field recordings – Page 3

July 18, 2021July 18, 2021

SOUNDWAVE : 68 : ORPHAX

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 — *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!

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.

Cheers,
Sietse

Ryan van Haesendonck “Sur La Plage”
Richard Chartier “Conitinue 4”
Gagi Petrovic “Diligence”
Coen Oscar Polack “आवारा”
Fani Konstantinidou “Winter”
Orphax “Elisabeth (Rework)”
Matthijs Kouw “Remembrance”
Machinefabriek ”Dwaal (Nicola Ratti Version)”
Frans de Waard, Peter Johan Nÿland, Richard Youngs “fpr_vii_fp_edit_(ext)”
Bruno Duplant & Alfredo Costa Monteiro “Soleils Noirs (excerpt)
Haarvöl “Small Scale And Isolated Occurrences (For Eliane)”

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Logo by Rik Oostenbroek

June 13, 2021June 25, 2021

SOUNDWAVE : 63 : PIERRE LAPLACE

Today’s guest deejay is Pierre Laplace.

I discovered Pierre while listening to his 2019 album, You Disappeared, recorded under the monicker Beyond the Ghost. You Disappeared felt like a soundtrack to a China Miéville novel. In fact, Miéville’s definition of weird fiction perfectly describes Pierre’s music; it “evokes a sense of the numinous.” His follow-up albums, Eternal Drift and his recently released The Last Resort continue to induce feelings of mystery and awe.

Inviting Pierre to be a guest deejay on Soundwave was a no-brainer. I was surprised, however, to hear his selections for today’s show.

When I extend invitations for guest deejays to participate in the show, I allow them latitude to explore the format of ambient, classical, experimental and instrumental music. Some of the guest deejays will play tracks of their own music, and that’s perfectly fine, but what I’m hoping for is a mix of songs from other musicians they love.

I expected Pierre’s mix to feature songs that are much like his own in feeling and tone. I was delighted to find his mix explored a different sonic landscape.

To begin with, he opens his mix with a track from Deru. I knew immediately that Pierre had something unusual in store for us. I’ve been a fan of Deru for over a decade (hear my interview with Deru and his live set for solipsistic NATION), so I was eager to go whatever journey Pierre was going to take me on.

There are many twists and turns.

Pierre’s inclusion of Morphine caught me by surprise but in context completely makes sense. Brian Eno and David Byrne’s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts is one of my favorite albums, and I was thrilled to hear a track from it included in Pierre’s mix. The appearance of Ennio Morricone was also a welcome surprise. I’m also a fan of The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble and The Mount Fuji Doommjazz Corporation and have wondered when someone would play them on Soundwave. The Cinematic Orchestra makes perfect sense within Pierre’s mix, and David Bowie pops up once again on Soundwave, making him the show’s perhaps most featured artist.

Stock up on provisions because Pierre is about to take you on a dark vision quest.

Join us again next week when our guest deejay will be Sean Hocking.

See you then!

Deru “Light The Pyre”
Antonymes “A Fragile Acceptance”
Atrium Carceri “Sheol”
Morphine “Miles Davis’ Funeral”
Brian Eno/David Byrne “A Secret Life”
The Cinematic Orchestra “All Things”
Ennio Morricone “El Castillo Encantado”
Trigg & Gusset “Black Ocean”
The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble “Cotard Delusion”
Deaf Center “White Lake”
Bohren und der Club der Gore “Maximum Black”
The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation “The Admirals Game”
David Bowie “Warszawa”
Esbjörn Svensson Trio “Seven Days of Falling”

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Logo by Rik Oostenbroek

May 9, 2021June 27, 2021

SOUNDWAVE : 58 : COSMIC CHAMBO

Today’s guest deejay is Daniel Chamberlin.

Daniel and I met on Twitter over our shared appreciation of Paleowolf (listen to the Paleowolf mix on Soundwave here). I learned he is the host of Inter-Dimensional Music, a syndicated weekly community radio broadcast of “heavy mellow, kosmische slop, and void contemplation tactics.” After enjoying a couple of his shows, I invited Daniel to guest deejay on Soundwave.

What I love about Daniel’s mix is that his segues are so seamless that I often am unaware that he’s transitioned into another track. Granted, the music featured on Soundwave lends itself to those kinds of segues, but Daniel is particularly deft at it.

The other remarkable thing about Daniel’s mix, for me at least, is that he selected songs that feel very familiar to me. Except that I’ve never heard them before. They feel intimate and worn in.

Finally, Daniel’s mix took me on a sonic and emotional journey. I’d get lost in his mix. When it ended, I was satisfied but would have been just as happy to have it continue indefinitely.

You can find Daniel on Instagram, Mixcloud, Twitter, YouTube, Bandcamp and his blog, Into the Green.

Before I wrap up today’s show notes, there a couple of things I want to mention.

Monday I got my second dose of the Moderna vaccination. I was prepared for the worst: a very sore arm, chills, fevers, body aches, etc. I experienced none of that. I did sleep for over 24 hours, though.

Michael Donaldson was inspired by mix from Krautrock legend Hans-Joachim Roedelius to write a post on Roedelius’s musical career on his blog. It’s a good overview of Roedelius, so please read it if you’d like to learn more about the man.

Back to Beyond and Cycle — *Back to Beyond* and *Cycle*

Guest deejay protoU has released a new album, Back to Beyond with Alphaxone. Listen to protoU’s mix for Soundwave here. Rhucle, who has also guest deejayed on Soundwave, has released his new album, Cycle. Both albums are fantastic and unique to each artist.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Mauricio Sotelo, AKA Haiteku.

See you then!

Here’s an hour of heavy mellow meditation.

Cosmic Chambo presents a heavy mellow ritual soundtrack for meditation, yoga, and other mindfulness practices in the service of transcending false binaries and dismantling white supremacy. Listen for hypnotic choral music, metal-informed jazz drone, heavyweight ambient dub, and organic industrial rhythms.

Wife Signs “Void Contemplation Tactic”
With Great Care “Bloodflow”
Anna von Hausswolff “Dolore di Orsini”
David Hykes and the Harmonic Choir “Solstice Kyrie”
itta “Moonlight”
Kevin Richard Martin “Back to where i belong”
Divide and Dissolve “We Are Really Worried About You”
DEAFKIDS & PETBRICK “O Antropoceno”
Azu Tiwaline “Terremer”
KMRU “behind there”
Ancestral Duo “Trajesty”
Dedekind Cut “The Crossing Guard”
Jamire Williams “God’s Morning Invitation (featuring Chassol & Carlos Niño)”
Path of the Sun “Aquatic Sun”

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

Logo by Rik Oostenbroek