SOUNDWAVE : 135 : AMBIENTBLOG

Today’s guest deejay is Peter van Cooten, host of Ambientblog and DreamScenes on Concertzender.

I met Peter through Harrold Roeland and I invited Peter to guest deejay on the show (listen to his mix here). I did not anticipate that a mix from Peter would be something of an event. Peter’s mixes are more like epic tone poems that contain both the cosmic and the mundane in one listening experience.

 

Cloudwatching Sequence
Cloudwatching Sequence

Furthermore, Peter meticulously crafts his mixes. Peter might use a passage once from a song or as a leitmotif. His mixes are dense and multilayered. Peter’s skill is that despite the complexity of his mixes, they are seamless and fluid. You don’t need to know the immense effort that produced the mix you are listening to appreciate its beauty and artistry.

Because Peter mixes feel like an event, it felt appropriate to release today’s show for Halloween as we celebrate the darker half of the year.

Peter has some words about his mix below.

Join us next week when out guest deejay will be Mike Lazarev.

See you then.

 

Cloudwatching
Cloudwatching

Most (if not all) previous Ambientblog mixes always had some dark moments; they are never “just” relaxing. You can only feel release if you also feel tension.

This time, I wanted to avoid the darkness and create a “lighter mood mix.” Not of the “Ibiza Chillout Lounge” kind, but one that can be played in the background and is still exciting enough to listen to. I hope I succeeded, but of course, you’re the one to decide about that!

 

With two hours, Cloudwatching is longer than usual. Only a few tracks are included in their full length, but most are heavily edited or even just short fragments. Also, they are often overlayed, so you’ll hear the music in a different context. The extensive playlist below may help you track down the original in their full-length versions.

I hope you’ll enjoy watching these -imaginary- clouds!

Cloudwatching Playlist (includes start length, artist title, album title, year, and label).

  1. Francisco López “Untitled #373”
  2. Lawrence English “Pre-Approach”
  3. William Basinski & Janek Schaefer “. . . on reflection (four)”
  4. Arve Henriksen & Eivind Aarset & Jan Bang “The Swans Bend Their Necks Backward To See God”
  5. Masayoshi Fujita “Harp”
  6. Mombi Yuleman “Mental Telepathy”
  7. ASMUS TIETCHENS “Paralelle Ebene 1”
  8. Abul Mogard “Like Water”
  9. KEDA “La Lune De Corée”
  10. Tapani Rinne & Teho Majamäki “Reflection”
  11. Radboud Mens “Convolution”
  12. Alex Haas & Michel Banabila “The Woods (ft. Bill Laswell)”
  13. Imperial Valley “Fields North Of Kane Spring, Oct 8, 1938”
  14. James Murray “Clearings”
  15. Raum “Daughter”
  16. Tierro Cosmico “Eres Nocturna”
  17. Emmanuel Holterbach “Rivage (Shore)”
  18. Holland Patent Public Library “a road I’ve passed but never taken”
  19. Thomas Ragsdale & Richard Arnold “The View”
  20. David Cordero & Kenji Kihara “Grazalema”
  21. Abul Mogard “The Rain Has Gone”
  22. Robyn Miller “Gateroom”
  23. From The Mouth of the Sun “Paint & Stories”
  24. Olga Wojciechowska “Recreating Worlds”
  25. Biosphere “Aura In The Kitchen With The Candlesticks”
  26. Jolanda Moletta “Spell II: Daydream And Nightbloom”
  27. Budhaditya Chattopadhay “Dhvani”
  28. Cell “Geiger”
  29. Clarice Jensen “Fear”
  30. Erik Wøllo “Peace Bells”
  31. Tarotplane “Auximenes”
  32. NORMAN W. LONG “Return & Recovery”
  33. Marine Eyes & Antarctic Wastelands “Enshrouded”
  34. Ryoji Ikeda “Data.Tron (2007-14)”
  35. Masayoshi Fujita “Pons”
  36. Tetsuroh Konishi “Kevaan Aania”
  37. Madeleine Cocolas “Presence”
  38. PINKCOURTESYPHONE “Comfortable Predictability”
  39. Clarice Jensen “Love”
  40. Radboud Mens “Modular”
  41. Arve Henriksen “The Farmers Of Sonic Alchemy”
  42. Daigo Hanada “Kage”
  43. Ivan Cebrian | Victor Cerdan “Snow in silence”
  44. Robert Rich and Luca Formentini “First Day”
  45. Sofie Birch & Antonina Nowacka “Outro”
  46. Sven Laux & Fione “Stay”
  47. loscil “Dub For Cascadia”
  48. Powlos & Holt “Our Shimmering Breath”
  49. Anne Chris Bakker “Johan (In Memoriam)”
  50. Glåsbird “Sirsa”
  51. Trio Ramberget “D Minor Postlude”
  52. Galya Bisengalieva “The Crash”
  53. Madeleine Cocolas “Enfold”

