Last May, I discovered Iu on Bandcamp’s The Best Ambient Music blog post and instantly became a fan. Iu’s songs delicately unfold as you listen to them. It feels that her music might immediately unravel with any sudden movement. Calmness and patience are required, which reinforces the experience of Iu’s gentle songs.
Iu Takahashi
Iu herself does not appear in her mix, but I encourage you to listen to her new releases, both of which were released in December.
One release is her “Stay” EP from A RED THREAD. Iu made this work thinking about her grandparents, who have dementia. Both of them are now living in a facility. She stayed for a few days at their house, where no one lived, and was inspired by the clothing, dishes, and plants left there. For the sound source, she used environmental sounds coming from the house’s windows and an old electronic organ that she used to play when she was a kid. In the midst of realizing the changes in her daily life, the sounds of construction, cars, and crows cawing that may otherwise sound like noise make it feel as if time has stopped only in this house.
Iu’s second release is her “Interspace” EP from The Slow Music Movement. In these three tracks, she intentionally created gaps by reducing the number of notes, and she wanted to enjoy the coincidence and awareness with the outside sounds.
I can’t think of a better way to be in the New Year than listening to Iu’s music. And today’s mix, of course.
Genius and Soul is a weekly show featuring jazz, Black classical music, and more, with mixes lovingly selected by our guest deejays. Our first guest is Brian Jackson, an American keyboardist, flautist, singer, composer, and producer. Brian has recorded and performed with everyone from Gil Scott-Heron to Stevie Wonder, and recently released an album with Jazz Is Dead’s Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad.
You can listen to our first episode on your favorite podcast app or listen here.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Christoph Berg.
I’ve been a fan of Alex’s music since the last century. It feels strange to write that, but it’s true.
I discovered Alex on his Cypher 7 album, Decoder that he recorded with Jeff Bova. Decoder came in all all-back CD jewel case. Very mysterious and very sexy. Decoder was released on Strata, Bill Laswell’s sub-label of Subharmonic Records, and that was all I needed to know in my decision-making process to purchase the album. I was not disappointed. Decoder was as mysterious and sexy as its CD case. The music was minimal, sinuous, and entrancing.
Alex Haas
I’ve been listening to Alex’s music over the decades. When his album, The Woods, recorded with Michel Banabila and Bill Laswell, popped up on my Spotify Discover Weekly playlist, I immediately invited Alex to guest deejay on Soundwave.
Alex’s mix is exactly what I expected and delights with music from unexpected sources. You’re in for a treat.
Before I get out of here, I want to wish everyone happy holidays.
I also encourage you to followGenius and Soul on your favorite podcast app. Genius and Soul is a weekly show featuring jazz, Black classical music, and more, with mixes lovingly selected by our guest deejays. Our first guest deejay will be legendary composer, pianist, singer, and flautist Brian Jackson. Genius and Soul launches on January 1, 2022.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be iu takahashi.
A year ago, while perusing Boing Boing I read a post about Hollow Earth Radio, a Low Power FM (LPFM) non-commercial DIY radio station based out of Seattle. I was intrigued about the station’s promise of “local music, found sound, paranormal encounters, crank calls, dreams, etc.! 24 hours a day!” and tuned it. The station is a delight, and I became Sean’s show, Aquanautic Frequencies, and invited him to guest deejay on Soundwave.
Aquanautic Frequencies broadcasts every Wednesday from 11 am-1 pm PST. Spinning strange and groovy and tunes from the deep. Featuring clangy krautrock and kosmische musik, brain-melting prog, afrobeat, and jazz from Saturn, pulsing psych, weird Bungley rock, Pacific Northwest favorites, outsider music from Finland and beyond, turntable experiments, avant-metal, random radio transmissions, and even the occasional jangled pop number as long as it fits the mood. His shows are broadcasted live at the station with vinyl only, programmed from his music collection, or home recorded with two turntables and mixer fed into a recording console.
In addition to the radio show, Sean is a scientist and has made music a creative outlet for about 20 years. He is the co-founder of Fringe Biology Recordings (fringebiologyrecords.com), a Seattle-based record label of outsider/self-educated recording artists specializing in experimental rock, avant-electronic music, sci-fi soundtracks, kosmische musik, and science-inspired music.
What I love about Sean’s mix is that it took Soundwave’s instrumental aspect and ran with it. And Sean’s mix obviously showcases some of his obsessions in music. I always welcome music from Secret Chiefs, Sun City Girls, Can, and Sun Ra, and I was happy to be introduced to artists like Bo Hansson, Thomas Dinger, and Diminished Men.
