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Ambient music mixes for a chaotic world
Episodes
Sunday Apr 05, 2020
Sunday Apr 05, 2020
I like to think that I put a lot of thought and effort into these mixes. Hopefully, the mix as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts. But what I do is nothing compared to the transformative touch that Peter Van Cooten brings to his mixes.
Each mix is a unique work of art. Peter rarely lets a track play in its complete form. Instead, he uses smaller samples and deftly weaves the tracks in and out of each other. Sometimes 2,3, or 4 tracks play simultaneously, creating something new from different elements. In this mix, he uses an incredible 41 tracks! Here's what Peter has to say about using so many short samples:
"Sometimes I feel a bit embarrassed about using such short samples and/or editing the tracks (of these 41, only 8 are used in their complete form). It's a bit like cutting up the Mona Lisa to create a landscape patchwork with the fragments ;-) But on the other hand, this is what I feel makes these mixes unique. Taken out of their context and in relation to other fragments, the music sometimes tells a different story."
This mix is a bit darker than most of my mixes. But it's dark in an interesting way, not in a droney, dissonant way. The mix has a very cinematic feel and combined with the cover art and title I can imagine drone shots of empty streets and newspapers blowing across the square. Peter was hesitant about the name and the cover art. He says -
"It may be too closely linked to the current worldwide crisis, but on the other hand I have tried to think of another name or context but the uncertain times seem to be too dominant to think of another name I could give it. The funny thing is, that if you listen back most of my mixes have a rather dark edge to them. There's always a lot of 'tension/release' to them. But in this case, it seems there's a bit more 'tension' than 'release'. Oh well, sign of the times..."
Peter runs his own ambient music blog called, appropriately, Ambientblog.net. Where in addition to his fine mixes(available in DTS surround as well), he has a ton of good reviews and recommendations. You can find it here...
https://www.ambientblog.net/blog/ He's also on Mixcloud here... https://www.mixcloud.com/ambientblog/
When he creates these extraordinary mixes he posts a pic of the total track layout, layer upon layer of all the music used. Here is the map of this mix...
Peter does his tracklist a little differently than I do. He gives listeners more info about each track, including start time, sample length, artist, title, album title, year and record label.
Thanks to Peter Van Cooten of Ambientblog.net for such an excellent mix. Hopefully, I can talk him into doing another one in the future.
Cheers, and stay safe.
T R A C K L I S T - Start time - Sample length - Artist - Title
Album Title, Year, Label
00:00 03:23 Fovea Hex - Is
Is Lanza Light and Given (Steven Wilson Remixes), 2019, Die Stadt/Janet Records
01:25 04:35 Maggi Payne - Fluid Dynamics
Arctic Winds, 2020, Aguirre Records
02:03 01:45 Pat Keista - Doppler
Still Of The Void, 2020, self-released
04:17 01:47 Dave Phillips - Phytognosophysiology
Post Homo Sapiens, 2020, Attenuation Circuit
05:10 02:45 Jóhann Jóhannsson and Yair Elazar Glotman - Prelude
Last And First Men, 2020, Deutsche Grammophon
05:42 02:00 Andrew Pekler - Fonseca Winds (Lament)
Sounds From Phantom Islands, 2019, Faitiche
07:29 01:19 Jóhann Jóhannsson and Yair Elazar Glotman - Telepathic Unity
Last And First Men, 2020, Deutsche Grammophon
08:13 03:10 Ben Bertrand - Those Behind Us That We Follow
Manes, 2020, Les Albums Claus
11:08 01:31 Fani Konstantinidou - (Variations)
