Today’s guest deejay is Mike Cadoo, the founder of n5MD, an independent record label based out of Oakland, California, that focuses on ambient, modern composition, post-rock, and experimental electronic music.
I showcased n5MD on solipsistic NATION some years ago. Let me share what I said about n5MD on that episode of solipsistic NATION, which explains why I invited Mike to be our guest deejay on today’s show.
“What I’ve always found so charming is that the releases on n5MD don’t just provide music that establishes a mood. The releases on n5MD take you on an emotional journey, which I find far more compelling and interesting. Anyone can play a chord in E minor that will evoke an emotional response. Still, it’s much more difficult to build an emotionally complex song and takes you places in your imagination. Let me take that back. There are plenty of people who can do that, there are a just few people who do it well and do it with sincerity, and I think that’s what n5MD is all about.”
Mike’s mix for today’s show captures everything I just said about his label. Mike is going to take you by the hand and gently guide you through an emotional journey.
Mike explained that while waiting for the Near The Parenthesis vinyl to arrive, he made an ambient mix that features no n5MD artists. Mike usually does one of these each year, and I’m thankful he shared it with us.
As I’ve mentioned many times before, I launched SOUNDWAVE to cope with the stress and isolation brought about by COVID-19. I did not expect how much I would need SOUNDWAVE, and Mike’s mix, in particular, to provide the solace I need during our nation’s attempted coup. I suspect I will need it more in the next few weeks, if not the next few months and years.
On that sad note…
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Steve Swartz.
Today’s guest deejay is Fitz Gitler, and he has a beautiful mix to ease us into 2021.
I met Fitz when I asked Jason Randall Smith (listen to Jason’s mix here) who he knew would be interested in sharing a mix on SOUNDWAVE. Jason did not steer me wrong. Fitz is a musician, deejay, and designs sounds for theatrical productions, many of those in collaboration with director Tim Lee. He also creates under the name Techniken Defunkus or Techdef.
I’m particularly fond of this mix because it was the perfect soundtrack for an eight-hour wintery drive to Sacramento last week. Fitz’s mix had my tapping out rhythms on my steering wheel and grooving in my seat. Don’t be lulled by some of the jazz standards because there are plenty of surprises. More than once, I found myself scrambling to purchase albums featured on Fitz’s mix. As I write this I’m listening to Dan Tepfer’s album, Goldberg Variations/Variations, which is a delight.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Pavlo Storonsky AKA Tineidae.
See you then!
Fitz Gitler Photo credit: Cyndi Shattuck
Twenty years ago, I met Jason Randall Smith behind the decks in a tiny bar in New York’s East Village, and music forged our friendship. I’m honored to be in his company and the full cast of mixes that Joseph has artfully assembled.
Jason and I were thrown together by our friend, EL Soundscraper, who I’ve known since junior high, but fortuitously reconnected with because of our shared love of music. Enrique (Soundscraper) called my tracks meditation music—not the sound, but because of how it functioned for me. This mix I created for SOUNDWAVE does that; it’s a sort of spirit guide through the insomniac thoughts of the small hours, and a kind of requiem too. This year has had no shortage of tragedy; there’s enough to go around.
I already loved music in college, but then I met Bill Hileman, aka Ronin Tengu, aka DJ Payce, aka Gandalf Punk. He gave me his world: hip hop, techno, ambient, jungle, acid jazz, funk, plenty of mischief, and more. He passed last month, too young, taken by cancer, not COVID. Bill is with me in every mix, laughing and needling me to keep searching. Too few experienced his true wealth of knowledge and love, but he influenced many, and his spirit lives on in his musical descendants.
It falls somewhere among the worlds of jazz and electronic music, but really it’s a sound design of sorts. I’m still exploring the loose idea “free-format” that I first witnessed in the middle of the night on college radio in the early ‘90s.
Today’s guest deejay is Jonathan Ammons, a journalist, radio producer, and musician living in Asheville, North Carolina. You can find his music on Bandcamp and listen to his radio show from WPVM and Pacifica Radio Network at the Dirty Spoon.
Jonathan is yet another amazing person I was introduced to through my old friend, Steve Howard (listen to Steven’s SOUNDWAVE mix here). Meeting Jonathan is one of the unexpected pleasures in the evolution of SOUNDWAVE.