Sean has some words about his mix below.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Alex Haas.
See you then.
Sean Sleight
Many thanks for the invitation to contribute a mix. I wanted it to have a positive vibe in these weird times and thought of Winter Solstice when daylight is at its minimum. Now that it’s almost the darkest time of the year, I thought maybe it was time to reverse polarity and share some warmth for the days ahead.
daniel’s mix is important to me for several reasons.
One reason is that I meant daniel through Soundwave guest deejay Michael Donaldson (listen to Michael’s mix here) when he posted an interview with daniel on his Micro.blog. Initially, I read the interview simply because it was on Micro.blog, a cool social media network I am a member of. But what hooked me was the interview itself and daniel’s exploration of sound through this music.
The other reason today’s show is important to me is that while I love all the mixes on Soundwave, and I mean that, daniel’s mix hit me in all the right places. He included some familiar and precious tracks from the likes of Miles Davis, This Mortal Coil and Skinny Puppy. This is stuff I immersed myself in the 80s and 90s, so it felt like putting on a well-worn sweater. But daniel’s mix included a lot of stuff I had never heard of before, like Oliver Coates, Besombes & Rizet, and Angelo Badalamenti. It was a perfect blend of the familiar and unfamiliar that his mix provided just under an hour’s with of dopamine hits.
The final reason is that I listened to daniel’s mix many places (while working, walking my dog, doing the dishes, etc.), but the place that had the most significance was in my car while driving my grandkid to day school. The experience is already special because I enjoy watching all the adults delivering their most precious of cargos and seeing the love and concern on their faces. daniel’s mix heightened and already tender experience.
daniel has words of his own regarding today’s mix below.
Join us next weekend when our guest deejay will be Sean Slight.
See you then!
danielfuzztone
Like much of the ambient-drone music I produce, this mix was born from a live performance and then manipulated in the digital domain via Audacity. Nothing beats the hardware-software hybrid.
While I’ve DJed for three decades years — including two long stretches of college radio — my skills were a bit rusty, to say the least. I wanted to showcase some of my long-time favorite artists — Brian Eno, Boards of Canada, Spacemen 3, Jean-Michel Jarre — along with several newer ones (and maybe even a few you wouldn’t necessarily think of in the ambient realm).
I performed the set in real time using two MacBooks as playback decks, connected to a cheapo RadioShack DJ mixer from the ’90s.* Recorded in Audacity. Numerous field recordings and samples were also added at this stage — including a mix-long drone of processed shortwave static.
The result is a dark, noisy vibe with bursts of melody, strands of light, and even occasional beats. It’s mysterious and romantic, a droning, pulsing soundtrack from the past 50 years. Enjoy and #DroneOn
— danielfuzztone
POST-SCRIPT: Look for several back-to-back releases in early 2022 via Bandcamp, as well as a live performance in January.
*Due to the lo-fi-meets-hi-fi nature of the recording, you’ll occasionally hear pops and ticks from some of the aging gear. Relax. It’s all part of the ride.
Today’s guest deejay is Kellen Perry, AKA Wife Signs.
Daniel Chamberlin turned me on to Wife Signs with his Cosmic Chambo mix for Soundwave. As is my want, I asked Daniel who he know that would want to share a mix on Soundwave and he suggested Kellen. Daniel was spot on, because Kellen’s mix is a delight.
Kellen Perry, AKA Wife Signs
I mentioned last month how Line Spectrum’s mix blended so seamlesslessly with the sounds of my environment that caused me no small amount of anxiety. Kellen’s mix also merged with the sounds around me, but it was so ephemeral that it was a soothing experience. It made the sound of clanking flatware musical. Some of the mixes heard on Soundwave are sublime, and some, like Kellen’s, make the mundane seem magical.
While you can stream Kellen’s new album, Beneath the Weight of Care, on Spotify, I encourage you to pushase his album on Bandcamp. You can also follow Kellen on Twitter.
I hope you have a Happy Halloween. I know I will, because I’m taking my grandkid on his first trick or treating he’ll remember. Talk about magical!
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be protoU.
Today’s guest deejays are PCM, who are Francesco Perra (P), Matteo Cantaluppi (C), Matteo Milea (M).
n5MD founder Mike Cadoo put me in touch with PCM when I asked him after guest deejayed on Soundwave who he thought would want to share a mix on the show. PCM has crafted a mix that I adore. There’s so much to love.