Moving Music: Sounds From The Rocking Chair, 2020, Moving Furniture Records,
11:58 01:32 Aaron Martin - Overcoming Inertia
Test Subjects, 2019, self-released
12:53 01:51 A Journey Of Giraffes - Gone Is The New Fuji
Kona, 2019, Somewherecold records
13:29 03:30 Robert Haigh - Ghosts Of Blacker Dyke
Black Sarabande, 2020, Unseen Worlds
16:46 02:48 Snorri Hallgrímsson - Fear
Chasing The Present, 2020, Moderna Records
16:53 00:30 Mica Levy - Mensajero
Monos, 2019, Invada
17:40 02:30 Snorri Hallgrímsson - Suffering
Chasing The Present, 2020, Moderna Records
19:22 01:58 Bersarin Quartett - Prolog
Methoden Und Maschinen, 2019, Denovali
20:41 01:09 Ruairi O'Baoighill - Scryer
To See Without Eyes, 2018, Cursed Monk Records
20:50 01:59 I Wound - The Choir Of The Drowned Sings 'Our Demons Are Real'
Homework Year 3, 2018, Taâlem
21:48 03:01 Christine Ott - Comma
Chimères (Pour Ondes Martenots), 2020, Nahal Recordings
24:22 02:34 Ida Toninato - Pour Retourner Au Silence
We Become Giants, 2020, Dragon's Eye Recordings
25:32 03:47 Merrin Karras - Drawn, Quartered
Northwest Passage, 2020, A Strangely Isolated Place
28:27 02:07 Ciro Berenguer - Luna Creciente
Eilean 100, 2019, Eilean Records
29:57 01:47 Yiorgis Sakellariou - B4
Diapsalmata: A Collection Of Short Works, 2018, Tanuki Records
29:57 01:19 Celer - Birds Inside The High Halls Of Hangzhou (06.23.17)
Xièxie, 2019, Two Acorns
30:12 03:18 Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Akritchalerm Kalayanamitr, Koichi Shimizu - Sharjah And Java
Metaphors - Selected Soundworks from the cinema of Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2017, Sub Rosa
31:24 00:44 Coil - Corybantic Ennui
Stolen and Contaminated Songs, 2019, Cold Spring Records
32:32 01:22 Olivier Messiaen - Quator Pour Le Fin Du Temps III: Abîme des Oiseaux
Olivier Messiaen - Complete Edition, 2008, Deutsche Grammophon
33:54 01:26 Hildur Gudnadottir - Following Sophie
Joker OST, 2019, Watertower Records
35:14 00:55 Ryuichi Sakamoto - Countdown
Black Mirror: Smithereens, 2019, Milan
35:45 03:24 Silent Chaos - Nocturne On Ganimede
Macro, 2020, We Don't Give A Fuck
38:52 04:03 Roger Eno and Brian Eno - Burnt Umber
Mixing Colours, 2020, Deutsche Grammophon
42:38 02:13 Martina Bertoni - Invisible Cracks
All The Ghosts Are Gone, 2020, Falk
44:29 03:30 Eivind Aarset and Jan Bang - Nightspell
Snow Catches On Her Eyelashes, 2020, Jazzland Recordings
46:21 02:13 Jana Irmert - Fog
Cusp, 2020, self-released
47:40 01:36 Fovea Hex - Given
Is Lanza Light and Given (Steven Wilson Remixes), 2019, Die Stadt/Janet Records
48:42 02:40 Frank Makowski - Fliegende Schatten - Canon 1
Canon der Finsternisse, 2019, Diffusschall
49:05 01:12 Michael Begg - Plain Chant
Sonambulo, 2019, Omnempathy
50:40 02:20 A Winged Victory For The Sullen - The Slow Descent Has Begun
The Undivided Five, 2019, Ninja Tune
52:35 04:30 Felix Blume - Horns In Fog Pt. 2
Fog Horns, 2019, Discrepant
55:49 03:02 Max Richter - Ursa Minor - Visions
Ad Astra, 2019, Deutsche Grammophon
58:30 00:40 Jóhann Jóhannsson and Yair Elazar Glotman - The Sun
Last And First Men, 2020, Deutsche Grammophon
59:10 End
Saturday Mar 28, 2020
Saturday Mar 28, 2020
Today, March 28th, is International Piano Day. This is what the Piano Day website says about today:
“Why does the world need a Piano Day? For many reasons. But mostly, because it doesn’t hurt to celebrate the piano and everything around it: performers, composers, piano builders, tuners, movers and most important, the listener.” – Nils Frahm
Piano Day, an annual worldwide event founded by a group of likeminded people, takes place on the 88th day of the year – in 2020 it’s the 28th March – because of the number of keys on the instrument being celebrated.