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SOUNDWAVE : 126 : MIKE CADOO

Today’s guest deejay is Mike Cadoo, the founder of n5MD, a much loved and respected independent record label based out of Oakland, California. n5MD focuses on ambient, modern composition, post-rock, and experimental electronic music.

As a long-time fan of n5MD, I showcased Mike’s label on solipsistic NATION, my electronic music show, years ago. Mike guest deejayed on Soundwave in 2021 and returns today with a much-needed mix for me.

I can’t go into the details, but last week I nearly died. You’d never know it by looking at me. Physically I’m fine. But I’m shaken. I find that I quickly get emotional about things. Sometimes I have a profound respect for life, all lives. Sometimes I’m filled with existential despair. I’m told this will pass in a few months. In the meantime, I’m having these overwhelming experiences.

Mike doesn’t know this, but his mix helped get me through the week.

Mike has some words about today’s mix below.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Giulio Aldinucci.

See you then.

My song, “Sunrise at Ironhorse Trail,” included in today’s mix, is from a release that I will be releasing on my personal Bandcamp page on World Alzheimer’s Day. My father passed this January in what can best be described as complications due to mixed dementia. All proceeds will be donated to Hope Hospice, which was very integral in the comfort of my father in the last days of his life, as well as, and maybe even more importantly, my mother’s grief counseling after his passing.

  1. Jon Hopkins & 7RAYS “Ascending, Dawn Sky”
  2. Billow Observatory “Wash Away The Dust”
  3. awakened souls “No Other Place”
  4. Jason van Wyk “Surface Drones”
  5. OKADA “Annihilation”
  6. KMRU “Und”
  7. Mike Cadoo “Sunrise at Ironhorse Trail”
  8. Chris Child & Micah Frank “VarnAw”
  9. SVLBRD “The Vault”
  10. Haunted Ghost “Lost Footage”
  11. Gridlock “Under [Beat Mix] (unreleased)”
  12. Rinnovare feat. Benoit Pioulard “The Be in the Grey is Okay”
  13. Ex Confusion “When I Think of You”
  14. Brambles “Such Owls As You”
  15. Last Days “All the Lighthouses”
  16. Jan Wagner “Kapitel 28”

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SOUNDWAVE : 115 : YANN NOVAK

Today’s guest deejay is Yann Novak.

Yann guest deejayed on Soundwave last year, and it’s a delight to have him back on the show. And it’s not just because his mix is utterly fantastic, but because today’s show reminds me that I’ve known Yann since 2009 when I showcased his label, Dragon’s Eye Recordings, on solipsistic NATION.

Not that I know Yann besides what I see him post on social media. But when I launched Soundwave, I reached out to many people through solipsistic NATION, and Yann was one of them. I like his label, and I respect Yann’s thoughts about music. The mix he shared on Soundwave was beautiful and unexpected. Today’s show is no less lovely and surprising.

So, no, I don’t really know Yann. But it’s good to know people are creating, releasing, and sharing music because it needs to be heard.

 

Yann Novak
Yann Novak

Yann included “A Trembling of Light” in his mix, which is from his recently released album, Reflections of a Gathering Storm. It sets the tone for today’s show. If you like it, you might consider giving his album a listen, maybe even spend a few bucks on it. Maybe play it loud enough that the neighbors can hear it, like I did.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Ishmael Cormack.

See you then.