One of the things I find exciting about Soundwave is that our guest deejays introduce me to music and artists I’m unfamiliar with. On the other hand, some musicians that I’ve been surprised have made an appearance on Soundwave nearly two years into the show. PCM remedy that with today’s mix. I’m talking about talent like Fennesz, Rafael Anton Irisarri, Coil (I’m surprised Coil aren’t on every show), and Morton Subotnick.
PCM: Francesco Perra (P), Matteo Cantaluppi (C), Matteo Milea (M)
PCM themselves make an appearance at the end of today’s show. You’ll want to hear more of their music. You can listen to their latest album, Macro, which came out earlier this year. Macro is equal parts expansive and constrained, and the magic happens between those two extremes.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Wife Signs.
Gert appeared on Soundwave last year, and I enjoyed his mix so much I invited him back. Today’s show is equally fantastic. Gert can expect another invitation from me in 2022.
Gert says today’s show features a perfect mixture of tracks that have influenced him and tracks that currently influence him. He said they’re all such beautiful tracks, and what’s best, you can find them all on Bandcamp, some of them entirely for free.
Today’s mix also includes a track form Gert’s project, Distant Fires Burning. You’re gong to love today’s mix and you’ll want to hear more music from Gert. Good news! You can find his latest album, Inperspectycon Vol.1, here.
Gert De Meester
One thing that’s interesting about the 21st century is music is so freely available, and it’s nearly endless. Consequently, I don’t think most music gets the attention due, and I’m not wagging my finger. I’m just as guilty. It’s exceedingly rare that I will listen to a song or an album repeatedly. There’s so much I want to listen to, and I’m often impatient to listen to the next song, even while I’m listening to something that very moment.
Take today’s show. It’s spectacular. But you’ll listen to it once. Some of you might even listen to it twice. And then you’re on to the next show. Or the next song. Or the next video.
As the producer of Soundwave, however, I have a very different relationship with the music you hear.
I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I receive these mixes months before I publish them on Soundwave. I live with these mixes. I marinate in these mixes.
I’ve become very familiar with Gert’s mix. It’s a gorgeous experience. But after repeated listening, I’ve come to appreciate just how dense the songs that appear in today’s show are. I’ve become intimately acquainted with every snap, crackle, and pop. I lose myself in the swooshes, the sizzle, and grit.
Gert’s mix is made for repeated listening. I encourage you to do so.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Michael Southard of Triplicate Records.
I discovered Anthéne when Ishmael Cormack (listen to his mix for Soundwave here) requested music recommendations on Twitter. There were some great suggrestions, and I listened to everything I could find on Bandcamp or Spotify. Anthéne’s music was warm, dreamy, and organic for all its etherealness. Naturally, I extended to Anthéne to guest deejay on Soundwave.
Last week I drove from San Diego to Sacramento with Jonanathan Ammons’s mix providing the soundtrack for that apocalyptic journey. This week Anthéne’s mix was the music for my night drive back to San Diego. This time there were no abandoned cars, wildfire smoke choked skies, or searing sunlight. Instead, a beautiful, three-quarter orange moon floated on the horizon while the stars came out, one by one. It was a long drive, and I played Anthéne’s mix several times, which got me as far as Los Angeles.
If you feel like sharing, please tell me where you listened to today’s show.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Complex Holiday.
Jonathan guest deejayed on the show last October. Jonathan’s mix was so moving that I invited him back to Soundwave. Today’s mix is equally remarkable. I had the unique opportunity to listen to it while driving from San Diego to Sacramento to visit my wife this weekend. It’s wildfire season in California (it’s always wildfire season), and Jonathan’s mix provided the soundtrack to my apocalyptic drive. The skies were tinted dirty brown from the ashes from the wildfires, but somehow the sun managed to blast the landscape with glaring light: grass and trees parched from California’s megadrought. Every 20 miles or so, I’d pass an abandoned car to the side of the highway. And yet, Jonathan’s mix somehow lent some beauty to such desolate scenery.
Jonathan has some words about his mix below.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be anthéne.
See you then!
Jonathan Ammons
I think that my past year has looked like many people’s lives during the middle of one of the largest global pandemics in history. A lot of isolation, a lot of finding ways to busy yourself or occupy your mind. In the past, as someone who worked from home, I had enjoyed drone, ambient, and all of those experimental genres for the way they occupied a space without dominating it. If ambient music was created to generate music that did not evoke strong and tumultuous emotions — as Brian Eno claims— that was exactly what I wanted droning on in the background of my house while I pecked away at a keyboard for work. As a journalist, it provided this stoic, emotionless wallpaper for the background of my daily existence.
