SOUNDWAVE : 92 : IU TAKAHASHI

Today’s guest deejay is Iu Takahashi.

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 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.

Before I go, I also ask that you listen to Genius and Soul, a new show that I launched with Soundwave guest deejays Fitz Gitler and Jason Smith.

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.

See you then.

  1. Grotta Veterano “Bleiweisova Cesta i (as the snow falls)”
  2. Sarah Davachi “Third Hour”
  3. Stijn Hüwels + Tomoyoshi Date Featuring Tadahito Ichinoseki “A Distant Fire, A Distant Cloud (遠き火、遠き雲)”
  4. Masayoshi Fujita “Anakreon”
  5. baechulgi “the breath of the moon”
  6. Satoshi Ashikawa “Still Space”
  7. Emily A. Sprague “Water Memory 1”
  8. Yumiko Morioka “Moon Road”

SOUNDWAVE : 90 : SEAN SLEIGHT

Today’s guest deejay is Sean Sleight.

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
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.

  1. Secret Chiefs 3 “Book T: Exodus”
  2. Sun City Girls “The Shining Path”
  3. Diminished Men “Hoarding Light”
  4. Bo Hansson “Excursion With Complications”
  5. Grumbling Fur “Acid Ali Khan”
  6. Cavern of Anti-Matter “Echolalia”
  7. Brian Eno “Golden Hours”
  8. Daniel Brandt “Chaparral Mesa”
  9. Can “Sing Swan Song”
  10. Thomas Dinger “Fur Mich (Excerpt)”
  11. Neu! “Euphoria”
  12. Sun Ra “Sun Song”
  13. Ulver “Shadows of the Sun”

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SOUNDWAVE : 85 : JOSÉ SOBRANES

Today’s guest deejay is José Sobranes.

I met José through Mauricio Sotelo, AKA Haiteku, who I met through Axel Arturo Barceló, who guest deejayed on Soundwave here and here. Soundwave has been around just long enough that it is beginning to form a rhizome-like network. I like that.

I also like José’s mix. I’m never quite sure where one song ends, and the next begins. The only boundary is the start and end of his mix. It exists in some liminal space that is akin to being awake and being asleep. I’m doing my best to describe José’s mix, but really, you need to let it wash over you and take you where it may.

José is a self-taught composer and recordist based in Mexico. His compositions explore the balance between electronics and environmental sounds, chaining narratives, context, and movement, all based on the felt of direct presence.

He is the current label manager and founder of Nova Fund Recordings an independent label focused on contemporary arts and music. All his productions was released in many countries around the globe for mention some: Whitelabrecs (UK), Faint (ES), Ediciones Éter (CO), Blaq Records (MX), WOS Colectivo (MX), Frente Pulquero (MX), Shimmering Moods Records (NL), USON (ES) and more…

José has some words about his mix below.

Because Soundwave was borne out of the isolation and stress of the pandemic, I feel obligated to mention it on the show. But what is there to say? The pandemic has become part of our lives, and we’ve come to expect the peaks and valleys of infections and deaths. We go about our days trying to maintain some semblance of normality while at the same time incorporating the disruption across the world as part of our new routine. We simultaneously desire to return to our lives before the pandemic while re-evaluating what’s important in our lives and where we want to go next. What will happen?

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

See you then!

 

José Sobranes
José Sobranes

Thanks to Joseph for the invitation, Mauricio Sotelo for trusting in my project, and all my listeners and artists friends who encourage me every day to keep going. Thanks to my girlfriend Brenda for inspiring me every day to keep going ahead on this path.

  1. José Soberanes feat. Kiiote “Fallaos”
  2. Dzyan “Orquídeae”
  3. Alex Bober “Shielded”
  4. Darren McClure “Smooth Manifold”
  5. Francesco Giannico “Litania”
  6. Kate Carr “Under An Ancient Fort”
  7. Machinefabriek “Entrance ”
  8. PCCL + Through “Ehécatl”
  9. William Ryan Fritch “Floats feat. Powerdove”
  10. Booka Shade “Moonstruck”
  11. Brett Nauke “Executable Dreamtime”
  12. Pepo Galán & Lee Yi “Zaragoza Rosa”

SOUNDWAVE : 82 : PCM

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: 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.

See you then.

  1. Fennesz “Liminality”
  2. zakè “Infinite Ocean”
  3. Takehisa Kosugi “Wave Code #E-1”
  4. Nils Frahm “Talisman”
  5. Rafael Anton Irisarri “Empire System”
  6. Coil “Red Birds Will Fly Out Of The East And Destroy Paris In a Night”
  7. Boards Of Canada “Everything You Do Is A Balloon”
  8. loscil “Drained Lake”
  9. Valentino Mora “Morphosa”
  10. John Foxx “Oceanic II”
  11. William Basinski “Melancholia”
  12. Morton Subotnick “Touch. Pt. 1”
  13. Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra “Promises”
  14. Perry Frank “Janas”
  15. Global Communication “9:25”
  16. PCM “Macro”

SOUNDWAVE : 72 : VARGKVINT

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
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.