  1. Yann Novak “A Trembling of Light”
  2. Robert Takahashi Crouch “An Emotional Rescue”
  3. Laraaji, Carlos Niño & Superposition “Infinite Sun (Instrumental)”
  4. Rafael Anton Irisarri “Vanishing Points”
  5. Leo Wolf “You Appear in Dreams”
  6. BJ Nilsen “Black Light”
  7. Ben Frost “Theory Of Machines”
  8. Aho Ssan “Blind Power (ft. The Mensah Imaginary Band)”
  9. Joel St. Julien “La Grande Finale”
  10. ROSALÍA “I See A Darkness (feat. Raül Refree)”

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SOUNDWAVE : 110 : JAKOB LINDHAGEN

Today’s guest deejay is Jakob Lindhagen.

Sofia Nystrand introduced me to several fantastic musicians after sharing her Vargkvint mix on Soundwave (you can listen to it here). Jakob was one of those musicians, and after I listened to some of his releases, I invited him to guest deejay.

Jakob is an award-winning film composer based in Stockholm, Sweden. His most recent soundtrack is Ziba, a movie about an Afghan woman living in Sweden, struggling with the realisation that she has developed romantic feelings for another woman, and the consequences that will have for her marriage and family. Jakob’s soundtrack for Ziba will be released Thursday, May 12. You can listen to a single from the soundtrack here. It’s a beautiful, moving piece.

Speaking of soundtracks, I listened to Jakob’s mix while playing the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game on Roll20. It lent atmosphere to the game and heightened the experience.

Jakob has some words about his mix below.

Before I leave you, Soundwave guest deejay Alex Haas has released his new album, STRING OF PIECES. His album has become part of my mourning routine as I start my workday. Listen to Alex’s mix for Soundwave here.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Andrew Tasslemyer.

 

Jakob Lindhagen
Jakob Lindhagen

I’ve always found the duo constellation very interesting, as it’s so intimate. Whereas the solo work is the reflection of one vision, and a band can be everything from a fair democracy to a dictatorship, the duo is such a fascinating reflection of two combined minds, often resulting in a synergy effect. The mix contains some of the most inspiring duos I know (of), as well as a couple of examples where I myself have felt elevated by my collaborator.

  1. Aaron Martin & Dag Rosenqvist “Opening”
  2. CEEYS_Brueder Selke “Hiddensee”
  3. Jakob Lindhagen & Dag Rosenqvist “Östersjön”
  4. Hoshiko Yamane & Mikael Lind “Beyond The Hidden”
  5. AVAWAVES “Waves”
  6. Kinbrae “The River Awakens”
  7. Hydras Dream “The Little Match Girl”
  8. Jakob Lindhagen & Vargkvint “Bäckahäst”
  9. Ben Frost & Daníel Bjarnason “Simulacra II”
  10. Klangriket and Sjors Mans “Prinsengracht”
  11. Olec Mün and Michael Sarian “Manaas”
  12. John Hayes & Maxy Dutcher “Arrival”

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SOUNDWAVE : 77 : GERT DE MEESTER

Today’s guest deejay is Gert De Meester.

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
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.

See you then!

  1. Taylor Dupree “Everything’s Gone Grey”
  2. Neuro… No Neuro “Blend With Internal Mirror”
  3. Loscil “First Narrows”
  4. Biosphere “Endurium”
  5. For Greater Good “Love You Terrorist (Stockholm Syndrome Mix by Distant Fires Burning)”
  6. Boards Of Canada “XYZ (Peel Session)”
  7. He Can Jog “My (Mother’s) Records”
  8. Umlaut “Audio(bulbs)”
  9. Jon Doe One “Karper”
  10. Autistici “Edall”
  11. Distant Fires Burning & Seigo Aoyama “Or The Horror Of It Now”
  12. Ashtoreth & Stratosphere “The Burning Spirit”
  13. Dadavistic Orchestra “Strung Valve Checkout”
  14. Oubys “ToweringWindTowering”
  15. Roel Funcken “Graydon Margolis AMB”
  16. Sonmi451 “Hippocampus”
  17. Darren McClure “Time Takes It’s Course”

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SOUNDWAVE : 74 : ANTHÈNE

Today’s guest deejay is Bradley Sean Alexander Deschamps, AKA Anthéne, curator of Polar Seas Recordings.

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.

