Tag: african

SOUNDWAVE : 128 : STEFAN BECK

Today’s guest deejay is Stefan Beck, AKA Golden Brown.

I met Stefan through Steve Targo from Inner Islands after he guest deejayed on Soundwave. I asked Steve, whom he knew would share a mix on the show, and he recommended Stefan. I listened to Stefan’s music and lost myself in his gentle guitar playing, swathes of warm sounds, and field recordings. So we have Steve to thank for today’s gorgeous mix.

As is my habit, I reacquaint myself with the mixes sent my way two weeks before I share them with you. Stefan provided the soundtrack for hurricane Kay which hit Mexico this week. In the evenings, when it was cooler, I’d go for an hour-long walk and listen to Stefan’s mix. Wednesday was a very sensual night. There was a moment as I was walking past a canyon when a rivulet of sweat ran from my temple and behind my right ear. It cooled and evaporated immediately. There was a hint of sage in the air. And Stefan’s mix played over my AirPods. Delicious.

Friday, San Diego was awash with the rain from hurricane Kay. It was very dramatic. The sky was gloomy, the wind gusted from my patio door, and occasionally raindrops would land on my shoulders from my skylight window above me, all while Stefan’s mix playing in the background.

I hope Stefan’s mix provides an equally wonderful experience.

Stefan has a few words about his mix below.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Serge Timmers.

See you then.

 

Stefan Beck
Stefan Beck

The songs selected here don’t have any unifying theme apart from that they inspire me and put me in a certain 🌀zone🌀

I think they all have a lot of heart in them and make elegant use of space. Jerry Garcia appears here twice under the radar as well. I can’t resist.

I hope you enjoy!

  1. Mickey Hart “Sky Water”
  2. Stein Urheim “Water-part I”
  3. William Parker & Hamid Drake “Earth”
  4. Joyce Moreno with Nana Vasconcelos and Mauricio Maestro “Chegada”
  5. Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté “ Warbé”
  6. Bill Frisell “Outlaw”
  7. Collin Walcott “Jewel Ornament”
  8. David Crosby “Kids and Dogs”
  9. Alice Coltrane “Er Ra”
  10. Laraaji “Through Luminous Eyes 2”
  11. Hailu Mergia “Yefikir Engurguro”

Subscribe to SOUNDWAVE on iTunes, Overcast, Castro and Pocketcasts.

Logo by Rik Oostenbroek

SOUNDWAVE : 120 : RIZ MASLEN

Today’s guest deejay is Riz Maslen.

Alisú included Riz Maslen in her mix for Soundwave last fall, which led to me spending hours re-visiting the music Riz recorded as Neotropic, as well as her work with 4hero and The Future Sound of London. I invited Riz to share a mix with us, and it’s something else.

 

Riz Maslen
Riz Maslen. Photo by Rebecca Brooker Photography.

Riz mix begins with a piece by Freddie Philips, a British composer known for his work on television music, particularly the theme for Camberwick Green. It’s what I imagine a mix from Wes Anderson might sound like, and I would have been completely satisfied if Riz stayed within that genre. But Riz pivots to Egyptian jazz-inspired psychedelic rock, shifts to trip-hop, and never looks back. And yet, Riz’s mix never feels incongruous. Each track seamlessly blends into the next.

You’re in for quite the journey.

Each mix shared on Soundwave is special. When I say that, I’m not equivocating; they are unique. But some resonate with me more than others, and Riz’s mix is one of those mixes. As the pandemic continues to disrupt our lives, I’ve found Riz’s mix to sometimes act as a balm and other times a needed distraction.

I envy you. I wish I could hear Riz’s mix again for the first time.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Robocat.

See you then.

  1. Freddie Philips “Opening Music from Camberwick Green”
  2. Peter Schickele “The Space Fleet”
  3. John Berberiam and The Missile Eastern Ensemble “The Oud and the Fuzz”
  4. Digital Bled “Jo”
  5. Daniele Principato Arne Hiorth “Cuckoo Clock”
  6. Mike Lazarev “Where You Are”
  7. Alieno de Bootes “Sending the Clouds”
  8. Pole “Weit”
  9. Anne Garner & Mike Lazarev “Dust Devil (Mike Lazarev Pent Up Rework)”
  10. D Rothon & O Cherer “Silver Haze Dusk”
  11. Mark Beazley “Four Thirty Six”
  12. Alfred Deller & Elizabeth Harwood & Choirs Of Downside And Emanuel Schools & London Symphony Orchestra & Benjamin Britten “A Midsummer Night’s Dream / Act 2 – A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 2: ‘On The Ground, Sleep Sound’”
  13. Ryuichi Sakamoto “Dolphins”
  14. Ekki Hugsa “Amsterdam”

Subscribe to SOUNDWAVE on iTunes, Overcast, Castro and Pocketcasts.

Logo by Rik Oostenbroek

solipsistic NATION No. 310: Mutamassik, Live

Today on solipsistic NATION we’ll hear a live set from Giulia Loli from Mutamassik, which was originally recorded for Fari Bradley‘s Six Pillars radio show on Resonance FM to promote Giulia’s 2012 release, Rekkez, out on Ini.itu Records. In fact, there are quite a few tracks from Rekkez on today’s live set.

We’ll also talk to Giulia about balancing artistry with industry, and her growth as an artist, musician and as a DJ.

Today’s show is eight years in the making.

When I launched solipsistic NATION podcasts were a new thing and most people didn’t know what a podcast actually was, which made it difficult when I would email labels and ask for them to send me promotional CDs for the show. And even if a label knew what a podcast was I didn’t have the audience that I do now, so why mail out music to show that only had a few hundred listeners? I can’t blame them, really.

But one label I did approach was generous enough to send a CD. I had read a review about Mutamassik’s album, Masri Mokkassar: Definitive Works in XLR8R, back when it was still a print magazine. Definitive Works had been released by Sound-Ink Records and they sent me Mutamassik’s LP without questions or hassle.

Like I said, podcasts were an unknown quantity back then, so it meant a lot to me that Sound-Ink took me seriously enough to send me Mutamassik’s album. And it was a great album! I played it on the show and I played it on my iPod constantly. Someday, I told myself, I’m going to have Mutamassik on the show as a guest so I could get to know the person behind all this fantastic music!

That day is today. It took months of planning and aligning our schedules but it finally happened.

Join us again next week. I’m still getting my ducks in a row but I think our guests will be Known Rebel‘s Germán Escandell and Jaime Irles.

See you then!

  1. Mutamassik “Babomb”
  2. Interview with Giulia Loli of Mutamassik
  3. Mutamassik “Live”