  • Sergio Diaz De Rojas “Pomegranate”
  • Rockettothesky “Grizzly Man”
  • Tim Linghaus “Love and Dust”
  • Joakim Alfvén “Opinium”
  • Richard Luke “Everything a Reason (Jakob Lindhagen Rework)”
  • Vargkvint “Fyr (Reimagined by Bonander)”
  • Justina Jaruševičiūtė “Prayer”
  • Frances Shelley & Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres “Evening Star (Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres Rework)”
  • Simeon Walker “Drift (Reworked by CEEYS)”
  • Marie Awadis “day 3”
  • Klangriket “Björk (Jakob Lindhagen & Vargkvint Rework)”
  • Bonander“Gone in the Wind”
  • Vargkvint “Stormen Kommer II (Reimagined by Klangriket & Sjors Mans)”
  • Simeon Walker “Compline”
  • Subscribe to SOUNDWAVE on iTunes, Overcast, Castro and Pocketcasts.

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    SOUNDWAVE : 57 : ROEDELIUS

    Today’s guest deejay is Hans-Joachim Roedelius.

    Last month Roedelius’s “Wenn Der Südwind Weht” appeared on my Spotify Discover Weekly playlist. On a lark, I sent Roedelius an email inviting him to guest deejay on Soundwave.

    I didn’t expect a response.

    I’ve been surprised how many people I’ve invited to guest deejay on Soundwave have declined because, despite the pandemic, they are very busy. And that was a good thing to hear in the early days of the pandemic when it felt like the world was grinding to a halt. These people were getting on with their lives, performing and recording music.

     

    Hans-Joachim Roedelius
    Hans-Joachim Roedelius

    Roedelius is a musician and composer and has performed and recorded with kosmische musik bands Kluster, Cluster , and Harmonia and has a long-spanning solo career. The pandemic has not slowed Roedelius down at all. Just last weekend he did a surprise live stream concert , and in May, he’ll release a new album, Weites Land, that he recorded with Alexander Czjzek.

     

    Weites Land
    Weites Land

    Imagine my surprise and delight when he responded and sent me his mix for today’s show!

    You’re in for a treat. Roedelius’s mix spans his career as a musician and includes recordings with Brian Eno, Dieter Moebius, and Nikos Arvanitis.

    Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Daniel Chamberlin.

    See you then!

    1. Roedelius “Verweht”
    2. Eno Moebius Roedelius “The Belldog”
    3. Cluster “Dem Wanderer”
    4. Roedelius “Stridekid”
    5. Roedelius “Poetry”
    6. Roedelius “Five Stations”
    7. Hans Joachim Roedelius “Hoch Zu Ross”
    8. Arvanitis & Roedelius “Lovesong”
    9. Roedelius “Lustwandel”
    10. Harmonia “Monza (Rauf Und Runter)”
    11. Cluster “Sowiesoso”
    12. Roedelius “Leicht gemacht”
    13. Eno Moebius Roedelius “Base Apex”
    14. Roedelius “Toujours”
    15. Roedelius “Die Gunst der Stunde”
    16. Roedelius “Gefällig”

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    SOUNDWAVE : 50 : EMIL ZAPFFE

    Today’s guest deejay is João Guimarães, AKA Emil Zapffe.

    If you’ve been listening to SOUNDWAVE for the last few weeks, then it will come as no surprise that I discovered João on Bandcamp.

    When SOUNDWAVE comes up in conversation with those unfamiliar with ambient music, I sometimes have to explain that not all ambient music is swathes of pretty sounds. Ambient can be haunting and discordant. Or, in João’s case, it’s grand in scope. If you want to experience it yourself, go to João’s Bandcamp page and play any of his songs with the volume cranked to 11. His music will shake your windows and vibrate dishes off your table. You’ve been warned.

    But if you’re expecting that kind of experience on today’s show, then you’ll be just as surprised as I was. João’s mix covers quite the gamut. Yes, there is that big sound, but it’s also delicate, mournful, and lovely. It’s precisely the kind of mix I’d share with people I have to explain the depth and complexity ambient music offers.

    Oh, and I also appreciate that João and I appreciate Peter Wessel Zapffe’s nihilist essay, “The Last Messiah” (listen to an excerpt from the essay on my October 2020 mix). I usually embrace Nietzche’s existential exuberance, but it’s easy to waffle and settle into existential dread, something Zapffe (Peter Wessel, not Emil) explores in his essay. As long as I don’t fall into Emil Cioran’s existential disgust, I guess I’m doing okay.

    João has some words regarding his mix below.

    Before I wrap this up, I feel the need to mention that it was this time last year that California went under lockdown. Like most people, I’ve gotten along with my life. I work from home, I rarely go out, and when I do, I wear a mask even when I don’t need to. Vaccinations for the entire U.S. are just around the corner. But a year ago, we were all white-knuckling it, and every day was filled with angst. I’m relieved that we’re about to turn the corner.

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

    See you then!