The aim of the day is to create a platform for piano related projects in order to promote the development of musical dimensions and to continue sharing the centuries-old joy of playing the piano. Piano Day welcomes all kinds of piano lovers — young and old, amateur and professional, of any musical direction – to join in this year's festivities. It is intended to be the most joyful of all holidays!
Piano Day gives me an excuse to put together an all-piano mix. I really like the vibe of this year's version. Most of it is very stripped down and simple. I've also found it to be very therapeutic during these quarantine times.
- 00:00 Plïnkï Plønkï - Hiraeth
- 04:22 Mike Lazarev - Afflicted
- 07:00 Olga Wojciechowska - All I Have Not Seen
- 11:27 Innesti - Forgotten
- 14:18 Klangriket & Sjors Mans - Leidseplein
- 18:22 Nils Frahm - Some
- 22:20 Ben Lukas Boysen - Only in the Dark
- 25:35 Ólafur Arnalds - saman
- 27:39 Sjors Mans - With You
- 30:31 S.hel - Eia Popeia
- 34:38 Hania Rani - Warszawa
- 39:55 Infinite Scale - Across the Otherside
- 42:03 Julien Marchal - Insight XXXVIII
- 43:12 Roger Eno And Brian Eno - Blonde
- 47:05 Yosi Horikawa - Thalfang
- 50:50 Piano Day Website Remix
- 63:29 end
Sunday Mar 15, 2020
Sunday Mar 15, 2020
I have to come clean. I stole this idea. Dennis Huddleston, who records as 36, posted a Spotify playlist a couple of days ago and I thought it sounded like a good theme for a mix. Here's his playlist...
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4JYOGGauPlBZJ6fGliNC8l?si=WccLv7aASuSlzznfwpLKKA
All the tracks in this mix have quarantine/isolation appropriate titles such as "Stay Home," "Return to Self" and "Being Alone Never Hurt Anybody."
Working in tv news it was crazy watching email after email come in sating another school system closed, another performance canceled, another event postponed, another business shutting down. It was nuts! We went from virtually no school districts closed to essentially all of them closed in a couple of hours.
Stay home, stay chill and enjoy some music.
Cheers!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Justin Hurwitz - Quarantine (2018)
- 02:06 William Ryan Fritch - Separation (2019)
- 05:45 Pulusha - Isolation (1997)
- 12:30 Heavenchord - Infinity From The Inside (2018)
- 19:15 Warmth - Home (2017)
- 22:40 Gray Acres - Return To Self (2018)
- 28:25 Hildur Guðnadóttir - Alone (2019)
- 31:47 Max Richter - Dream Solo (2019)
- 38:24 Arovane & Mike Lazarev - Us, Inside (2019)
- 41:35 Sean Curtis Patrick - Being Alone Never Hurt Anybody (2019)
- 44:57 Dalot & Sound Awakener - Inside (2018)
- 47:36 Dub Tractor - Stay Home (2017)
- 51:15 Neil Cowley & Ben Lukas Boysen - Solitary Refinement (2019)
- 56:00 R Beny - And Fall, Standing Alone Again (2019)
- 62:53 Justin Hurwitz - Home (2018)
- 64:28 end
Sunday Mar 08, 2020
Sunday Mar 08, 2020
After the last mix, I was trying to decide what to do next - sea mix? orchestral? shortwave? train? Well, Paul beat me to it by sending a tracklist for another excellent train mix.