Covid changed a lot of that. They daily monotony left me just craving a change of emotion. But I didn’t want words; I didn’t want lyrics that would remind me of how things were when we were able to go places, meet people, kiss strangers at a bar… I wanted the same stability that the drone I’d come to love gave me, but I wanted something a little more expressive.
I also noticed that the more I used any streaming platform, the more the algorithm would eventually whittle things down to the same handful of artists. I wanted new things. I wanted variety in a locked-down life with no chance of spontaneity. So I decided to cut all algorithmic music out of my life. I stopped listening to Spotify or Pandora or any of those generated playlists and dialed back in to the radio.
I have to give a giant shoutout to Noods Radio out of Bristol, England, because they have been a major lifesaver. A station dedicated to the wild and weird sounds of Bristol. You never know what you’ll find, but the rich spread of creativity has introduced me to a slew of new artists. Props to BBC6’s great ambient show, as well.
Northern England’s A Beautiful Burning World make’s gorgeous sounds using very simple gear and tape loops. They even have a subscription system for $15 a year, and you can get their entire discography for cheaper than that! Much of this mix comes from artists discovered through the radio or combing around Bandcamp.
Seamstress makes delightful chill-out beats. Scanner gorgeously blends drone and ambient with deep arrangements that are so subtle, but meaningful. And I don’t know why it took me till now to notice Garth Stevenson’s incredible compositions. We really are in a golden age for the reinvention of modern classical music. Just look no further than Tristan Perich’s fantastic work.
I also have to give a shoutout to Kimathi Moore. Kima is an incredibly talented sound artist here in Asheville. His style’s shift between ambient, drone, and Edgard Varèse-like tone poems. I got the chance to work with him on a music video he shot for my latest album, and got to see just what a meticulous worker he is.No wonder his sounds are so precise and pristine.
Of course, I had to include some Harold Budd. I included a selection off of his album the Serpent (In Quicksilver) because I remember hearing an interview with him in which he claimed that it was his favorite record that he’d made. A major loss for the ambient music world, losing one of the original masters to this damned virus.
And lastly, the original tracks are two previously unreleased compositions. I started messing around with more tape loops in my studio this winter, and really decided to dive into it, which is how “The Same River” originated. The closing track is actually from a much larger piece I have coming out in the Fall. “A Certain Kind of Light” is a 40-minute piece in five movements. It was an experiment to see just how far I could go using only a single chord. The incredibly talented Olivia Springer performed all of the string parts for that piece. I’ve included the final movement of that piece to close out this mix as its debut.
Endless thanks to Joseph for having me back for another Soundwave mix. It’s been a pleasure to follow along and hear what everyone is listening to these days!
Today’s guest deejay is Sofia Nystrand, AKA Vargkvint.
For months, Sofia’s music kept appearing on my Spotify Discover Weekly playlists. If I didn’t find Sofia’s music there, she’d pop up on someone else’s playlist. Or I’d find her music on Bandcamp. In fact, Brueder Selke (CEEYS), played Sofia’s “Utåt” on their mix for Soundwave a few weeks ago.
There’s a reason for this, of course. Sofia has that magical ability to trasnport you to a world that is uniquely hers yet utterly familiar though her songs. Sofia deftly weaves folk, contemporary classical, pop, experimental music, and ambient. It’s a gorgeous thing to experience and I’m delighted to share her mix with you on today’s show.
If you’d like to hear more music from Sofia, she is featured on the Realismo Mágico compilation album from piano and coffee records. Some of the artists you’ll find on Sofia’s mix can also be found on the album (Klangriket, Sjors Mans, Jakob Lindhagen, Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres, Simeon Walker, Ceeys). Sofia has also just released a rework of the first track, “Pomegranate,” by Sergio Diaz de Rojas.
Sofia has some words about her mix below.
Before I get out of Dodge, I’m happy to report that this weekend I briefly had my wife and kids in the same house. It was short lived, though. My wife headed back to work Sunday evening, and the kids will be visiting their dad next week. But after months and months of being apart, it was a small blessing.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Jonathan Ammons.
See you then!
Sofia Nyland, AKA Vargkvint
When I was working on this mixtape, I wanted it to be centered around collaboration and how music can change when being transformed by another person’s creativity. I’ve just released a rework album where people have reimagined my songs from the album Hav (I have two of them included in the mixtape), and it made me inspired to find other remixes or reworks to include. One of my favorite songs of this year is the rework that Alexandra Hamilton-Ayes have made of Frances Shelley’s ”Evening Star”. Apart from the amazing reworks, I have included a few newly released songs, and a couple of my personal favorites from artists who I really admire.
