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.
I met Bulut well over a decade ago while producing Solipsistic Nation, my electronic music podcast. I was a fan of his New Turkish Beat podcast, and we started an acquaintanceship on Twitter.
I’ve been reflecting on that time for the last few days. It was during Solipsistic Nation that I enjoyed Twitter the most. The network was becoming large enough that I could strike up great conversations and meet interesting people but still small enough that things didn’t get lost in the noise. I still love Twitter, but I admit that the number of genuine interactions I’ve had in the last few years has dwindled.
As I write this, Twitter seems like it might crash and burn. Something will emerge out of the wreckage, but it might not be anything we recognize as Twitter. But maybe that’s okay. Perhaps Twitter has served its purpose. I’m glad I met people like Bulut while it was still vibrant.
Bulut has some words about his mix below.
Join us next weekend when out guest deejay will be Glyn Bush.
See you then.
My idea while recording this podcast was that the listener would pay some attention to the music at the beginning of the podcast. Then they would gradually let the sound disappear into the background after the second half. I call this mix “Relax” because I selected some tracks that I believe are relaxing from the beginning. The podcast gets dreamier toward the second half. The second half is super easy to ignore. I recommend starting with a volume that you consider medium or even louder. The podcast intentionally gets very quiet toward the end, so you may barely hear it. I thought this podcast could provide an hour-long atmosphere where you can ignore the sound towards the end by focusing on reading, studying, or falling asleep.
“Funky Zena” by Mickey Hart
Mickey Heart is the legendary drummer of Grateful Dead. There is definitely magic on this entire album. This is a surprisingly relaxing percussion album that is also good for dancing. I play the hand drums myself and I enjoy the meditational aspect of repetitive beats. There is magic in this track for sure.
“Big Man Cry” by Banco de Gaia
An English electronic musician named TobyMarks. This is one of my favorite tracks by Banco de Gaia.This sound sends your soul to a faraway place.
“Selig Sind, Die Da HierWeinen” by Popol Vuh
Popol Vuh was aGerman musical collective founded by Florian Fricke and FrankFiedler. Some say that Popol Vuh is a Krautrock band. I enjoy their relaxing psychedelic tracks and the good news is that they have a lot of good ones. This is what I call "comfortably numb ":)
“Letting Go of This Radiant Hive” by Vir Unis
Vir Unis is an American New Age Musician. The New Age music radiates positive energy. This track is exactly what we needed in this spot.
“Ancient Anatolia” by DJ.Bulut
The only instrument on this track is my electric guitar. I processed the sound to give this a slow and ambient vibe. There is repetition in this which should help us lose track of time very quickly. I believe that my track sounds relaxing at low volumes. It is a long track. In fact, it turned the volume down on the podcast recording so that the listeners can enjoy it quietly. Too quiet for you at this point? Feel free to turn it up 🙂
I invited Pierre to share a mix on Soundwave after hearing his 2019 album, You Disappeared. Since then, Pierre has released a new album, Sundown. Where You Disappeared felt like the soundtrack to a China Miéville novel, Sundown felt like a Koyaanisqatsisque soundtrack for a doomed planet. The album notes for Sundown tell a tale of desperate conflict in Rome in the year 2062. That works, too. The album drips with foreboding.
Pierre Laplace
The first mix Pierre shared was an unexpected delight. Then I could hear the influences of someone like, say, Ennio Morricone, in his music, Pierre’s mix didn’t convey the feeling of his own music. Pierre’s mix for today’s show is further from his albums. His mix is more unexpected and just as delightful.
Aside from three artists, I’m unfamiliar with the musicians who appear in Pierre’s mix. I’ve gone down the listening rabbit hole on Spotify because all the music in his mix is brilliant. I’m sure you’ll be doing the same.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be KMRU.
Everybody hates Twitter. I understand why. There’s so much vitriol and misinformation. I’ve rarely had those experiences on Twitter. My experiences on Twitter have been good for the most part.
Take today’s show.
Last year Emil Zapffe guest deejayed on the show. He opened his mix with a track from Giulio. I shared the show on Twitter, and Giulio thanked Emil for including him in the mix. I invited Giulio to join us on Soundwave, and here we all are today.
Giulio Aldinucci
Giulio describes his mix as “Altri ambienti: a glimpse at Italian minimalism between the 70s and 80s in five pictures.”
Giulio’s mix is lovely. It’s helped get me through the week. Summer decided to get hot in San Diego. I work from my kitchen table and am blasted by the sun all day. If you had a video camera trained on me, you’d see me moving my laptop around my kitchen table to flee the sun’s light coming from my skylight. But there’s no escaping the heat. I’ve been baking in the sun all week long, which leaves me a little stunned, making me more receptive to Giulio’s mix. Some songs lend themselves to the heat, and I lost myself in their shimmering sound waves. Others felt like a cool draught of air.
You’ll want to hear more music from Giulio. His new album Real will be released on Karlrecords on October 14, available on vinyl, cassette, and digital.