I launched SOUNDWAVE to help cope with the stress of the pandemic. In the first few months of COVID-19 it seemed that stepping outside your house might kill you. If that wasn’t terrifying enough, my family was scattered about the country so for a long time it was just me and my dog. That took a toll on me and my usual distractions, music, reading and television, could not hold my interest at all. In fact, they annoyed me or angered me. The only thing that provided any comfort was ambient, classical, experimental and instrumental music. I reasoned that if that music was giving me solace it might help others as well so I launched SOUNDWAVE. Very soon afterwards I decided to invite the talented people I know who might enjoy or, more importantly, need to share a mix of their own. And that very quickly led to asking my friends who they knew personally who might want to participate in the show. That decision introduced me to such wonderful people as Adrian Utley, Hannah Peel, Charles Hazlewood and Jonathan.
I don’t really know Jonathan, though. We’ve just had a few email exchanges arranging today’s show but through his mix I feel I know him more intimately than I might know him through a dozen conversations. That’s all projection, of course, but that is the power of music. It bypasses the rational and hits on emotional truths, which is why I launched SOUNDWAVE in the first place.
Back in 2016 there were a series of forest fires that broke out throughout Western North Carolina, surrounding my home in Asheville. The air was thick with smoke, and a perpetual haze fell over everything. It just so happened that it fell right on the heels of a devastating national election, and for a moment, it truly felt like the whole world was on fire.
I had just started spending time with a very lovely lady, and I asked her one night if she’d like to go watch the mountains burn.So I threw some camping chairs in the truck, grabbed a camera and a bottle of Champagne, and we headed out to the center of the fires.
There’s a strange feeling when you sit and watch your home burn to the ground. Halloween orange glowing from every hilltop, brick red clouds in the night sky. Knowing that everything would grow back eventually, but that the sights you grew up seeing would be permanently scarred. The world would be better, maybe even healthier than it was before, but it would take a lot of ash and rubble to get there.
I started making my first ambient LP — First Sight — during those fires. At the time, my office was on my screened in porch, and I could sit while I composed and watch ash fall from the sky. I like to think that much of my approach to the way I currently make music came from that experience.
I remember calling a friend one day, and saying, “you know how I’ve been complaining a lot about that knot in my stomach that wouldn’t go away? I think I finally figured out what that is. I think it’s despair. I just think it’s the first time I’ve ever felt it. Ithink I just didn’t realize it because it doesn’t feels as hopeless as I would have thought.”
From that point on, I was able to see the fragile, delicate things that fall apart, and not feel the overwhelming sense of loss I had initially felt. Instead, I understood it to be a burning of the dross, a disposal of things that were unnecessary. When a fire burns, after all, it makes way for far better things than grew there before. Sometimes you just have to let it burn.
I like to think of this mix as songs from the fire. Pieces of music that are as devastating as they are restorative. A little hazy, a little bleary, but beautiful in their own right. There are three original compositions in the mix, the first and last are from an as of yet unreleased record (this is actually their debut). The other, “Open Eyes”, is from my new album First Sight. The rest of the mix runs a gamut between crumbling organic sounds and stark synthesis. Ian William Craig actually wrote his new and beautiful record while also being surrounded by forest fires, Goldmund delivers gorgeous ambient versions of old Civil War era songs, and Oliver Patrice Weder delivers the most thoughtful, pensive piano performance… music to watch the world end. My favorite kind.
On today’s SOUNDWAVE our guest deejay is Hannah Peel! I’ll tell you why I am so excited to have her on today’s show shortly.
I just got back from traveling to Chicago for a vacation. I love that city and each time I go to there the more I want to move there. Granted, we went there just before fall, which is the best time to visit Chicago. It was neither hot and humid or wet and frigid.
I got to spend time with my brother and sister-in-law, run to the lakeshore and watch the sunrise, and bike around the city but overall it was an eating vacation. I live near Los Angeles so my expectations for superior restaurants is high. Chicago surpasses those expectations. You simply can’t get a bad meal in that city. The restaurant that served the best meals was The Purple Pig but our favorite dining experience was Podhalanka. We met Greg, the owner, who made us feel welcome and ordered our meals for us and each dish was delicious. Greg clearly loves what he does and he cares deeply that you are well fed.