 

Sean Alexander Deschamps, AKA Anthéne
Sean Alexander Deschamps, AKA Anthéne

  1. Mary Lattimore “Sometimes He’s In My Dreams”
  2. Drape “Solo In High Dreary”
  3. Sylvain Chauveau “Et peu à peu les flots respiraient comme on pleure”
  4. Keeley Forsyth “Photograph”
  5. Sarah Neufeld “Stories”
  6. Gia Margaret “No Sleep No Dream”
  7. Yasmin Williams “Juvenescence”
  8. Havenaire “Beta”
  9. Mount Eerie & Julie Doiron “Real Lost Wisdom”
  10. Leo Svirsky “River Without Banks”
  11. Slow Reels “Lakka”

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SOUNDWAVE : 68 : ORPHAX

Today’s guest deejay is Sietse van Erve, AKA Orphax.

I discovered Sietse on Bandcamp and, through him, his music label, Moving Furniture Records. Both Sietse’s music the artists on his label focus on drones, experimental ambient, minimalist, microtonal, and field-recordings music. Their music provides yet another example of the scope of ambient music, which is precisely why I invited Sietse to join us on today’s show.

Sietse’s mix continues his fascination who those areas of ambient music. What struck me about his mix, however, was the physical sensations it invoked. I wasn’t aware of it at first, but after repeated listening, I gradually became conscious of a gentle pulse in my ears while Sietse’s mix played over my headphones. That realization was delicious. And when I played Sietse’s mix through my speakers, I slowly noticed a delicate pressure ebbing and flowing through my body.

Furthermore, what was also remarkable was that I wasn’t playing Sietse’s mix particularly loud. Even so, I felt the music. I hope you have the same experience when you listen to today’s show.

Sietse has some words about his mix below.

 

The Universal by The Penitential Station
The Universal by The Penitential Station

Before I go, I want to alert you that one of my favorite music labels, Other Forms Of Consecrated Life (listen to their mix for Soundwave here), will be releasing a new album by The Penitential Station: The Universal by The Penitential Station. Like the album before it, The Cloud of Forgetting, The Penitential Station continues to delve into the music of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. The liner notes to The Universalexplains that the “interleaving of polyphonic voices explores German mystic Eckhart von Hochheim’s pantheistic notion of a ‘Universal Soul.’” That’s a philosophically heady description of The Penitential Station’s music. Mine is much simpler: it is an extended moment of grace.

Join us next week when our guest deejays will be Kévin Séry, AKA From Overseas.

See you then!

 

Sieste van Erve, AKA Orphax
Sieste van Erve, AKA Orphax

When I am asked to make a mix, I always think about what to do. First of all, I am not a DJ. I’m a musician with a record label. And additionally, should I go for some music of the musicians on my label, should I go for some of my favorite tunes, or should I do a mix of both?

Lately, I turn more to the first, as I love the music these people do, and I think they deserve to be heard. And even with a catalogue of over 90 releases, this is a rather difficult task, especially when limited to only 60 minutes.

For this mix, I first selected from 20 of the albums that we’re released on Moving Furniture Records, followed by trying out a combination of tracks and, in such a way scrapping nine selected tracks. The mix ended up somewhere between minimalist drones and warm ambient sounds with some weird excursions to more abstract works.

I hope you enjoy listening.

And who knows, maybe next time I will do a mix with some personal (none-Moving Furniture Records releases) music. There is so much lovely work out there.

Cheers,
Sietse

  1. Ryan van Haesendonck “Sur La Plage”
  2. Richard Chartier “Conitinue 4”
  3. Gagi Petrovic “Diligence”
  4. Coen Oscar Polack “आवारा”
  5. Fani Konstantinidou “Winter”
  6. Orphax “Elisabeth (Rework)”
  7. Matthijs Kouw “Remembrance”
  8. Machinefabriek ”Dwaal (Nicola Ratti Version)”
  9. Frans de Waard, Peter Johan Nÿland, Richard Youngs “fpr_vii_fp_edit_(ext)”
  10. Bruno Duplant & Alfredo Costa Monteiro “Soleils Noirs (excerpt)
  11. Haarvöl “Small Scale And Isolated Occurrences (For Eliane)”

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SOUNDWAVE : 53 : AMBIENTBLOG

Today’s guest deejay is Peter van Cooten, host of Ambientblog and DreamScenes on Concertzender.