Here's what Paul has to say about this mix:
“The main qualification in selecting music for a train mix is that it has that distinctive rocking rhythm, like a cradle. Like a lullaby. Beyond that, there is the paradoxical elements of both wistfulness and anticipation—nostalgia and unknown adventures. This mix features a more mellow side of “Berlin School” sequencer-driven electronic music. I have also included one track each from my other three train mixes for Low Light Mixes: “The Memory of Trains,” “Galaxy Express” and “Places I’ve Never Been” (all available on Mixcloud). “Memory of Trains” was the first mix I did with Dave and Low Light Mixes three years ago. And life has never been the same! Happy travels, on this slightly longer-than-usual journey….”
- 00:00 Stellardrone - Twilight (A Moment of Silence 2011)
- 04:10 Tom Moore & Mike Clay - Leaving Our Orbit (Beyond Our Orbit 2020)
- 08:40 MHZ - Train Tracks (25 Peaks 2015)
- 14:30 Marconi Union - Sleeper (Ghost Stations 2015)
- 20:25 Cousin Silas - Green Mist (Midnight Beats 1 2020)
- 25:27 Spiral Dreams - Anywhere (Anywhere 2016)
- 32:45 John Agebjorn - Sleepless on the Kostomuksha-Petrozavodsk Night Train (We Never Came To The White Sea 2017)
- 38:54 Paul Speer & Sherry Finzer - Venus Rising (2016)
- 43:57 Von Haulshoven - The Multiverse Trip (Symptom of the Multiverse 2019)
- 51:14 Stimulus Timbre - Look at the Stars and Think of Us (A Place We Never Been 2017)
- 56:43 Germind - Time Consciousness (Antimatter 2014)
- 62:45 Between Interval - On Track (Legacy 2017)
- 66:02 Tigerforest - Vermilion (Songs of Reverence 2016)
- 70:15 Sequentia Legenda - Au Revoir (Extended 2016)
- 89:12 end
Thursday Feb 27, 2020
Thursday Feb 27, 2020
It's hard to believe there are still 9 months until the presidential election here in the US. It feels like the 2016 campaign never ended. Working in TV news I need to remind myself to step back, log off Twitter, turn off the tv, and listen to some ambient music, especially meditative music.
I know most ambient music is good for meditation but for this mix, I was looking for formless music that's not dark, something that wouldn't be too out of place at a spa but also not too gooey new agey either.
Most of the tracks used in this mix are new with three each being from 2020 and 2019 and one each from 2017 and 2013. This year is shaping up to be another excellent year for ambient music.
Cheers!
T R A C K S :
- 00:00 Albrecht La'Brooy - Afternoon Carafe (Healesville 2019)
- 08:02 Laraaji - Ocean Flow Zither (Bring On The Sun 2017)
- 14:35 Sphontik - Late Summer Blue (2019)
- 20:20 Raul Lovisoni & Francesco Messina - Prati Bagnati Del Monte Analogo (Prati Bagnati Del Monte Analogo 2013)
- 31:00 Kenji Kihara - Hayama Ambient 010 (2019)
- 36:52 Luis Miehlich - Flows (Currents 2020)
- 43:50 Lindsheaven Virtual Plaza - Ember Valley (Rainforest Hill I + II 2020)
- 53:57 zakè - Gaffney Fields (Carolina 2020)
- 60:09 end
Sunday Feb 09, 2020
Sunday Feb 09, 2020
This is a re-posting of sorts. I was going through old mixes trying to figure out which ones had not been posted to Mixcloud. I plan on posting some of those old mixes as-is to Mixcloud in the coming months.
One of the mixes I dug up is Sequential Circuits, originally posted 12 years ago. Yikes! I've been doing this for a long time. I really like this mix but while listening to it I decided to give it one little tweak. I dropped two tracks by Detroit Escalator Co. & Geometric Farms and replaced them with a cut from Ash Ra Tempel called "Slightly Delayed."
My favorite tunes in this mix are the Richard Pinhas tracks, "Sundial" from Steve Roach * "Hyperborea" by Tangerine Dream. I've been rediscovering Hyperborea lately and I think it's one of my top three TD albums. All this berlin school music has got me thinking about doing another sequencer mix using classic tunes like this one.