All this from a conversation that started on Twitter.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Stefan Beck.
Alisú included Riz Maslen in her mix for Soundwave last fall, which led to me spending hours re-visiting the music Riz recorded as Neotropic, as well as her work with 4hero and The Future Sound of London. I invited Riz to share a mix with us, and it’s something else.
Riz mix begins with a piece by Freddie Philips, a British composer known for his work on television music, particularly the theme for Camberwick Green. It’s what I imagine a mix from Wes Anderson might sound like, and I would have been completely satisfied if Riz stayed within that genre. But Riz pivots to Egyptian jazz-inspired psychedelic rock, shifts to trip-hop, and never looks back. And yet, Riz’s mix never feels incongruous. Each track seamlessly blends into the next.
You’re in for quite the journey.
Each mix shared on Soundwave is special. When I say that, I’m not equivocating; they are unique. But some resonate with me more than others, and Riz’s mix is one of those mixes. As the pandemic continues to disrupt our lives, I’ve found Riz’s mix to sometimes act as a balm and other times a needed distraction.
I envy you. I wish I could hear Riz’s mix again for the first time.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Robocat.
Today’s guest deejay is Hunter Reyne; AKA felt body.
Hunter is yet another talented musician I discovered through Bandcamp. What appealed to me was Hunter’s deft use of field recording in his music. He creates a very lived-in world and evokes imaginary memories of a time and place I’ve never experienced. It’s lovely. And of course, I invited Hunter to join us on Soundwave.
What’s delightful about Hunter’s mix is while some of the songs reflect his sensibilities, some are entirely unexpected. I’m specifically thinking of his inclusion on Tôsha Suihô’s “時雨のあと(Shigure no Ato)” and an example. It’s those surprises that are one of the reasons I get excited about when I listen to our guest deejay’s mixes, and I hope you’ll feel the same.
Hunter has some words about his mix, which you’ll find below.
Before we get to that, I want to mention that guest deejay and Krautrock legend, Roedelius, has put together an excellent program for the music festival and symposium, More Ohr Less, that will have ended as of the release of today’s show. The event took place in his hometown in Baden, near Vienna. Some of the participants were Anna von Hausswolff, Carl-Michael von Hausswolff , Chandra Shukla, and many more. More Ohr Less will have been live-streamed, and if I know Roedelius, he’ll make the stream available to those who missed it.
The other thing I wanted to mention is that a few weeks ago, I said I would wrap up Soundwave in early 2022. At the time, I felt the pandemic was winding down, and Soundwave will have served its purpose. I hadn’t realized that I was myopic. Yes, things are improving in the U.S., but here are parts of the world that are in a terrible state. I hope I’m not implying that Soundwave is some transcendent force for good. I mean that this little show provides solace or distraction for a brief period during the pandemic, then I will keep releasing shows.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Orphax.
See you then!
Hunter Reyne, AKA felt body
I wanted to capture some of the ideas and inspirations that I’ve been taking from throughout Covid, as well as that latent sense of both anxiety and, in the end, a peacefulness – however, it’s achieved.
Quarantine has had an odd effect on my lifestyle. I find I unable to make broad movements anymore (like taking a trip or even commuting to work). Still, my smaller movements, like simple walks along the river near my house, have become themselves opened-up and, in their way, as expansive as a weekend spent in a different country. I have become so attentive and enamored with the space around me. I have gone crazy, and I speak to it, and it speaks back to me. We are lovers.
In making this mix, I was drawing from Guy Debord’s psychogeographyand also broader atmospheric theories put forward by theorists like Julianne Rebentisch and Tonino Griffero. Walking and movement, and momentum are essential to the worlds within these nine pieces, yet I find each of them incredibly still, meltingly so. This is the paradox at the heart of a psychogeographic outlook. As I move, I become more singular with the landscape around me, more fluent in its languages and behaviors, and poetries. I hope in listening you will find some stillness in movement, too.
Sean is the host of Metal Postcard Records, an independent record label based out of Sydney. I met Sean nearly a decade ago when I interviewed him and showcased his label for solipsistic NATION. He releases great music through Metal Postcard Records, so I invited Sean to be our guest deejay last summer. It was a wonderful mix, so naturally, I asked Sean to delight us with another set.
A casual listen of Sean’s mix will leave you with the impression that it’s wonderful and whimsical. Its certainly that but a closer listen reveals depth and speaks to the human condition. It works on both levels, which is a neat trick. It’s also a bit of an Australia travelogue, so enjoy the ride!
If you want to hear more music from Sean, he also hosts Bottom of the Pops, which you can find on Spotify. It’s the Nuggets of internet radio. Sean also hosts shows on Dandelion Radio, FSK Radio out of Germany, and 8K in New Zealand.
Sean Hocking
Tuesday California officially opened up and eased pandemic restrictions.