I ask each guest to deejay who they know who would be interested in participating in the show with a mix. Harrold Roeland, who was a guest deejay on Soundwave back in December, suggested Peter. I’ve known about Ambientblog for years and have listened to many of Peter’s mixes on Mixcloud. I’m thankful that Harrold made the introduction because Peter’s mix is exceptional.

 

Peter’s Soundwave mix.
Peter’s Soundwave mix.

Mix is not the word for what Peter does on today’s show.

It’s more accurate to say that Peter composed a concept album masterfully weaved from a multitude of sampled material. Take a look at the “playlist” below to get an idea of the scope of today’s show. It’s a work of art you get to immerse yourself in for the next hour.

Peter’s mix, like all of his Ambientblog shows, is an experience. Follow Ambientblog on Mixcloud to hear more of his work.

I’ve included an excerpt about today’s show from Peter’s website below.

Today’s show is special because it’s also Soundwave’s one-year anniversary.

I launched Soundwave to help me cope with the stress and isolation of COVID-19.

This close to what we all hope is the finish line of the pandemic its easy to forget that we were all white-knuckling it for the first couple of months. Every day was filled with existential dread. Would this trip to the grocery store kill me or someone I love? It’s exhausting to live that way.

During that time, I could not watch tv or movies or listen to music because they were not speaking to the truth of our new reality. I’d watch a tv show and fret how there was no social distancing and why the cast wasn’t wearing masks. Pop music was particularly difficult to listen to because it was so painfully vapid. How am I supposed to enjoy a love song when I might be a patient or a vector in this pandemic?

The only music that I could tolerate and gave me solace was ambient, classical, experimental, and instrumental music. It was the soundtrack for my stay-at-home lockdown. And if I found some relief with this music, why not share it with others? Any why not ask people I respect to share their mixes?

I’m humbled by everyone’s gift of generosity of time and effort. We’re all going through this together, each in our way. I’m grateful that during this pandemic that each guest deejay lovingly crafted mixes to share with us.

 

My first vaccination shot.
My first vaccination shot.

Today’s show is also special because today, I also got my first shot for the COVID-19 vaccination.

I was shopping for groceries when the Mercy Plaza Pharmacy called me and told me they had extra doses. Could I stop by for a vaccination? Most definitely.

My cilantro stymied the woman who was ringing up my items at the grocery store: were they regular cilantro or organic? She was about to do a price check when I explained that I needed to get the hell out of there to be vaccinated. I didn’t care about the cilantro’s cost; ring me up so I can leave! She understood.

The folks at Mercy Plaza Pharmacy couldn’t be nicer. They’re a family-owned business, and the owner checked up on me after my shot to see how I was feeling. We talked about San Diego, Sacramento, and our kids. This is going to sound weird, but I had such a great time that I can’t wait to go back.

So here we are a year later. We’re almost at the finish line. Hopefully, next year, this will be behind us, and we can all enjoy each other’s company. I’m looking forward to meeting some of you in person. Maybe I’ll even get to meet Peter.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Michał Milczarek.

See you then!

 

Ambientblog album art.
Ambientblog album art.

It’s my honour to open the second year of this series with my contribution. Of course, we can only hope that the series will continue for musical reasons, not because of the pandemic.

Clicking through the list of contributions, you’ll find that most of them are what I call mixtape-style compilations: a head-tail-mix of (full) tracks. Traditionally, my (Ambientblog) mixes are different (which does not mean necessarily ‘better’, by the way) in that they incorporate many sampled parts of tracks (a full-length track is either an exception or a very short track itself), mixed in a layered collage-style. I always try to shuffle the collage’s fragments so that they seem to melt together and thus start telling a different story.

Whether this is successful or not can only be determined by the listener.

This mix is simply named after the podcast Soundwave. It is a happy coincidence that it literally starts with waves—sonically manipulated by Jos Smolders—and ends with the same waves morphing into the sound of a cheering crowd.

Different kinds of soundwaves are all around us, every moment. Sometimes we’re aware; most of the time, we are not. This mix (hopefully) shows that it can be rewarding to take a moment’s rest to really listen and let the sounds affect you.

Thanks to Joseph Aleo for inviting me!

