low light mixes

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Ambient music mixes for a chaotic world

Episodes

Wednesday Jun 28, 2023

Longform Sleepy Time

Wednesday Jun 28, 2023

This mix is pretty just as the title describes - a set of long ambient pieces, perfect for sleeping. There's not much else to say other than the tracks are all fairly new with most of them from 2023.

I was happy to use a longer version of the Crows Labyrinth track in this mix. I used it in my Blade Runner mix earlier in the year but it was the short version. I have been listening to the long version a lot this year and using it as a sleep soundtrack quite a bit as well. So I knew I had to use more of the 39 minute track in this mix. That album will make my best of the year list for sure.

Speaking of best of the year lists - head over to Mixcloud Posts to see my favorite albums of 2023, so far - MIXCLOUD Best of 2023(so far)

Links to all the music used in this mix:

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Loscil - Alta (Alta 2023)
10:20 Loneward - Light Blossom (Willoweald 2023)
18:00 Crows Labyrinth - Neon Scenes I (Neon Scenes I: Granular Dreams 2023)
27:45 Milieu - Beside a Green Window (Beside a Green Window 2023)
37:07 Katharina Schmidt - Particles (Particles 2022)
46:44 Spectrical - Distant Rain (Fleeting visions into sleep 2023)
55:10 Mount Shrine - Foghorn (Lost Loops Collection 2023)
1:12:25 Robert Davies - Diffused Meadow (Delicate Terrain 2022)
1:26:30 cv313 - Star Alignments (Plays Sequential Space 2023)
2:00:00 end

Thursday Jun 22, 2023

Aquadream by Fragile X

Thursday Jun 22, 2023

I love getting guest mixes from creative artists. I love hearing excellent segues as the music flows seamlessly across the set. And I love discovering new music. So I'm excited about this latest offering from Fragile X.

https://soundcloud.com/fragilex
https://fragilex.bandcamp.com/

https://www.mixcloud.com/lowlight/being-human-by-fragile-x/

There so much good stuff in this mix I could go on and on but I'll let John say a few things about it:

"I've been inspired by my recent trip to Croatia and have made a water themed mix. I've called it "Aquadream". I wanted the mix to be able to act as a soundtrack to all kinda things. From casual swimming, deep sea diving, floating, boating or even just watching from the shoreline. It's pretty much all ambient material. It's got that hazy and submerged feel about it and is a wee bit disorientating at times but is ultimately a calm and hopefully refreshing mix!"

Thanks, John, for this awesome collection of music!

T R A C K L I S T :

ARTIST - TITLE / LABEL / YEAR

00:00 Sample of the World's Loneliest Whale, 52 Hertz
00:44 Rennie Foster - Devil's Water (Devil's Reprise) / Rebirth / 2009
04:48 Fragile X - The Descent / Gorecki Productions / 2015
07:11 Krill.minima - Submarine Poetry / Native State Records / 2007
12:23 Daar - Sea Wind / Silent Season / 2021
18:35 The Persuader - Pressure Relief / Stockholm LTD / 2015
21:51 Michael FK - Black Whale / Ambient / 2014
26:48 Newworldaquarium - Thousand Oaks / Ostgut Ton / 2014
29:56 Karen Vogt - Searching For Shoals (Karen Vogt remix) / Self Released / 2023
31:45 Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - Wetlands / Western Vinyl / 2016
33:03 This Mortal Coil - Song To The Siren / 4AD / 1983
36:47 Inhmost - Waters Edge / Huinali Recordings / 2021
41:11 Tom Leclerc - Postcard From The Sea / Giraffe Tapes / 2022
43:50 Leafcutter John - Music Under The Water / Desire Path / 2015
48:04 Chromasy - Naoshima /Self Released / 2020
52:32 Copula - North Sea Dream / Traumgarten / 2020
54:48 Balsam - Water Conception / Neotantra / 2019
56:21 Julianna Barwick - One Half / Dead Oceans / 2012
59:13 Circular - Calm / Beatservice Records/ 1999
65:19 Asura - Ascension In Blue / Ultimae Records / 2014
72:30 Fragile X - Mvto More / Unreleased / 2023
78:48 Picnic - Drops in The Water (DJ Paradise remix) / Daisart / 2021
80:45 Saphileaum - Freshwater Body / Nyame Records / 2020
85:35 Yosi Horikawa - Fluid / Borrowed Scenery / 2019

Wednesday Jun 14, 2023

Electronic Music 1971

Wednesday Jun 14, 2023

The Electronic Music of the 1970s series continues with a trip back to 1971. This year was a bit easier to curate than '70 because we have a few more good uses of electronic instruments featured prominently.