     

    João Guimarães, AKA Emil Zapffe
    João Guimarães, AKA Emil Zapffe

    For this mixtape, I tried to make a selection of compositions that touched me this past year and permitted me to escape reality for a while. Our world outside changed, but our inner world changed too, with lots of questions about the nature of existence, the fabric of society, our strengths, and our deepest fears. Through these sounds, I could cope with reality and dream outside its claw, making my mind and spirit expand beyond self-imposed barriers. I hope the listeners can expand their senses and spirits, and for a while, inhabit their inner world, free of any form of limitation or weakness. In times of fear, all we have is our imagination.

    Thanks to Joseph Aleo for this invitation, it’s an honor.

    1. Giulio Aldinucci “Phoenix”
    2. Emil Zapffe “Fragmented Anchors”
    3. SVLBRD “The Void”
    4. Mono Tape “Origin”
    5. Mount Shrine & Alphaxone “The Realms of Madmen”
    6. David Cordero “Tras la tormenta (feat. Carles Guajardo)”

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    SOUNDWAVE : 46 : IVAN SOMOV

    Happy Valentine’s Day!

    Today’s guest deejay is Ivan Somov, AKA Notnotice.

    While I stream music like everyone else, I’m also old fashioned and still purchase songs and albums. Bandcamp is my preferred vendor because they give the music labels and artists a generous share of the money generated from Bandcamp sales.

    I spend an hour at least an hour a week exploring Bandcamp and listened to great music. If I came across someone I thought would be a good fit for SOUNDWAVE, I’d invite them to be a guest deejay. It’s a no-brainer, really, and we’ve heard great mixed from folks such as Tim Six, who runs ΠΑΝΘΕΟΝ Records with his wife, Mila, and Ishmael Cormack . Next week’s show will feature Out of Hell, and in the weeks to come our guest deejays will be Less Bells, Emil Zapffe, and Rhucle.

    Ivan is yet another talented musician I discovered after searching Bandcamp for ambient, classical, experimental, and instrumental music to listen to. These are difficult genres. It’s easy to record music in those genres that are awful, hard to do mediocre, hard still to record something great, and a challenge to create something great. When I find something great, as I said, I am compelled to reach out to the artist and invite them to be a guest deejay on SOUNDWAVE. And that brings us to today’s show, which I’m listening to as I write this.

    Ivan’s mix is going to take you on a journey. To me, that is the point of art. It’s not enough to craft a pretty or catching sound. Evoking emotion is one thing, but if the music can transport you to somewhere else and spur your imagination, that’s magic. And Ivan’s mix is magic and will be your soundscape for today’s sonic safari. The mix is the map. Your destination will be your own for you to discover.

    Quick note: Ivan begins today’s mix with a track from Symphocat, a Russian musician and label owner. Tim Six also featured Symphocat on last week’s show. I’m taking that as a sign that I need to extend an invitation to guest deejay on the show.

    Ivan has some words about Notice that he’d like to share with you below.

    Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Out of Hell.

    See you then!

     

    Ivan Somov, AKA Notnotice
    Ivan Somov, AKA Notnotice

    Notnotice – a project created to implement the ambient and not only the mood of the author. Originally was written only dark ambient, but later decided not limited by the rigid framework, but at the same time, the music has not lost the original dark and cold, Notnotice tries to embody in their tracks the idea of loneliness and alienation.

    1. Symphocat “Svifa I Himininn”
    2. Forest Management “Fill In The Blank”
    3. unknown “Way number 3”
    4. Notnotice “Stockholm Syndrome”
    5. Acronym “Rails”
    6. очень длинный кот “v parallelnih mirah”
    7. Bad Sector & Tommaso Lisa “Untitled”
    8. kmerl “Constellation”
    9. Stanislav Tolkachev “Borderland”
    10. Canadian Rifles “1812”
    11. FH HF “Seconds Remain As Abstract Strokes”
    12. gacha bakradze “Broken Keyboard”
    13. Jeremiah M. Carter & Chelsea Bridges “White Rose Royale”
    14. Appropriate Savagery “Makeup & Ketamine, During a Quiet Evening”
    15. Christian Michael Filardo “Charm Syndicate”
    16. Concrete Fantasies “stealth2 (Agadez Magi)”
    17. Varg2™ “600 Lives To Become Nothing But A Memory (ft. Soho Rezanejad)”
    18. Cio D’Or “Triplet”
    19. EyeScream “(A)(ny)(thing)(ll)”

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    SOUNDWAVE : 42 : MIKE CADOO

    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.

    See you then!

    1. dj healer “Protectionspell”
    2. Stars of the Lid “Mullholland”
    3. Jon Hopkins featuring King Creosote “Immunity”
    4. Neil Cowley & Ben Lukas Boysen “A Grain of Truth”
    5. The Ideal Setback “Whittle”
    6. Black Swan “Slow Oblivion, Part I”
    7. Chronovalve “Something to Hope For”
    8. Holy Fawn “Tethered”
    9. loscil “Neve”
    10. Nils Frahm “A Shine”
    11. ILUITEQ “Moon Disconnected”
    12. KMRU “degree of change”
    13. r beny “Golden Larch Emerging fin Spring”
    14. Julianna Barwick “Same”
    15. KMRU “Whir”
    16. Carlos Ferreira “Epilogue”
    17. Sea Oleena “Portugal (A Lift)”
    18. bvdub “I Would Have Waited”

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

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