  1. Jos Smolders “Plate 7”
  2. Mia Zabelka & Icostech “The Final Stop”
  3. Robert Scott Thompson “Still The Syllables Of Water Whisper”
  4. Charley van Veldhoven & Túrion “Hemellichaam IV (Henrik Meierkord Recycle)”
  5. FM Einheit & Susie Green “Joyful Pleasure”
  6. Joey Largent “Below Diorite Waters”
  7. Barbara Ellison “De Auflaan de Pussychat”
  8. Jana Winderen “The Listener”
  9. Grace Ferguson “Barnumbirr”
  10. C-drík “An Imaginary Place Inhabited By Those Who Are Asleep”
  11. James Osland & Finn Kelvin “Things That Have Form Will Alway Disappear”
  12. Daniel Thomas Freeman “Crawling Out Of The Void”
  13. William Basinski “For Whom The Bell Tolls”
  14. Morgen Würde “Mittsommer”
  15. Biosphere “Stordjupta”
  16. Randal Collier-Ford “Eyes Of The Temple (feat. Northumbria)”
  17. Merope “Alma”
  18. Space Whisper “Park Date”
  19. Innesti “Dark Describes An Arc”
  20. Joost Lijbaart “Twinkling Night”
  21. Pinkcourtesyphone “Another Interior”
  22. f5point6 “Natural Selection”
  23. Andrew Heath “I Sleep Above The Forest”
  24. Lustmord “Journey Of The Dead Man”
  25. Bow Quintet feat. Aidan Baker “Bryanbaum Variation”
  26. Aase Frejadóttir “Saying It”
  27. James Rushford “Musica Callada, Book I – Angelico”
  28. Nick Luscombe “Tokyo Spring Birdsong”
  29. Akropolis Reed Quintet “Homage to Paradise Valley: I. Ghosts of Black Bottom”
  30. Kate Carr “I Spotted Some Backyard Dancing”
  31. Olivier Alary “Khaltoum”
  32. Kazuya Nagaya “the Book Of Sunken Memory”
  33. Jos Smolders “Plate 5”
  34. A Winged Victory For The Sullen “Every Solstice & Equinox”

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SOUNDWAVE : 51 : RHUCLE

Today’s guest deejay is Rhucle.

Rhucle is yet another amazing talent I discovered on Bandcamp.

Typically I’ll do a deep dive on Spotify to discover musicians who explore ambient, classical, experimental, and instrumental music. The last few months, I’ve been searching for new music on Bandcamp. The original reason was that I know Bandcamp is one of the platforms where musicians and labels can get a more significant percentage of money from sales of songs and albums (nearly all the tracks on today’s show can be purchased on Bandcamp, by the way). While I stream my share of music through Spotify, I still purchase music to support the artists, so I decided that as long as I’m buying music on Bandcamp, I should see what they have to offer.

It’s been a rewarding experience because I’ve spent many hours listening to fantastic music. Bandcamp seems to attract musicians and labels who offer a higher caliber of releases. I don’t know why that is so, but in general, it appears to be true.

As I delved into Bandcamp, I came across Rhucle and his lovely music.

Rhucle’s albums will forever feel like a Sunday winter afternoon walking my dog in Sacramento because that’s how I first experienced his music.

There’s a bike path not far from where I’m living. One Sunday, I took my dog, Blossom, for a walk down the path so we could play ball. I listened to Rhucle’s albums on my phone, and his music became the soundtrack for our stroll. We went through fields, saw ducks and egrets in the stream and turtles sunning themselves. At some point, I stopped being aware of Rhucle’s music, it was simply part of the environment.

Naturally, I invited Rhucle to guest deejay on SOUNDWAVE. It’s beautiful and taps into the same magic I got listening to Rhucle’s album that Sunday spent walking my dog. I hope you’ll have a delightfully similar experience when you listen to it.

Rhucle had a few words about his mix below.

Before I wrap things up, I wanted to share my last weekend with you.

My wife and I met some friends in Napa Valley to celebrate her birthday. We ate some great food and drank some spectacular wine. Everyone was having such a great time. It was undoubtedly due to the wine and the beauty of Napa Valley. I can’t help but think that there was a certain buoyancy because we all know we’re turning the corner on this pandemic.