I hope you enjoy this resurrected mix. Cheers!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Arp - St. Tropez
- 05:00 Solvent - wig $1
- 07:15 Richard Pinhas - la ville sans nom
- 10:30 Steve Roach - Sundial
- 17:30 Klaus Schulze - Euro Caravan
- 25:15 Richard Pinhas - Melodic Simple Transition
- 28:20 Tangerine Dream - No Man's Land
- 33:20 Robert Rich and Ian Boddy - Chamber
- 37:18 Ash Ra Tempel - Slightly Delayed
- 43:30 Richard Pinhas - Home ''ruitor''
- 46:57 Steve Roach - Arc of Passion
- 56:59 Tangerine Dream - Hyperborea
- 61:27 end
Sunday Feb 02, 2020
Sunday Feb 02, 2020
This mix doesn't need a lot of introduction or explanation. It's a collection of ambient guitar tunes. The kind with swells of sound and long, slow washes of beautiful ambient guitar.
Some of the tracks came from ideas found in this thread on Mixcloud. Feel free to add any other tracks to the discussion.
https://www.mixcloud.com/lowlight/posts/ambient-guitar/
Enjoy the ambient guitarscapes.
Cheers!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Wayne Robert Thomas - A Grey Morning, Later Lovely Sunshine (2019)
- 06:29 Wil Bolton - Night Paths (2017)
- 10:22 Stijn Hüwels - untitled IV (2016)
- 13:18 Sean Curtis Patrick - If This (2019)
- 16:50 Chihei Hatakeyama - Wilderness (2018)
- 21:45 Ben Rath - Wait For It (2019)
- 30:45 Noveller & thisquietarmy - Reverie 1 (2014)
- 35:23 The Green Kingdom - Dripstone (2019)
- 39:39 Pan American - Nightbirds (2019)
- 46:53 M. Grig - h (2019)
- 51:36 Pausal - One Watery Lens (2010)
- 56:40 Wayne Robert Thomas - Well Now You Know (2019)
- 60:20 end
Sunday Jan 26, 2020
Sunday Jan 26, 2020
I was digging through some old mixes that had never been uploaded to Mixcloud and I came across a couple of old field recording mixes. The plan was to combine the two into a new mix. Well, as usual, the mix changed and I ended up creating a new field recording mix from scratch. Sort of.
I did use a couple of snippets from the original mixes. The first is from about 4:40 - 6:30, next one comes in around 27:35 - 28:35, and one more from about 29:10 - 33:45.
I'm not going to provide a tracklist because most of the time there are 3 or 4 things playing at once and many times there aren't tracks associated with actual artists, some are just a bunch of sounds I found online. Or in one case, a file I found on my hard drive. I used a track that is called "rain thunder guitar loop." There is no artist associated with the file & I have no idea where it came from.
I'll point out a few specific artist tracks used in the mix(times are approximate):
- 10:44 - 15:00 Ross Alexander - Jinja on the Nile
- 18:26 - 20:31 Spheruleus - Water Lane
- 21:38 - 25:30 Michel Banabila - Innercity
- 35:07 - 40:00 Wil Bolton - Crossing
- 42:42 - 43:51 Luis Miehlich - 3105
- 44:00 - 44:44 Wave Temples - Arrival at the Bay of Orpheus
There are definitely lots of other artists appearing throughout the mix but those are the most clearly discernible. Quick shout out to my neighborhood frogs which make an appearance from about 47:47 to 50:00. How do I distribute their royalties?
I hope you enjoy this sound excursion. Cheers!
Sunday Jan 19, 2020
Sunday Jan 19, 2020
This mix started with an interesting album I came across this past weekend, Ernest Hood - Neighborhoods. It was originally released in 1975 but was recently rediscovered and rereleased. It's a curious combination of field recordings and early ambient noodling. The result is captivating.
https://freedomtospend.bandcamp.com/album/neighborhoods
I picked the track "Saturday Morning Doze" as the starting point for a new Sunday morning mix. I noticed it had Fender Rhodes piano type of sound going on. I'm not sure if there is a Fender Rhodes playing or not but it definitely reminded me of the Rhodes sound from the 70s that I love so much.
