole, definitely recommend all three of their albums. Drombeg, another tasty discovery, thanks to the Thesis label, an intense focus of melody and progression make this breed of classical well worth checking out.

 

Working in his way slowly into the tail end of Drombeg is a new piece from Ben McElroy, a highly emotive and creative songwriter, his whole catalog is sublime.  Mute Forest, a long-time favorite, lent me an exclusive song from his upcoming album for this mix, introducing “The Riven Sun.”  Followed that with a rising master of primitive guitar experimentalism, Seabuckthorn, from his new album, “It Can Ashen” is a droning genius.  Next up, Spheruleus with his title track from his brand new and highly engaging electro-acoustic album for my label Lost Tribe Sound. Zakè follows with some seriously delicious droning classical string and tape experiments from this year courtesy of Past Inside The Present. Kinbrae’s album, ‘Landforms’ from earlier this year totally destroys me, and is a great example of how to use those horns properly.  After that, Federico Mosconi delivers beautiful finger-picked guitar, bathed in the most melancholic waves of static and synths one could ask for! 

 

MALK comes next with ‘Re-treat’ and delivers one of the most offbeat, original albums Lost Tribe Sound has ever produced, just give in to it. The penultimate piece comes from Offthesky, who’s had a hugely impressive year with two new albums that I’d consider among the best of the year. “Future Fire” provides another gorgeous example of how horns can work so beautifully in ambient music.  Finally, the mix closes with one of my favorite artists of all time, Geir Sundstøl. Geir’s newest genre-bending album on Hubro, is beyond genius.  I’ve got give a special thanks to Hubro, who’ve finally uploaded their entire catalog to Bandcamp, making it far easier to enjoy, definitely go explore the music they put out.

 

Hope you enjoy these tunes. Thanks for listening and having a read.

 

Thanks, Ryan!

 

 

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00    Skyphone - Les Clouds(Marsh Drones)

04:00    Kali Malone - Sacrificial Code(The Sacrificial Code)

06:56    Jeremy Krinsley / Greg Heffernan - Material Culture 9.19.15, Pt. 1(Material Culture 9.19.15)

08:00    Hampshire & Foat - The Undercliff(Saint Lawrence)

13:04    Sailcloth - Year Long Storm(Close Keeping)

15:04    Danny Scott Lane - Four(How To Empty A Cup)

18:08    HOERA. - Jin(Jaunu)

21:20    Drombeg - The White Raven(Thesis Drive 2/3)

27:52    Ben McElroy - They Told Us Not To Wonder(They Told Us Not To Wonder)

29:50    Mute Forest - The Riven Sun(Riders Storm)

33:20    Seabuckthorn - It Can Ashen(Crossing)

37:20    Spheruleus - Light Through Open Blinds(Light Through Open Blinds)

39:44    Zakè - 000425978 OTS1[pure violet](Orchestral Tape Studies)

42:24    Kinbrae - Meander(Landforms)

48:04    Federico Mosconi - Melody Not Melody(Light Not Light)

51:20    MALK - Re-Treat(WMAIDIT)

54:08    Offthesky - Future Fire(Illuminate)

57:36    Geir Sundstøl - Waterloo(Brødløs)

62:28    end

 

 

Stranger Synths 2019

 

In honor of the third season of Stranger Things dropping today, Low Light Mixes presents Stranger Synths 2019. This a retro synth mix that falls right in line with the synth sounds of Netflix's Stranger Things series.

 

Cheers!

 

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00 Just A Human - Stranger Things Remix
  01:33 Pye Corner Audio - Deep Space Probe
  03:54 Sinoia Caves - 1983 Main Theme
  06:22 The Belbury Circle - Heading Home
  11:15 Locust - I'll Be There
  14:40 Rheyne - Live Jam #169
  20:03 David Trevelyan - Car Crash
  22:37 Chromatics - Yes(Symmetry Remix)
  26:25 Jean Michel Jarre - The Heart Of The Noise Pt. 1
  30:22 PYLOT - Blurred Vision
  33:09 ASC - Sequence 2
  36:56 Merrin Karras - Void
  44:50 Frank Bretschneider - Motorik
  49:01 The Advisory Circle - Be Seeing You
  53:57 Kasper Bjørke Quartet - The Antiphon(Epilogue)
  66:03 end
  

 

Levitate by Innesti

 

One of my favorite discoveries over the past year has been Innesti. The last album, released in February, is called Formless and that describes perfectly the music of Innesti. The tunes have a hazy, meandering feel that I love in ambient music.

 

Today Innesti releases a new album - Between Worlds, which I am very excited about. To celebrate this new release we have a new mix from Innesti created for Low Light Mixes. The new mix is called Levitate and here is what the artist has to say about it:

 

"This mix is designed to showcase some recent ambient releases from 2019. The soundscapes are introspective, quiet, and restorative, and should be ideal for reading, sleeping, or meditating."   

 

Check out Innesti music here:

 

https://innesti.bandcamp.com/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6vjQzIlQxwDP0miO2oGoXE 

 

I'm playing the new album for the first time as I type this and it's wonderful! 

Thanks for the great music and beautiful mix!

 

Cheers!

 

 

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00    Innesti - Oars Divide the Ocean (Between Worlds)

05:03    anthéne - Lost Channel (Lost Channel)

08:40    Bzaurie - Flight of Pollen (Floral Patterns)

13:50    Tabard - Garden Palace (Garden Palace)

17:45    扎克 - Radiance (扎克)

21:35    Eternell & endlesstrains - Elevation (Autumn Sky)

25.19    Kenji Kihara - Hayama Ambient 001 (Hayama Ambient 001)

30:00    end