But I’m not here to talk about what I did on my vacation. I’m here to tell you that I’m grateful that I was able to spend time with family and friends. I hadn’t realized how much I needed a vacation until we landed in O’Hare. Usually it takes me a day or two to unwind but I instantly relaxed the moment we arrived. And I’m also grateful for our vacation because it gave me some time to process a lot of my thoughts and feelings regarding COVID-19 and how to lead my life going forward. I’m not going to go into the details here but what I will share with you is that COVID-19 has brought into sharp relief that our time on this planet is short and we could leave it at any moment. The last few months I’ve met many people who have I opened up and shared their deepest thoughts with me. And why not? Now’s the time to do it. And like a lot of people, I’ve been reevaluating my life and what I want to do with it during the time I have remaining. Despite the anxiety of COVID-19 I’m also excited about the possibilities that lie before all of us.
I began SOUNDWAVE to help cope with the stress of the pandemic but over the last half year my relationship to COVID-19 has changed dramatically. I hope it has for you as well. Carpe diem.
Let’s get to today’s show, shall we?
As I mentioned above, our guest deejay is Hannah Peel.
Until a few weeks ago I wasn’t familiar with Hannah and had only become acquainted with her when I asked SOUNDWAVE guest deejay, Charles Hazlewood, who he knew personally that might be interested in sharing a mix on the show. Charles put me in contact with Portishead’s Adrian Utley and Hannah Peel. Adrian’s mix was lovely and Hannah’s mix is no less so.
On today’s show Hannah will take you to some very surprising places and she begins her mix with a track from Joni Mitchel. So unexpected! You’re in her capable hands so enjoy the journey. I know you’re going to love today’s show.
As I said, I was unfamiliar with Hannah but I’ve been getting up to speed. And you should, too, because Hannah’s music is also unexpected. Her songs can be delicate and achingly familiar. She’’ll paint impressionistic music with swathes of sound but will also delight you with covers of pop songs from the ‘80s performed on music boxes. I catch myself singing Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” constantly thanks to Hannah.
Join us again next week when our guest deejay will be Jonathan Ammons.
Protests blazed across the US, sparked by the killing of George Floyd, from the kindling of over 150 years of police brutality, systemic racism and hundreds of years of slavery. I watched police cars run into protesters. I watched police officers beat and shoot peaceful protesters. I watched protesters raze property, sometimes from their own communities. I’ve even watched a man armed with a bow with an arrow notched aiming it at protesters who quickly took him down.
It is nauseating.
It makes me ill that it’s come to this. I want to hope that out of all this anger, suffering and pain that some good will come of it. But I don’t think my country is ready to have an honest conversation about race that might lead to the healing that this nation so desperately needs.
I’m fried. Once again this show is a balm and a welcome distraction, brief as it is.
Our guest deejay on today’s SOUNDWAVE is Planet Boelex.
I met Planet Boelex through Travis Nobles of hiddenplace music. He suggested that I feature one of Planet Boelex’s live sets on solipsistic NATION, the electronic music show I produced. Planet Boelex’s sound music is impressive because aside from being beautiful it was also distinct. His personality is imprinted onto his music. Electronic music often sound anonymous because some musicians use stock sounds and loops. When you hear a song by Planet Boelex you know it.
I hope today’s show gives you some respite.
Next week’s guest deejay is Dronny Darko. I hope were all in a better place by then.
I’ll leave you with two quotes.
“I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.”
— James Baldwin
“One is responsible to life. It is the small beacon in that terrifying darkness from which we come and to which we return. One must negotiate this passage as nobly as possible, for the sake of those who are coming after us.”
I’ve expanded the scope of SOUNDWAVE by inviting musicians, deejays, podcasters, etc to contribute mixes to the show. I’ve been overwhelmed with their generosity and support.
Last Sunday’s show featured our first guest deejay, Sean Horton, who provided a gorgeous mix of music. All week long people have shared with me how much it meant to them. On today’s show we’ll hear another mix of music no less beautiful than Sean’s, this time from my old and dear friend, Steven Howard.
I met Steven last century one day while I was wrapping up my show at WMFO. He was their be trained by one of our staff but for whatever reasons that deejay failed to show up. I gave Steven a 15 minute crash course on how to operate our board, wished him well, and ran off to work.
