I was introduced to Hekla through the kind folks at Phantom Limb (listen to their mix for Soundwave here). Hekla is known for her explorations into the depths of sound, blending influences from her Icelandic roots with experimental electronic sounds. Her album, Á, was breath taking, as is her more recent album, Xiuxiuejar, both of which I encourage you to experience.
Hekla
In her mix for Soundwave, Hekla takes us on a journey through the themes of nature, spirituality, and human connection. Her selection of songs includes works by the Estonian composer Veljo Tormis, whose choral music draws on ancient folk traditions, as well as Ghédalia Tazartés’ haunting “Un amour si grand Qu’il Nie Son Objet” and Meredith Monk’s playful “Cow Song.” Hekla also includes a selection from the French composer Olivier Messiaen’s “O Sacrum Convivium,” which explores the theme of spiritual communion.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Jonas Munk.
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.
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.
Jon last guest deejayed on Soundwave a year ago. Since then, he’s released a new album entitled Autumn, and it just reached #7 on the NACC Chill charts.
I just wrapped up 45 minutes of playing Halo: Reach, and I’m playing Autumn to chill out and get me in the headspace to write today’s show notes. I’m a New Englander, and Autumn is chock full of songs titled with cities in Massachusetts, such as Boston, Salem, and Swampscott, so I’m already inclined to like this album. That I love the album is a forgone conclusion because Jon’s music never fails to evoke delicate emotions and memories intimately. But it’s also transporting me to various times spent walking along the Charles River in early fall as a young man. It’s been a magical evening revisiting those memories.
Thanks, Jon.
Jono Solo, AKA Naneum
Jon does us the favor by opening today’s show with a track from Autum. Go to Jon’s Bandcamp page if you’d like to hear more of this music. Maybe send a few dollars and pick up a few songs or albums while you’re there.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Steve Swartz.
I know Raziel from way back. We’re talking about the days when people would send cassette singles to radio stations for airplay. My memory is hazy, but I think I was aware that Raziel was part of the Boston music scene with his band You Shriek in the late 80s. Crazy.
When I say know, I mean more win the sense I knew of Raziel. The circles we traveled overlapped. I even had You Shriek perform on my show on WMFO. But we never really knew each other.
But thanks to social media, I get glimpses into Raziel’s life through his Instagram account, usually in beautiful black and white photos.
I extended Raziel an invitation to guest deejay on Soundwave and I was curious what I’d hear. Raziel is know for goth and industrial music, but that of course doesn’t encompass all the music he listens enjoys. It’s no incongruous that his mix ranges from Arvo Pärt to Einstürzende Neubauten to Kitaro. Marvelous stuff. But still a surprise.
Raziel Panic
The You Shriek track Raziel included in his mix was never released on digital. Contact me if you’d like a download Raziel’s track.
Raziel has a digital release in the wings, and I’ll let you know when it’s available.
I still don’t know Raziel, but I hope to hang out with him next time I’m on the East Coast.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Yann Novak.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Today’s guest deejays are Potsdam-based Brueder Selke, brothers Sebastian and Daniel Selke (CEEYS).
Over the years, I’ve gotten quite good at jotting down notes on how I meet people. But sometimes, I forget to capture that information, and in this case, I don’t recall how I met Sebastian and Daniel. If I had to guess, I believe I discovered them while perusing Bandcamp for new music.
CEEYS’s albums explore and combine experimental, minimalist, avant-garde, pop, jazz, ambient, and classical chamber music. I love all that stuff, and Sebastian and Daniel distill all those forms of music into a heady listening experience, something you can lose yourself in. I’ve had “Yes, Brick By Brick” on repeat for few hours, for example.
Their mix for today’s show was a surprise. I trusted they would craft a mix worth hearing, and while it captures their musical sensibilities, it also subverted my expectations. And the mix is dense. In the space of 40+ minutes, you’re going to hear music from 28 different artists.
Sebastian and Daniel have some words about their mix below.
Paleowolf’s Cenozoic album
Before I wrap things up, I want to mention that Paleowolf has released a new album, Cenozoic. Paleowolf continues to create music inspired by totems of prehistoric animals and describes Cenozoic as the spiritual successor to Megafauna Rituals. It’s impressive how much material Paleowolf has churned up within his self-created genre. Listen to the Soundwave Paleomix here.
Joins us next week when our guest deejay will be Roel Funcken.
See you then!
Brueder Selke (CEEYS)
For us, two brothers coming from beyond the Iron Curtain, the Wall, with a strikingly serene sense of modesty and humility, rooted in the daily improvisation to manage and resolve shortcomings during Communist-era GDR times and the later reunion of Germany, the most intrinsic part of being a musician is the encounter with like-minded friends and fellows.
The aim of this handpicked list of talent is to blend established and emerging artists from diverse genres and origins. Some even shared already the stage with us while others are invited to come over to our little filmtown Potsdam, in the future.
Thanks to Joseph, who gave us the opportunity to curate this cozy playlist.
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
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
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.
