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
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
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!
Like so many of the guest deejays on Soundwave, Serge was highly recommended by a previous guest deejay. In this case, it was Gert De Meester (listen to his mixes here and here). As always, I listened to Serge’s music, loved what I heard and invited him to guest deejay on Soundwave.
I usually listen to Serge’s mix during the day while I’m working. Why not listen to gorgeous music while I’m being productive? But Serge’s mix comes alive in the night. If you’re lucky, a foggy night. Serge’s mix casts everything in mysterious shadows. Serge’s mix includes songs that sound as if they came from an Excursions in Ambience album; why there’s even a track that features Higher Intelligence Agency! Other tracks lean into trip-hop, not to mention the unexpected byways Serge takes us on in his mix.
Serge has some words about his mix below.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Dan Handrabur.
See you then.
Serge Timmers
Nachtraaf is a Flemish expression for someone who is most active at night. Most of the tracks on this album were made at night, as I almost always do. The track “Zenenacht” in this mix comes from this album. It’s old-Dutch for “Eternal Night.”
Planet Psyche comes from lighter times and features the track “Cosmonaut.”
In the mix, I’ve compiled some tracks from friends (Ashtoreth, Stratosphere, and Distant Fires Burning) along with the most important influences in my journey in slow and emotional music.
I met Hessel through Soundwave guest deejay Harrold Roeland (listen to Harrold’s mix here and here). I asked Harrold who he thought would share a mix on Soundwave, and he recommended Hessel. I would have extended an invitation to Hessel based solely on Harrold’s word. However, listening to Hessel’s albums on his Bandcamp page merely confirmed Harrold’s regard for Hessel’s music.
Hessel is a musician, composer, and producer. In the 60s, Hessel’s fascination with electronic audio devices, in combination with a preference for writing and performing extremely idiosyncratic music, created a wide range of experimental electro-acoustic music, sound-poetry, and contemporary music radio productions.
Hessel ran a private cassette label Exart from 1982 to 1995 and released work under various pseudonyms such as Y Create, Forbidden Photographs, and Gorgonzola Legs. More recently, he has released Ymuiden, EPoX with Martijn Comes, and has a track featured in the Daredevil Meditations compilation album.
Hessel has some words about his mix below.
Join us next weekend when our guest deejay will be Survey Channel.
Musician, composer, and publisher Peter Rehberg unexpectedly passed away at 53 on 22 July 2021. Peter Rehberg was born in the UK in 1968 and returned to his family roots in Austria after growing up in Hertfordshire. He subsequently became a crucial figure in the world of contemporary electronic ‘underground’ music after making his debut in 1995. He achieved this mainly through the Viennese label Mego, renamed Editions Mego in 2005. Rehberg made his debut as Pita on the Mego label with the 12-inch Fridge, a collaboration with General Magic. A year later, his debut album Seven Tons For Free was released. The Mego label, especially after Rehberg took over as curator, grew into an influential label for new developments in electro-acoustic music. Mego became the catalyst for the musical adventures of artists such as Christian Fennesz, Jim O’Rourke, Stephen O’Malley, Russell Haswell, and Florian Hecker. Later, under Editions Mego, the label regularly released leading works by artists such as Oneohtrix Point Never, Kevin Drumm, Bruce Gilbert, Mark Fell, Oren Ambarchi, Bill Orcutt, and Emeralds. Peter Rehberg also continued to compose, produce and publish his music, often in collaboration with others. The collaboration with Stephen O’Malley under the name KTL resulted in several albums, of which KTL’s ‘VII’ from 2020 is the most recent.
Rafael Anton Irisarri “Mellified”, Peripeteia Label: DAIS. (2020)
Irisarri’s album Peripeteia fuses drone, electronic and ambient music. His immersive compositions are visual, panoramic, and cinematic as sceneries and films inspire them. Some of his music would suit artistic sci-fi or horror movies. Irisarri’s newest album, Peripeteia is based on a sudden change of circumstances in his life.
Eli Keszler “The Basement”, The Scary Of Sixty-First (OST) Label: Deeper Into Movies Records. (2021)
For the past five years, the London / NYC film collective Deeper Into Movies has been screening essential contemporary cinema, overlooked gems, and rarely seen documentaries in reparatory cinema and DIY spaces. In December 2021, they launched the new label Deeper Into Movies Records, which promises to continue Deeper’s mission into sonic form by releasing recent scores from emerging filmmakers and lost or rereleased soundtracks. This first release from the new label is Eli Keszler’s score for Dasha Nekrasova’s notorious award-winning debut feature film The Scary of Sixty-First.