For me, the best electronic album of 1971 is "Zero Time" by Tonto's Expanding Head Band. It's very synthetic sounding without being too cheezy. I enjoyed discovering new music for this mix like "The Andromeda Strain" soundtrack and a Tangerine Dream soundtrack for an unreleased movie. I hope you too discover something new in this journey back to 1971.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Moog - Moog demonstration record
00:36 Tonto's Expanding Head Band - Tama (Zero Time)
05:48 Beaver & Krause - Nine Moons In Alaska (Gandharva)
07:30 Tangerine Dream - Sunrise In The Third System (Alpha Centauri)
11:07 Achim Reichel - Einleitung(Invitation) (Echo)
16:00 Deuter - Babylon (D)
19:49 Pat Prilly - Aerolithe Alpha (Moog Sensations)
21:15 Harold Budd - Pastoral Symphony (The Oak Of The Golden Dreams)
22:00 Popol Vuh - Aguirre (In the Gardens of the Pharao | Aguirre)
27:00 Ash Ra Tempel - Traummaschine (Ash Ra Tempel)
33:18 Pat Prilly - Coeur Synthetique (Moog Sensations)
34:12 Tonto's Expanding Head Band - Cybernaut (Zero Time)
38:30 Doug McKechnie - Moving (San Francisco Moog: 1968-72 Vol. 2)
41:10 Jean Michel Jarre - La Cage (La Cage)
44:25 Morton Subotnick - Sidewinder (Sidewinder)
46:15 Gil Mellé - Andromeda (The Andromeda Strain)
47:47 Tangerine Dream - Vampira VI (Vampira)
50:53 W. Merrick Farran & E. Vetter - Sea of Storms (KPM Electronic Music)
52:42 Tonto's Expanding Head Band - Aurora (Zero Time)
59:10 end

Wednesday Jun 07, 2023

Fresh Ambient June 2023

Wednesday Jun 07, 2023

The theme for this mix is simple - a collection of new ambient tracks, most released within the last couple of months. Sometimes after posting a lot of theme mixes or guest mixes I need to crank out a set that is just straightforward ambient. Nothing fancy, just beautiful, drifting music to ease the mind.

Here are some links to the music used in this mix:

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Laraaji & Kramer - Immersion (Baptismal 2023)
06:00 Between - Back (Low Flying Owls 2023)
11:10 William Selman - Leaky Paradise (The Weather Indoors 2023)
14:28 Civic Hall aka Euan McMeeken & Craig Tattersall - Excerpt I (Maps To Where The Poison Grows 2023)
19:15 Sebby Kowal - Sakura Schoolyard (There Is Light 2023)
22:36 Michael Scott Dawson - Notes On Longing (Find Yourself Lost 2023)
25:50 Alva Noto - Die Undergründigen - Redux (Kinder der Sonne(From "Komplizen") 2023)
29:55 Sachi Kobayashi - Morning Dew (Melodies in the Garden 2023)
33:40 David Cordero - Middle Distance (Spring Memories 2023)
39:20 blochemy - lane (sen 2023)
44:11 Andy Cartwright - Mended Environment (Below the Noise 2023)
48:05 Kenji Katayose - Aika (Sonoris 2023)
54:18 Inhmost - Eternal (Above The Sky 2023)
58:52 Maps and Diagrams - Brume (A Study of Ends or Purpose 2023)
64:16 end

Wednesday May 31, 2023

The Lonely Orbit

Wednesday May 31, 2023

A few months ago I stumbled across two tunes called "Lonely Satellite" & "The Lonely Orbit." Those titles intrigued me and I thought they would make a great theme for a mix. I started collecting tracks, not knowing when the mix would come to fruition.

Then this past week I heard the new album from Alva Noto called "Kinder der Sonne (From "Komplizen")" and I knew immediately that I had to make this mix. I could have included 4 or 5 tracks from the Alva Noto album but Mixcloud only allows a maximum of 3 songs from one album. I ended up using two cuts.

