Tag: background music

SOUNDWAVE : 140 : BENOÎT PIOULARD

Today’s guest deejay is Thomas Meluch, AKA Benoît Pioulard.

Thomas’s music kept popping up on Soundwave mixes. It wasn’t until I asked Andrew Tasselmyer whom he knew, who might share a mix on the show, and he said Thomas that I understood the universe was trying to send me a message: get Thomas on Soundwave. At least, that’s how I interpret it.

Oh, and listen to Andrew’s mix here.

 

Thomas Meluch, AKA Benoît Pioulard
Thomas Meluch, AKA Benoît Pioulard

Thomas’s music is warm and intimate. I’m listening to the Communiqué album he recorded with Jogging House as I write this, and it’s perfect listening for a crisp winter night. I was curious to hear who’d include in his mix. When I saw Jason Corder’s offthesky project in his playlist, I knew I was in good hands. Whereas Thomas’s music is warm fire to rub your hands to, his mix feels like stepping out to a bracing day with magical side quests. Again, my subjective interpretation.

I’m glad I listened to the universe.

Speaking of Thomas’s music, he has a new vocal album called Eidetic coming out on Morr Music in March 2023. He also has a Bandcamp subscription with lots of exclusive music, and it is constantly evolving.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Ian Wellman.

See you then.

  1. Clever Austin “A11”
  2. zaké & T.R. Jordan “Shoreline”
  3. marine eyes “cedarwood”
  4. SYMBOL “Hyperballad”
  5. Freescha “Kid Brother”
  6. Jogging House “Renewal”
  7. Offthesky & The Humble Bee “We Were The Hum of Dreams”
  8. Otto A. Totland “Grow”
  9. Raum “Walk Together”
  10. Henrik Lindstrand “Syrsor”

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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Logo by Rik Oostenbroek

SOUNDWAVE : 118 : STEVE SWARTZ

Today’s guest deejay is Steve Swartz.

I met Steve through Jason Engling, who guest deejayed on Soundwave a couple of years ago. Steve shared a magical mix that I have listened to many times. Today’s show is no less resplendent in its emotions and sounds. It’s a journey.

Earlier this week, I was telling a friend about Soundwave and Steve’s mix. I explained that because Soundwave was created to help me cope with stress and isolation during the first few months of the pandemic, it is a touchstone to those fearful and uncertain times. For me, Soundwave has become a weekly meditative act of reflecting on those early days and the impact of the pandemic on nearly everything in our lives. While I go back to that emotional space weekly, my thoughts and feelings about those times have changed.

As I write this, it is a beautiful day in San Diego, and I can see the ocean from where I sit. I’ve seen this view many times, and while the view is the same, I’m not the person I was at the beginning of this pandemic. I’ve changed. We’ve all changed. I find myself asking who this person is I’ve become and what will I do? Where do I go from here? Steve’s mix provides the soundtrack for the journey.

Steve has some words about his mix below.

Join us again next week when our guest deejay will be Robert Farrugia, co-founder of Complex Holiday.

See you then.

 

Steve Swartz
Steve Swartz

I often feel misplaced. Out of tune with much of the goings on of the world around me. As a result, sound and nature have always been a source of refuge. As a child raised around fields and Great Lakes, I’m always drawn to music and sound that drifts, billows or breathes. And so it is with this mix of music. It’s intended as a reflection of my lack of place but also my sense of solitude, refuge and wonder. For me, these are the underscores of moments of abandon out on the road or a morning walk in my neighborhood. Moments of solitude where my mind surveys the landscape of hardships and joys. Spaces where my thoughts drift to someone I deeply miss. Or during the exhale at the end of a long day. To me, these pieces of music are boundless and internal. Drifting like a breeze or a trace of a memory. Something otherworldly but familiar. Nostalgic and grateful. The spirit of a land but not a place.

  1. William Tyler “Slow Night’s Static”
  2. Suso Saiz “Healthy Digestion”
  3. Bremer McCoy “Mit Hjerte”
  4. Hara Noda “Night Swimmer”
  5. Kenji Kihara “Flowering Quince”
  6. Björn Meyer “Provenance”
  7. Ólafur Arnalds & Nils Frahm “20:17”
  8. Carrie Carlton Quartet “City Morning Views”
  9. Benoit Pioulard “Stone In Focus”
  10. zakè “Night Shineth As The Day”
  11. Philip Wilkerson “The Edge of Being”
  12. Bark Psychosis “Pendulum Man”

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

Logo by Rik Oostenbroek

SOUNDWAVE : 83 : WIFE SIGNS

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
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.

See you then!

  1. Klara Lewis “Seascape”
  2. More Eaze “Leave”
  3. Offthesky & The Humble Bee “Fallen Fruit to Navigate By”
  4. Wife Signs “Burning Off the Nuance”
  5. Austin Rockman “Kissed By Her Witness”
  6. Vanessa Amara “Manos”
  7. Lusine ”Without Standing”
  8. Wife Signs “Small Art and Love”
  9. Listening Mirror “Outside Heaven”
  10. Tom James Scott “Green Wren”

SOUNDWAVE : 69 : FROM OVERSEAS

This week’s deejay is Kévin Séry, AKA From Overseas. Kévin is also the label manager for Past Inside the Present, a label, and resource for the ambient listener.

From Overseas is Kévin’s ambient project. Using his guitar as his tool of expression and looping techniques, he creates a multiplicity of layers, intense drones, and mesmerizing soundscapes both in the studio and in live performances.

Originally from the tiny French Overseas Department and Region, Reunion Island, he routinely bounces between his home island, a small port town on the east coast of the US, and continental Europe, picking up fresh ideas and inspiration along the way.

Kévin’s mix is very familiar, even though I’m unfamiliar with every song and musician featured in his mix. There’s something about Kévin’s mix that evokes the sound and feel of 4AD, a label that was known for alternative rock, post-punk, gothic rock, and dream pop albums. But if I had to narrow it down, I’d say that Kévin captures the spirit of 4AD’s This Mortal Coil. There’s something haunted in the selection of his songs but still quietly triumphant.

Kévin has some words below about his mix.

Join us next week when our guest deejays will be brothers Sebastian and Daniel Selke of CEEYS.

 

Kévin Séry, AKA From Overseas
Kévin Séry, AKA From Overseas

It’s an honor to be part of the Soundwave series. I love doing mixes like this. It’s a great way to go on a unique journey and to immerse yourself in the work of amazing and influential artists. This mix was made on February 23rd, 2021, when winter was slowly giving space to spring. Hopefully, people feel what I feel and can discover a few gems.

  1. 36 & awakened souls “Guide Me Home (awakened souls – Shoegaze Version) ”
  2. Lucy Gooch “Ash and Orange”
  3. Emily A. Sprague “Woven”
  4. Chuck Johnson “Raz-de-Marée”
  5. Illuvia Iridescence”
  6. Ilyas Ahmed & Jefre Cantu-Ledesma “Ocean Blue”
  7. From Overseas “Rêve”
  8. Christina Giannone “Untitled111”
  9. Alex Somers “Sooner”
  10. Mogwai “Dry Fantasy”

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

Logo by Rik Oostenbroek