So then the mix changed from a normal Sunday morning mix to a Fender Rhodes 1970s mix. Each track is from the 70s(duh) and has the sound of Fender Rhodes piano in it. While digging up tunes I realized that all the electric piano sounds in this mix might not all be a Fender Rhodes. They could very well be some other vintage electric piano. But I don't care, it's the sound and feel that's important.
Longtime listeners will notice a few tunes that I've used before from Steve Hillage, Harold Budd, Brian Eno, and Daryl Hall(yes, that Daryl Hall). I generally try to stay away from using songs in multiple mixes but these cuts fit so perfectly that I couldn't resist. The other odd thing about this mix is the first 45 minutes are instrumental then we go to vocal tunes for the final 17 minutes. It wasn't planned, it just sort of worked out that way.
Enjoy this trip back to the 70s.
Cheers!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Ernest Hood - Saturday Morning Doze (1975)
- 07:05 Steve Hillage - Garden of Paradise (1979)
- 10:43 Camel - Rhayader Alone (1975)
- 12:28 Gilgamesh - Lady And Friend (1975)
- 15:45 Harold Budd - Bismillahi 'Rrahmani 'Rrahim (1978)
- 21:05 Penguin Cafe Orchestra - The Sound of Someone You Love (1976)
- 28:28 Soft Machine - E.P.V. (1973)
- 30:57 Lilienthal - Gebremster Schaum (1979)
- 36:32 Hugh Hopper & Alan Gowen - Waltz For Nobby (1979)
- 45:22 Joni Mitchell - The Hissing Of Summer Lawns (1975)
- 48:15 John Martyn - One World alt. version (1977)
- 51:51 Brian Eno - By This River (1977)
- 54:35 Roxy Music - Spin Me Round (1979)
- 59:10 Daryl Hall - The Farther Away I Am (1979)
- 61:50 end
Sunday Jan 05, 2020
Sunday Jan 05, 2020
When Paul emailed a few weeks back with the idea of doing a bell themed mix I got all excited. I thought to myself - "Perfect, I have a whole folder of bell tunes I've been collecting." So I go to that folder and there are two tracks in it. That's it. I guess it's the thought that counts?
If Paul hadn't come up with this mix I probably never would have gotten around to it. Maybe there's some sort of lesson for the new year here - Finish what you start. Whatever the lesson, Paul's mix is a perfect way to start the new year and the decade. Here's what Paul has to say about it:
“There’s a certain irony in composing music meant to convey silence. Nevertheless, this seems to be a recurring theme among ambient artists, just as music in this genre is often fused with melancholy. Most of the time that resonates with me—as a very truthful feeling in our age of loneliness, upheaval and uncertainty. But this week I’m focusing on hopeful sounds, to ring in the new year with comfort and reflection.”
Happy New Year & Cheers to a better 2020!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Gordon Pigeon - La Voix du Silence (La voix du silence 2009)
- 03:23 Rudy Adrian - Subterranean River (Desert Realms 2008)
- 08:36 Peter Kater - Night's Cavern (Resonance 2016)
- 17:20 Michael Stearns - Monk with Bell (Baraka 1993)
- 19:39 Erik Wollo - Crystal Bells 1 (Crystal Bells 2012)
- 25:12 David Parsons - Urartu to Ubud (Ngaio Gamelan 1999)
- 31:36 Arve Henriksen - Float (Wolrd of Glass 2014)
- 32:30 Jeff Oster - Beautiful Silence (Surrender 2011)
- 36:18 James Hood - Timebomb(Any Minute Now) (Pure Ceremony 2017)
- 40:50 Forrest Fang - Seven Coronas (Letters To The Farthest Star 2015)
- 47:20 Jarguna - Garden of the Mantras (Prospettive Animiche 2019)
- 54:39 Gordon Pigeon - Rêves de carillons éoliens (La voix du silence 2009)
- 60:34 end