As usual the mix leans heavily on new tunes, with 11 of 18 tracks from 2020 - 2023. That includes the two "lonely" cuts that started this whole thing.

Funny side note - there has been a lot construction in my neighborhood lately and as I was putting the mix together I would hear the beeping of a backhoe reversing or some other truck backing up. It got to be annoying because sometimes I couldn't tell if the beeping sounds were from the music or the construction outside. Haha!

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Alexandre Navarro + Letna - Psamathe (Redfish 2013)
03:15 Alva Noto - Kinder der Sonne(Intro) (Kinder der Sonne (From "Komplizen") 2023)
06:15 xu - this illusory continuity (slicing space-time into objects 2022)
07:55 Scanner - Wing Pinger 02 (Wing Pinger 2021)
09:14 Loscil - Estuarine (Endless Fall 2010)
17:10 Lunar Testing Lab - Lunar Radio Control (Space Debris - Space Transmission 2008)
18:17 Hainbach - Izmir (Voice Magnetic 2023)
19:40 Brian Eno - Cavallino (The Shutov Assembly 1992)
22:20 Saros Sky - Lonely Satellite (Ambient Oceania 2021)
25:47 Loscil - Bipolar, Pt. 2 (Lifelike 2019)
28:57 Hans Zimmer - Atmospheric Entry (Interstellar 2014)
30:17 Steven Price - Aurora Borealis (Gravity 2013)
31:22 Alva Noto - Die Untergründigen (Kinder der Sonne (From "Komplizen") 2023)
39:18 Peter Kvidera - Popping (Verism 2022)
44:30 State Azure - Prism (As The Dawn Fades 2023)
50:23 Brian Eno - Kazakhstan 4 (Kazakhstan 2023)
55:12 Aethernal - The Lonely Orbit (Exile 2022)
58:49 arovane - laap (gestalt 2020)
60:30 end

Wednesday May 24, 2023

Between Interval: Instrumental gems (mostly) from 70s rock - by Paul Asbury Seaman

Wednesday May 24, 2023

Two guest mixes in a row - I am a lucky guy! This one comes to us from LLM regular contributor, Paul Asbury Seaman. It's a great collection of instrumental tracks that, as the title says, leans heavily on music from the 70s.

My brain has been stuck in the 70s for a while as I collect tunes for the Electronic Music of the 70s series(1971 is coming soon). So I was excited about the coincidence of Paul coming up with a 70s(mostly) mix. Some tracks I was familiar and others I was hearing for the first time, which is the wonderful thing about these guest mixes - they go in directions that I would not have taken them. This one turns into a great journey of nostalgia and discovery.

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

“Something old, something new. Something cheerful, something blue. Some great instrumental tracks that might have slipped between the cracks. So, no “Colour My World.” Yes to Black Sabbath. Plus a couple of mellow vocal numbers, chosen for their melodies that were just too pretty to leave out. The selections here span more than fifty years, though most are from the 1970s.

The title of this mix comes from the working name (one of my all-time favorites) of Swedish ambient electronic artist Stefan Jonsson.”

Thanks, Paul, for another excellent set. Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Agitation Free - First Communication (2nd 1973)
05:57 Jeff Greinke - Losing Time (A Thousand Year Flood 2023)
11:23 Between Interval - Portals in Time (The Edge of a Fairytale 2009)
14:38 Vangelis - Love Theme, Blade Runner (Nocturne: The Piano Album 2019)
20:35 Mike Oldfield - Incantations - part four(excerpt) (Incantations 1978)
24:50 Pierre Moerlen's Gong - Faerie Steps (Time is the Key 1979)
30:10 Moody Blues - Visions of Paradise (In Search Of The Lost Chord 1968))
34:15 Genesis - Horizons (Foxtrot 1972)
35:50 Rick Wakeman - Summertime (Rhapsodies 1979)
40:08 Neal Schon - Midnight Express (Electric World 1997)
45:15 Iron Butterfly - Slower Than Guns (Metamorphosis 1970)
48:53 Black Sabbath - Laguna Sunrise (Vol. 4 1972)
51:37 Ian Anderson - Boris Dancing (The Secret Language Of Birds 2000)
54:40 Pink Floyd - It's What We Do (The Endless River 2014)
59:50 Bill Frisell - Bird On A Wire (Here It Is: A Tribute To Leonard Cohen 2022)
63:35 end

Wednesday May 03, 2023

Remember Tomorrow V2

Wednesday May 03, 2023

This is a repost of an old mix from 2009. The is a retro synth mix with a sort of old space program vibe. I realized that I'd never posted it to Mixcloud so I thought I would haul it out of space dock and update it with a few more cuts added to the end. It's great to hear tracks from Freescha, Lunar Testing Lab, Bochum Welt and others for the first time in a long time.