The last year has been long and hard. Some of us were ill. Some of us lost family and friends to the virus. But we’re close to the end. While we can’t yet congregate and be with our loved ones, that day is near.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Robin Rimbaud AKA Scanner.

See you then!

 

Rhucle
Rhucle

These tracks get close to my feelings recently. When I am tired of my work and any bad news, these sounds help me with my stress. I think that ambient music is more important for people than ever. This mix applies to a contemporary person.

  1. Loris S. Sarid “Orizzontale verticale”
  2. Inner Travels “Sirao”
  3. Chie Otomi “Cardamom”
  4. Gallery Six “Her Gentle Smile”
  5. Kyle Bobby Dunn “Grab (And It’s Lost Legacies)”
  6. Harold Budd “Campanile”
  7. Bålsam “You’ll Be Safe Here (Long Version)”
  8. Rhucle “Gardenia”

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Logo by Rik Oostenbroek

SOUNDWAVE : 43 : STEVE SWARTZ

Today’s guest deejay is Steve Swartz.

Some months ago, Jason Engling was a guest deejay on SOUNDWAVE (you can hear his mix here). After Jason’s show I asked who he thought might be interested in contributing to SOUNDWAVE, and he recommended Steve.

I’ve been a fan of Jason’s music since discovering him through my electronic music show, solipsistic NATION. If Jason recommended Steve, then as far as I was concerned, it was a done deal. I’m not disappointed with Steve’s mix, and neither will you. It’s a thing of beauty. It’s also a perfect way to wind down four years of a corrupt and inept presidency and an attempted coup. Whew!

Steve has some words about his mix below.

I want to note that Steve included a lovely track from Brian Eno. That’s not anything remarkable, given that Eno practically invented the ambient genre. What is impressive is that Eno pitch-shifted his voice, creating a vocoder-like effect. I usually hate that sort of thing, but Eno being Eno, the song gave me goosebumps. And when I looked over Steve’s playlist and saw that the track was by Eno, I thought to m myself, “That makes sense.”I thank Steve for introducing me to an Eno track I had not heard before.

Remote Listening: Rag Dun vs Life Garden
W. David Oliphant’s Remote Listening: Rag Dun vs Life Garden album

Before we get to Steve, I want to share with you the latest release from W. David Oliphant, who guest deejayed on SOUNDWAVE in September. The album is called Remote Listening: Rag Dun vs Life Garden. Oliphant describes remote listening as “the practice of seeking impressions about a distant or unseen target, purportedly ‘sensing’ with the mind.” Like everything else I’ve heard from Oliphant, his music is stepping into someone’s fever dream.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Ishmael Cormack.

See you then!

Steve Swartz
Steve Swartz

I don’t know anyone who escaped the intense gravity of 2020. In addition to a pandemic, this year also saw the unexpected passing of my father. A loss I’m still trying to process. I’ve spent a great deal of time contemplating death, disease, and division over the last several months. Music has always been my primary outlet of expression. As a result, I made a lot of music in 2020. (Four releases!) But as I land on the other side of them, I find myself increasingly feeling lost and out of place. I am often daydreaming about being somewhere else and unreachable. This sense has carried over into my music listening habits as well. I’ve desired quieter sounds that feel less tethered to a place or time. Fewer words. More feeling. To, perhaps, communicate something words cannot yet find. And that is what I have found in these songs over the last several months. To me, each of these pieces feels like rivers that drift or breeze stirring trees in a geography I would prefer to dwell. So I sit in these songs and let them fill my house throughout the days and evenings until, hopefully, I embody the spirit of their imagined origins.

  1. John Carroll Kirby “Canyon (Waiting Alive In A Canyon)”
  2. Brian Eno “And Then So Clear”
  3. 3617 “Orphans of The Sky”
  4. Dedekind Cut “Tahoe”
  5. Warmth “The Creek”
  6. Toshifumi Hinata “Misldsummer Night”
  7. Johnny Nash & Suzanne Kraft “Time, Being”
  8. The Blue Nile “From A Late Night Train”
  9. Gigi Masin “The Word Love (Original Mix)”
  10. Windy & Carl “Forest Trails”
  11. Arve Henriksen “Sorrow and Its Opposite”

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Logo by Rik Oostenbroek