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.
Today’s guest deejay is Michael Jakucs, AKA Sunwarper.
After hearing Michael’s music in both Brian Sangmeister and Forest Robots’s mixes for Soundwave, I invited Michael to share a mix. Based on Michael’s music, I knew we were in good hands. But I did not anticipate the surprising directions he took his mix and yet felt utterly familiar.
Let me explain.
The focus of Soundwave is ambient, classical, experimental, and instrumental music, with an emphasis on the ambient. And that’s fine. I’m all about that ambient life. But for me, it’s always a delight when a guest shares a mix that leans into the show’s classical, experimental, and instrumental aspects. Christian Sager’s doom metal/math rock/hip hop mix comes to mind. As does Charles Hazlewood’s mimimalist/modern classical/free jazz mix.
What makes today’s show special, for me, is that it’s very much steeped in shoegaze and dream pop. So while I only know several of the artists in Michael’s mix, I already feel well acquainted with the music I’m unfamiliar with. It’s very déjà vu. I keep asking myself, “Isn’t this a 4AD release?”
Michael Jakucs, AKA Sunwarper
Michael just released a track composed for the season finale of the webcomic The Eagle and the Snake called “Forever Becoming.” He also has a full-length album, Radiant Visage, that will be released on October 14 and available for pre-order on September 9.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be n5MD founder Mike Cadoo.
Today’s guest deejay is Matt Donatelli, AKA Survey Channel.
I met through Francisco Dominguez. After Francisco shared his fantastic mix earlier this year, I asked him who he thought would want guest deejay on Soundwave. Francisco recommended Matt, and after doing a deep dive on Matt’s music, I wholeheartedly agreed.
If you love today’s mix, and you will, then you’ll be happy to know that Matt spins on CAMP Radio. His show is called Aural Dogma. Tune in!
Matt has some words about his mix below.
I am increasingly grateful for Soundwave. I initially launched the show to help cope with the stress and isolation of the first months of the quarantine lockdown. I told myself that I would wrap the show up once the pandemic was reasonably under control: Soundwave would have severed its purpose. But the pandemic is not done with us. Over the last few months, I’ve seen more and more people who are frayed and exhausted. I’m a bit worn out myself, and Soundwave continues offering respite and delight. I hope you feel the same.
The Metallic Ratio by Eva Kierten
Before I go, I want to let you know that Other Forms of Consecrated Life (listen to their mix for Soundwave here) just released Eva Kierten’s new album, The Metallic Ratio. Kierten continues to gently plumb emotional depths.
Lately, I’ve been seeking out a variety of cleansing soundwaves in countless flavors. From the oddly contemporary sounds of “early” electronic group Syrinx, the the folksy-pivot of ex-Sneaker Pimps vocalist Kelli Ali, to the wonderfully weird Iasos. I find myself constantly visiting old favorites, as well. This mix is a snapshot in time of the tunes that spoke to me; working through me as I built it. I’ve added a few minor soundbytes to a couple of the tracks — I find the mixes with a personal touch that can tell a story to be the most successful.
Overall, I hope this mix acts as an inspiration for listeners to continue to seek out music in any genre; there is always something waiting to be heard.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A year ago, I was rooting around my bins of CDs, gathering music I wanted to use in a future mix on Soundwave. There was a herculean amount of labor finding those CDs. It meant going into the garage, pulling out 75-100 lbs bins of CDs, and sorting through every CD to find what I needed. I have literally put sweat into this mix.
The mix features songs I’ve played many years ago when I deejayed at WMFO. From there I’d segue from one cluster of songs to the next. I know from experience that these songs slot together like sonic LEGOS. Okay, maybe not the most elegant analogy, but you get the idea.
These songs mean things to me.
Take Coil, for example. When Love’s Secret Domain was released, my fellow deejays at WMFO loved the album. I didn’t get it. But I had spent money on the CD, so I gave the album a few listens. And after a while, I came to see the genius in that album and became a fan of Coil.
I discovered C-Schulz on the Extreme Records’ X-X Section compilation album in the stacks of new CDs in the main studio at WMFO. I’d play “Fir” on repeat on my Discman and lose myself in itself Bladerunnerish beauty.
Z’EV, rest in peace. He left us five years ago, and we’ll not see his like again. I have RE/SEARCH to thank for turning me onto Z’EV and his percussive explorations of sound.
I’m a fan of Justin Broadrick and Kevin Martin. When they collaborated on Techno Animal, it was everything I had hoped for. “The Dream Forger” has particular significance to me for getting me through one long, heartbroken night. Listen to Justin’s mix for Soundwave here.
My buddy Steven Howard introduced me to Mono Pause and many other great bands from the fantastic America The Beautiful compilation album from RRRecords. Listen to Steven’s mix four Soundwave here.
Steven “Jesse” Bernstein was another WMFO find. There are many fantastic tracks from his Prison album, “More Noise Please” is the one that gets me all blubbery contemplating alienation in what sometimes seems like a madhouse of a world.
The Anti Group’s “A.A.A.A. (Accelerated Audio Alpha Activity)” from the Total – Volume One compilation album never fails to creep me out even after all these decades.
:Zoviet*France: is much loved, and “Voice Print Identification” is perhaps the song I love most from their wonderful and extensive catalog. I encourage you to listen to Zoviet’s A Duck in a Tree show.
Pornosect also appeared on Total – Volume One album, and like “A.A.A.A. (Accelerated Audio Alpha Activity)”; I still find “Media Termination” just as unsettling after all this time.
I hope you enjoy today’s show.
I discovered that when my CDs were in storage, nearly all the songs featured in today’s mix are no longer published. They’re rare gems.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Naneum.
Yann guest deejayed on Soundwave last year, and it’s a delight to have him back on the show. And it’s not just because his mix is utterly fantastic, but because today’s show reminds me that I’ve known Yann since 2009 when I showcased his label, Dragon’s Eye Recordings, on solipsistic NATION.
Not that I know Yann besides what I see him post on social media. But when I launched Soundwave, I reached out to many people through solipsistic NATION, and Yann was one of them. I like his label, and I respect Yann’s thoughts about music. The mix he shared on Soundwave was beautiful and unexpected. Today’s show is no less lovely and surprising.
So, no, I don’t really know Yann. But it’s good to know people are creating, releasing, and sharing music because it needs to be heard.
Yann Novak
Yann included “A Trembling of Light” in his mix, which is from his recently released album, Reflections of a Gathering Storm. It sets the tone for today’s show. If you like it, you might consider giving his album a listen, maybe even spend a few bucks on it. Maybe play it loud enough that the neighbors can hear it, like I did.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Ishmael Cormack.
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.
We have Robert Farrugia from Complex Holiday to thank for James’s mix. I asked Robert who he knew who he thought would share a mix on Soundwave, and he recommended James. Oh, listen to Robert’s mix for Soundwave here.
James’s mix explores a lot of terrain and includes a song he recorded under the name A Lily that’s beautiful. There’s also a track in James’s mix that is almost too painful to listen to. You’ll know when you hear it.
I know you’ll love today’s show. If you’d like to hear more music from James, you’ll be delighted to learn that he has new music coming out soon on the Bytes label.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Raziel Panic.