Enjoy this trip backward and forward in time.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Countdown from "Lunar Adventure in 1985"
00:13 Belbury Poly - Adventures in a Miniature Landscape
02:00 The Units - Cowboy
06:05 Harmonic 33 - Departure Lounge
10:30 Lunar Testing Lab - Lunar Radio control
11:30 EU - New Osc's
13:00 Boards of Canada - Wildlife Analysis
13:50 Freescha - The Sun is Still
16:00 Lunar Testing Lab - Orbiting Lunar Observatory
16:40 TRS-80 - moon Patrol
22:30 David Bowie - V2 Schneider
25:10 Bochum Welt - interlude
28:25 Lunar Testing Lab - Phantom Cosmonaut
30:50 Signaldrift - Children of the 70's
32:20 Harmonic 33 - Planet 54
35:50 Frank Comstock - Music from Outer Space(when you wish upon a star)
37:50 Boards of Canada - Nova Scotia Robots
38:50 Bernard Szajner - A Kind of Freedom
41:30 Talvihorros - A Rural Place
43:35 David Bowie - Weeping Wall
46:20 Michael Garrison - Escape (Music From The 21st Century 1986)
48:42 Iguana Moonlight - V (WIld Palms 2017)
53:06 Stratis - By Water (Soul Jazz Records presents Space, Energy & Light 2017)
58:27 Chris Carter - Moon Two (Chemistry Lessons Volume 1 2018)
60:47 end

Wednesday Apr 26, 2023

The Undersea World of Low Light Mixes

Wednesday Apr 26, 2023

I've done a couple mixes featuring library music from the 70s & 80s that have the vibe of a cheesy deep sea exploration documentary. I've always wanted to do a follow up and here it is.

One of the problems is that I didn't check the tracklist from the last mix and so quite a few tracks from that set made it into this one. When I figured out what had happened, it was too late to change. Well, actually, I was just too lazy to change it. I think about 9 of the 23 tracks in this mix appeared in the last one.

I love the retro vibe of these mixes. Take some old vinyl albums with echoing fender rhodes piano, add some scuba sound fx and a few synths and you've got yourself a 70s soundtrack to the Undersea World of Low Light Mixes.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Eric Vann - Algues Marines (Water World 1982)
01:32 Walt Rockman - Submarine Scenery (Underwater Vol 1 1980)
03:45 Stefano Liberati - Tombala la grande corrente (Pericolo negli abissi 1978)
04:38 Walt Rockman - gas-bubbles (Biology 1980)
05:28 Roger Roger & Nino Nardini - Eery Dream (Informatic 2000 1982)
07:21 Joel Vandroogenbroeck & F. Voelxen - Cascades (Contemporary Pastoral and Ethnic Sounds 1979)
10:03 John Hyde - Curlews (Red Kite 1982)
11:11 John Tender - Underwater Fantasy 1 (Fantasyland Vol. 1 1982)
12:50 Walt Rockman - chromosomes (Biology 1980)
14:42 Tamponi - acque profonde (Ittiologia 1973)
16:07 Amedeo Tommasi - Correnti sottomarine (Biologia marina 1973)
19:08 Mikrokristal - Bubbles (Hidden Way Between Some Rains 2013)
23:52 Georg Deuter - Deep Sea(mysterious - lost - sunken ship) (Soundtrack 1973)
26:15 Atmo - subacquatic (Ittiologia 1973)
28:00 Walt Rockman - dark depth 1 (Underwater Vol 1 1980)
29:31 Teddy Lasry - moins 8000 (+ ou - 8000 1977)
33:33 Franco Tamponi - Profondita (Biologia Marina 1973)
35:55 Jim Harbourg - Harbourg Empathy (Sonoton Soundscapes 1985)
38:23 John Hyde - Underwater (Red Kite 1982)
40:00 Stefano Liberati - La caverna di ghiaccio (Pericolo negli abissi 1978)
41:20 Piero Umiliani - musica delle sfere (Omaggio ad Einstein 1973)
43:10 Raymond Scott - Sleepy Time (Soothing Sounds for Baby, Volume 1 1997)
47:15 Eric Vann - Diving (Water World 1982)
50:37 end