Steven and I became fast friends and he introduced me to so much music. Over the decades I’ve watched Steven meet the girlfriend he would later marry, become a proud father of two boys, move from Boston to Asheville and help launch two radio stations. You can catch his show, Mental Notes, on AshevilleFM.
Steven was one of the first people I asked to participate in SOUNDWAVE. You will, of course, love his mix but what I think you will really enjoy is the field recordings he weaved into the music. It’s a reminder of the world that’s out there waiting for us when it’s safer to leave our homes.
Before I let Steven talk about today’s show I implore you to purchase any of the songs you hear on today’s mix or any mix you hear on SOUNDWAVE. The artists are pouring their hearts into each track. Your purchases of songs or albums not only helps them continue working on their craft but also puts food on their tables or pays for the roof over their heads.
I knew I had some field recordings on my phone. My intention was always to use them somehow. As I started going through files of artists in my digital library, I dropped tracks into a folder for your project. It was easy to pick the tracks I wanted. I only picked 9 between A-O in my experimental section of my digital library. I then sequenced those into an order roughly resembling a fantasy walk in nature.
Often when I would drive to work in South Boston at 4 am, I’d listen to ambient music like Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works Vol II. I always loved how the city looked with the backdrop of dark ambient playing. When I moved to Western North Carolina I would take drives into the mountains or onto the parkway sometimes alone. Ambient worked well there, too.
Being in many different time slots on the radio has moved me further away from experimental sounds over the past handful of years. I have always felt that way about experimental radio. Sometimes I’ve felt like I’ve made all the segues I needed to make. Then you come along and ask me to do a short 30 minute project. I realize if I’m to make a piece, it has to include some original work.
In the layering of these pieces as I sequenced them, I imagined walking in some unknown place, as if superimposed on a green screen and looking down a crater at pulsing orb embedded in a forest. While it looked ominous there was no danger. I passed along wind whipped water of a mountain lake and looked up and saw the late morning sky and heard a plane’s echo of the mountainside. Behind some five miles back, that orb has flown off. I hear it and look.
My heart is exhilarated. I feel good. I’m nearer my goal with the others at camp. The stars are coming up and it’s been a long day. It’s time to feed.
Steven Howard “Field Recording: crows in trees before sunrise (Three Lakes, Wisconsin – July 7, 2019)”
I’m going to keep the introduction to today’s show short because I only have a little time to record this before we head out to see The LEGO Batman Movie at the nearby park. The kids and I have already seen it but my girl hasn’t. She’s not the comic book nerd that I am but she likes those kinds things well enough and indulges me in my nerdy. We’re also going to meet up with my new friend Blanca, and her family. So let’s get to today’s show before I have to leave.
Hello, I’m Joseph Aleo and welcome to the Weekly Mix!
What is the Weekly Mix? It’s a show that features seven tracks from the last week that I’ve posted to Facebook and Twitter for my #songoftheday series. The songs are old and new, but with an emphasis on the new and are from many different genres. What unites all the tracks you’ll hear on today’s show and every show going forward is that they are fantastic and deserved to be heard.
The mixes often won’t be seamless and smooth because that’s not what I’m going for on this show. Again, I’m just delivering a week’s worth of the songs of the day in one place. That pains me as a deejay because as a deejay I’m all about the segue, but so be it.
The Weekly Mix will also include an introduction from the featured band or musician whenever possible. For example, on today’s show, you’ll hear from Preacher vs Choir and HypeMan Sage.
I only have a couple introductions on today’s episode because the Weekly Mix doesn’t have an audience yet, so if you like what you hear, please feel free to introduce your friends to the Weekly Mix. The more people who listen, the more talent I can get to participate on future shows.
Another reason should you listen to the Weekly Mix is because I’ve been a deejay and podcast producer for nearly 30 years. I have great taste in music and I want to share that music with you. Some of the music you’ll hear might not be your cup of tea but I think you’ll recognize that it’s good stuff. The music that is your cup of tea I hope will become your new favorite song. In fact, if you hear a song on today’s show that you like, I encourage you to go out and buy it to help support the artist.
The album art for each Weekly Mix features an illustration by the wonderful Geneva B. My girlfriend discovered Geneva on Instagram and I quickly became a fan. When I decided to launch the Weekly Mix I immediately contacted her for permission to use one of her illustrations for the show. You can find her on Instagram or find her online at her website . I hope to talk with Geneva on the Weekly Mix in the near future.
