solipsistic NATION No. 294: …And Darkness Came (Slight Return)

Each edition of solipsistic NATION is evergreen because they rarely make any mention of current events. There’s no talk about the latest tragedy, the latest scandal or the latest war because solipsistic NATION is place for at least an hour every week where you can get away from all of that, where it just about the music. When you listen to solipsistic NATION you join a temporary nation of solipsists. Don’t worry, all those worldly matters will still be waiting for you when the show ends.

But on today’s show were going to listen to select tracks from Headphone Commute’s …And Darkness Came compilation album, an album that would not exist if not for Hurricane Sandy. I can’t simply not talk about it.

…And Darkness Came features 87 tracks of beautiful music, all for e mere $10! But …And Darkness Came is more than just beautiful music. It also benefits all of those affected by Hurricane Sandy, the largest Atlantic hurricane on record, which has devastated portions of the Caribbean, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States in late October 2012. 100% of all the proceeds generated from the sale of this album will be donated towards two charitable organizations: Doctors Without Borders and The Humane Society. The artists on the release have been hand-picked to showcase the world’s top talent in ambient, modern classical, and experimental music and features many unreleased pieces composed exclusively for the cause.

HC from the Headphone Commute music blog invited me to put together a mix of my own featuring tracks from …And Darkness Came. Unfortunately, I was waylaid by a cold last weekend and couldn’t get that show out. In fact, I’m still under the weather but fortunately HC put together a mix of his own, which we’ll listen to today. You can also listen to the mix without my blathering here.

If you’re a long time listener of the show then you already know I’m a big fan of HC. If you’re new to the show, then today’s edition of solipsistic NATION serves as a great example of the kind of music HC blogs about: it’s beautiful, yes, but it’s also luxurious, breath taking, intimate but at the same time, larger than life.

You can purchase …And Darkness Came at headphonecommute.bandcamp.com or go to headphonecommute.com for more information. If I know HC, he’s hard at work putting together his list for the best music of 2012 so you’ll want to subscribe to his blog just for that. It usually takes him the entire month of January to get through it all.

Join us again next week when we’ll wind down 2012 with a special mix from the Palanke Soultribe.

See you then!

  1. Gen Ken Montgomery “Sandy Drain”
  2. The Frozen Vaults “A Year Without Summer”
  3. Clem Leek “A Modern Hymn For NYC”
  4. Good Weather For An Airstrike “Fred’s Song”
  5. riverrun “Maallinen Kuu”
  6. Roel Funcken “Trideo Vaperz”
  7. Pinkcourtesyphone “pixels came and broke your heart”
  8. Julien Neto “Los Cien Enamorados”
  9. Jóhann Jóhannsson “Melodia (iv) (Live at Ancienne Belgique)”
  10. Nils Frahm “Sol”
  11. Ólafur Arnalds “Tomorrow’s Song”
  12. Dustin O’Halloran “Fragile N.2”
  13. Clint Mansell “Merry Christmas (It’s The End Of The World)”
  14. Somatic Responses “Fear Chasing Hope (Zombie Subway HC Edit)”
  15. SaffronKeira “Endless Agony of Being Sick (Edit)”
  16. Valgeir Sigurðsson “Big Reveal”
  17. Dakota Suite & Quentin Sirjacq “Now I Am Lost”
  18. Ben Lukas Boysen “16°”