Dale Cooper Quartet & The Dictaphones “Huis Chevêchette”, Astrild Astrild Label: Denovali. (2017)
The characteristics of Astrild Astrild are classic drone soundscapes mixed with deep tone saxophone parts that became Dale Cooper Quartet’s trademark since the release of their debut album in 2006. Slowly paced, the new tracks follow the Quartet’s basic structure and classical sound. The new full-length conceals more live takes, including guitars, bass, and Rhodes keys. With these new elements, the songs of Astrild Astrild are pushed further into a large tunnel of deafening rhythmic parts and field ambient textures.
Claire Rousay “Peak Chroma”, A Softer Focus Label: American Dream Records. (2021)
A Softer Focus, released on American Dreams Records, is a leap towards a neatly holistic perspective of music-making. American percussionist and sound artist Claire Rousay is an archaeologist. She digs and sifts. Different layers overlap different substrates of meaning, emotion, and compositional complexity. Dirt gets in the way, requiring a gentle brushing aside to unveil whatever unstable nugget lies beneath. “Peak Chroma” is one of the two non-instrumental tracks on the record. With its collage feel, it generates beauty in buzz.
Cortini is best known as a longtime member of Nine Inch Nails. While NIN keeps him busy, he has also developed a reputation for collaborating with luminaries from the dimmer worlds of ambient, drone, and noise. The album Scuro Chiaro centers on one specific instrument, created by Cortini himself: the Strega. It is a semi-modular synth and effects box. With bass, percussive treble, and a flute-like whisper, Nessuno is one of Scuro Chiaro’s highlights. Cortini integrated his favorite features from various cult-legendary modular systems into one small unit. He uploaded his musical consciousness into this machine and subjugated it to his will.
Loscil “Orta”, Clara Label: Kranky. (2021)
On the album, Clara composer Scott Morgan takes the source material and breaks it down to its most basic essences. With this foundation, he paints deep colored sound-beds. Morgan uses a three-minute composition performed by a 22-piece string orchestra in Budapest for this album.
The final piece mixes Sanctuary, Hessel Veldman, and Andy Stott.
Composer Jose A. Parody says: “In my mind, ‘In Absolute’ is a very visual piece. Much like a close-up shot in a film, slowly zooming out to reveal an intricate scene, ‘In Absolute’ embodies the same feeling. A simple idea ever-expanding. Without the brilliant string and woodwind ensembles we recorded in Iceland last summer, it would not have been possible.”
Ymuiden is an experimental audio sound map of IJmuiden (1876), Noord-Holland, The Netherlands; a city where Hessel grew up and still lives today. A place that has seen much happen has seen many changes, a place of hard labor and knows a short raw history. The album, comprised of seven experimental dark ambient soundscapes, is laced with industrial elements, creating a hypnotic, dark undercurrent of sound.
Andy Stott “How It Was”, Faith In Strangers Label: Modern Love. (2014)
Faith In Strangers may be body music (in the broadest sense); it invariably favors the dripping, pulpy atmosphere over the vestigial pulse of Stott’s earlier work. “How It Was” exemplifies this approach: though a small army of drums gallops beneath the surface, we only hear the rattling of the metal wall they seem to be running into. Subdued pads carry the melody, and while they’re quieter than the stomping rhythms, they have the power to dominate the mix, smothering us with sweetness. I’m glad we published this on Production because it revealed some problems that were not apparent tint he developer device emulator.
Today’s guest deejay is Ilya Fursov, AKA Textere Oris.
Ilya is yet another guest deejay that comes to us by way of the Cryo Chamber music label. I’m sometimes reluctant to feature musicians from Cryo Chamber because I showcase artists from their roster a lot. But that’s because the label’s releases are so good that why would I not invite them on Soundwave?
I was introduced to Ilya after listening to Reflections at the Sea, an album he released with Vladislav Sikach, AKA SiJ. Like most albums on Cryo Chamber, I was immersed in the world they unfolded through their music. I often listen to music while working or doing chores, but I often found myself pausing what I was doing as I got lost in Reflections. Ilya’s mix for today’s show is equally mysterious and magical.
Ilya Fursov, AKA Textere Oris
Here in the States, we celebrated Thanksgiving. As I write this, I’m in Boston. This is the first time my father, uncle, brother, and sister have been under the same roof in decades. It wasn’t without family drama, but I suspect that’s part of the Thanksgiving tradition. I also got to spend time with some of my oldest and dearest friends.
I admit to being reluctant to travel to Boston. Mingling with people at the airport and flying with more people in a metal tube with people for five hours was unsettling. I certainly don’t want to catch the virus, and I wouldn’t want to pass the virus on to my family. My father and uncle are in their seventies, and I’m all too aware that my time with them shortens each year.
Like most people, I was able to put the pandemic out of my mind for a while and enjoy myself. But the Coronavirus is not done with us, and now we have to Omicron variant to contend with. Soundwave is my way of coping with the pandemic, and each time I think the show has served its purpose, there is yet another reason to continue sharing mixes with you. And here we are.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Dead Melodies.