I still wear a mask and socially distance in some situations but it’s nice to mingle with people and dine at restaurants. And it’s nice not wearing a mask at the gym, especially when I’m on the stair machine.
I’ll be listening to Sean’s mix on Fathers Day and hopefully hoping to go out for brunch with my family. If you’re a dad or have one, I hope you can do the same.
Today’s mix began when I heard Yorkston, Thorne and Khan’s cover of Dick Gaughan’s “Now Westlin Winds.”
I had never heard of Gaughan, but I wanted to listen to the original song after hearing Yorkston, Thorne and Khan’s cover. I pulled up Genius to follow along with the lyrics, which the trio closes their cover of “Now Westlin Winds.”
Now westlin winds and slaught’ring guns
Bring Autumn’s pleasant weather;
The moorcock springs on whirring wings
Amang the blooming heather;
Now waving grain, wide o’er the plain
Delights the weary farmer;
And the moon shines bright, when I rove at night
To muse upon my charmer
The original song is lovely, but Yorkston finds the poetry in the lyrics, and I admit coming close to tears at times.
Over the week, I came across other songs that seemed to cluster around “Westlin Wind.” They seemed to beg to be a mix, so I present them to you for your listening pleasure.
When I listen to a song, there’s always a part of me thinking how that song would work in a mix. What song would go before it? What would go after it? What would be the shape of the mix?
I can’t turn that part of me off.
Today, on a whim, I listened to my Liked Songs playlists on Spotify while running errands. I dug what I was listening to (I did like the songs, after all). And as is my way, I heard songs in the playlist that just felt right together. It’d be a shame not to share it.
So here it is. I hope you like it.
Oh, and you can also find the playlist for today’s show here on Spotify.
Today’s guest deejay is Julie Carpenter, AKA Less Bells.
Several months ago, I did a deep dive on musicians on Bandcamp who explored ambient, classical, experimental, and instrumental music. Julie explores all those genres, so naturally, I invited her to join us on SOUNDWAVE. I expected to be surprised, but I didn’t expect how surprised by her mix. Dirty Projectors? Buddy Sainte-Marie? Big Star? What the hell?!? I’m not complaining. In fact, I’m delighted!
Speaking of delights, I urge you to go on your music streaming platform of choice and listen to Julie’s music. I’ve been listening to her albums constantly since first discovering her music, and I have a feeling you’ll do the same. Better yet, if you like what you hear, and you will, why not spend a few dollars on some of her songs or her albums. You can thank me later.
Julie will talk about her mix below.
I need to wrap this up because my wife will visit me for the next week and I need to tidy up around the house. The pandemic and work have kept us apart for months at a time. While I’m used to a solitary life, I don’t like being apart from her this long. But I have relapsed into my former bachelor ways and need to get things shipshape before she’s back in town.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Emil Zapffe, AKA João Guimarães.
See you then!
Julie Carpenter, AKA Less Bells
Putting together a coherent playlist makes me feel like I’m having a party and leaving some of my favorite guests standing outside in the cold. I start with way too many ideas and then eliminate the various contestants. This is how I write music, too. It isn’t until I’m done that I can see what I was trying to do. This list revealed itself as a collection of my favorite sound palettes.
I love music that makes me ask, “how on earth did they do that?” The whole Bitte Orca album from Dirty Projectors is a cabinet of wonders, but this is the crowning gem for me. They hung this beautiful melody on reversed swelling strings, and it’s sculptural.
The Clint Heidorn piece that follows has its own kind of dimensionality but pursues it through timbres. The way the sax, strings, guitar, and upright bass move together creates one gorgeous multi-faceted instrument.
Windy & Carl have such a deep body of work, it was hard to choose, but I love the little chimes that litter the winter landscape of “Snow Covers Everything.” Guitar and vocal sounds are their trademark, but it’s the attention to little sonic details that sets them apart.
“Sleep Walk” is a song I’ve loved my whole life because it’s one of those perfect melodies that embodies yearning and satisfaction in the same moment. Also, it’s got the best reverb.
Christina Vantzou’s piece that follows is from a completely different planet, but the dialogue between the elements she’s chosen is so subtle and warm. It’s a piece you can wrap up in.
The Books take us in yet another direction, a frantic scramble of chopped acoustic bits that comes together in an emotionally resonant way.
Buffy Sainte-Marie is a hero of mine in many ways, but I especially love Illuminations for her experimentation with processing. “Poppies” shows off her acrobatic voice in such a chilling atmosphere.
I debated putting “Kanga Roo” on this list as it’s such a well-known song, but it’s got so many elements that draw me in. It’s the ultimate beautiful mess: distortion clashing with strings, dissonance, and melody, timing fluid to the point of falling apart.
I closed out the playlist with “Queen of Crickets” from the most recent Less Bells album Mourning Jewelry because I feel like its one of our most successful experiments with texture. I loved bringing together the sound of a 120-year-old banjo with synthesizers and strings. In the end, it’s all just vibrations and how they move the listener.