Wednesday Apr 19, 2023

Current Ambient Obsessions

Wednesday Apr 19, 2023

This mix is pretty straightforward - it's a collection of tracks from some of my favorite ambient albums of 2023. The first three tracks are probably my top three albums of the year so far and I expect them to be on my year-end list in December.

There's not much else to say, just sit back and enjoy some excellent ambient music.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Rod Modell & Taka Noda - Untitled 9 (Glow World 2023)
07:03 Brendan Eder Ensemble - Ending(feat. Ethan Haman) (Therapy 2023)
14:55 ARROWOUNDS - Tree of Disciples (In The Octopus Pond 2023)
21:15 Robert Davies - Lakeside Reminiscence (Lakeside Haven 2023)
27:50 Pan•American - Renzo (In Daylight Dub 2023)
37:30 Harry Towell & Pruski - lacustyna (petrologist's lens 2023)
42:30 Tim Hecker - Monotony II (No Highs 2023)
44:44 Max Richter - Tranquility VII & VIII (SLEEP: Tranquility Base 2023)
49:20 36 - Last Wake Dreamout (Dreamloops Suite 2023)
60:00 end

Wednesday Apr 12, 2023

A Decade of Electronic Music - 1970

Wednesday Apr 12, 2023

The Plan - make a mix for every year of the 70s, featuring electronic music from each year. Easy peasy! Well, not exactly. The early years are a bit tough. Electronic music wasn't really a genre yet. There are definitely electronic albums. But enough to fill an hour-long mix? Maybe...sort of.

So let me start by saying that some folks may disagree with my choices as I tried to fill out the tracklist. There may be some creative finagling in the mixes for the early years. But really, who cares? This is just a fun way to dive deep into the rise of electronic music.

In the early sets you'll hear plenty of krautrock or kosmische music. Bands like Popol Vuh, Amon Duul II, Can, and Ash Ra Temple fit that category and make appearances in the first two mixes. Again, some folks may balk at the inclusion of the artists but without them, the '70 & '71 mixes would not have happened. Even Tangerine Dream in these years is barely "electronic."

I discovered an artist named Doug McKechnie who experimented with one of the few Moog synths around at that time. I don't believe he ever released any music back then but there are recordings from many of his live shows. The albums were released in 2020 & 2023, so technically this shouldn't count in a mix of music released in 1970, but as I said, it was hard to fill out the mix. The tracks were recorded from 1968 - 72 so I grabbed one that didn't have a specific date on it and decided that it would count as being from 1970.

The more I listen to this set the more I like it. The unexpected tracks and artists made for a fun journey. I hope you all enjoy it too.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Kraftwerk - Ruckzuck (Kraftwerk)
05:10 Oskar Sala - In Leichtem Marsch-Rhythmus (Electronic Virtuosity)
06:45 Suzanne Ciani - Tenth Voice: Sound of a Lighted Window (Voices of Packaged Souls)
07:40 Tangerine Dream - Genesis (Electronic Meditation)
12:20 Popol Vuh - Affenstunde(excerpt 1) (Affenstunde)
16:15 Doug McKechnie - Berkeley Art Museum (San Francisco Moog: 1968-72)
23:42 Popol Vuh - Affenstunde(excerpt 2) (Affenstunde)
30:00 Philip Glass - Music with Changing Parts (Music with Changing Parts)
37:15 Mart Garson - Kevin & Paige (Didn't You Hear?)
42:05 Amon Düül II - Yeti Talks To Yogi(Improvisation) (Yeti)
50:10 King Crimson - The Devils Triangle (In The Wake of Poseidon)
54:40 Tangerine Dream - Cold Smoke (Electronic Meditation)
57:15 Suzanne Ciani - Twelth Voice: Sound of Love Turning (Voices of Packaged Souls)
58:23 Sylvette Allart - Berceuse du faon (Pour Ondes Martenot)
61:39 end