forest – Synecdoche

October 17, 2021October 17, 2021

SOUNDWAVE : 81 : INNER TRAVELS

Today’s guest deejay is Steve Targo, AKA Inner Travels.

I met Steve when Soundwave guest deejay Rhucle (listen to his mix here) who he knew who he knew would share a mix with us. He suggested Steve. After listening to today’s show, you’ll hear why.

It’s a lovely mix, and by coincidence, it paired well with the rare rainy weather we’ve been having in San Diego for the last week. There were times when I wasn’t sure if what I was hearing was the rain outdoors or Steve’s music indoors. It was a magical experience.

If you’d like to hear more music from Steve, be sure to check out his project, Nimbudala. His debut album, Universal Compassion will be released on October 22, and you can pre-order it on Bandcamp as well as listen to a few preview tracks.

Steve says while the album still fits in the New Age ambient realm, it also has more acoustic sounds and influences from kosmiche, rock, jazz, and world music. I’m playing the album as I write this, and it’s wonderful.

Steve has some words about today’s show below.

Before I leave you, I wanted to tell you about a project that I’m launching on January 1, 2022, called Genius and Soul. The show will feature a series of mixes from guest deejays from Jazz and Black Classical Music to today’s scene’s many styles and branches. Our show’s efforts will also include fundraising for the Jazz Foundation of America. Follow us on Twitter for more updates.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be PCM.

See you then!

Here is, I believe, an excellent primer for those interested in exploring the music of Inner Travels—four songs from four albums released between 2016 and 2019. From trance-inducing synthesizer work to an improvisation led by electric piano and singing bowls, the common theme in this mix is rain. I say “mix,” but really, this feels to me like its own album.

Thanks for listening, and Joseph, thanks for asking me to do this!

Peace,
Steve
Inner Travels

Inner Travels “A Gentle Return”
Inner Travels “Between the River, Wind &Trees”
Inner Travels “Pools of Thought”
Inner Travels “Calm After the Storm”

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Logo by Rik Oostenbroek

January 31, 2021June 27, 2021

SOUNDWAVE : 44 : ISHMAEL CORMACK

Today’s guest deejay is Ishmael Cormack.

To date, nearly all the guest deejays on SOUNDWAVE are people I have relationships with or introduced to me through the guest deejays. Ishmael is different.

These days I purchase nearly all my music on Bandcamp. Yes, I said purchase. I’m old fashioned that way. Oh, I do more than my fair share of streaming, but if I find music I genuinely love, I’m happy to spend money on it. Bandcamp is my favorite platform to purchase music because the artists and labels are treated fairly, and they receive a higher percentage of money from sales than most other platforms. So I’m on Bandcamp a lot. And because of SOUNDWAVE, I tend to peruse releases from ambient, classical, experimental, and instrumental musicians.

If you enjoy music from any of those genres, you know from experience that most of it are dreck. The music tends to be bland or outright terrible. It isn’t easy to compose music in those genres that’s engaging and take you on an emotional journey. It’s refreshing to find musicians who do it well, and Ishmael is one of those artists.

I'm not a musician myself, so it’s difficult for me not to fall into clichés to describe Ishmael’s music using words like delicate, pretty, or sonorous. I’m reminded of an interview I once heard with Ben Frost where he complained of this very thing. I believe he said something to the effect that sommeliers have many metaphors to describe wines’ taste, but we lack the same when talking about music.

It’s almost a shame, then, that today’s mix from Ishmael does not feature his music. Almost, because Ishmael has lovingly selected tracks that are, sigh, delicate, pretty, and sonorous, but it’s true. It’s a wonderful mix.

If you enjoy today’s show, and I have no doubt you will, then support the artists by following my example and purchasing their music. And while you’re at it, listen to Ishmael’s releases on Bandcamp, and if you hear something like it, show him your appreciation by spending some money on his music.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Tim Six, founder of ΠΑΝΘΕΟΝ Records.

See you then!

Ishmael Cormack

Andrew Chalk “The Flood”
Taylor Deupree & Marcus Fischer “On Branches”
Richard Ginns “Faded From The Winter”
Tom Scott “Ribbon Glass”
Jens Pauly “Licht”
Cyril Secq “Huitiéme Branche”
Morimoto Naoki “Nod”
Suda Norihito “The Weather Of The Day Was To Calm Almost As If Nothing Had Happened”
Melissa Pons “Screeching Dawn”
Jodi Cave “For Sine And Breath Tones”
Federico Durand “IIu Wouter”
Van Veldhoven “First Lullaby”

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

Logo by Rik Oostenbroek

October 18, 2020July 2, 2021

SOUNDWAVE : 29 : protoU

Today’s guest deejay is Sasha, AKA, protoU!

A few months ago Dronny Darko came on the show with a killer mix. As usually, I asked Dronny who he knew personally who would be interested in sharing a mix of their own for SOUNDWAVE and Dronny recommended protoU. It’s a dark and mysterious that’s both ethereal and earthy. Sasha’s mix resonates with me because it is reminiscent of the first two albums that introduced me to ambient music, Brian Eno’s Ambient 4: On Land and Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks. Sasha’s mix also include’s Hivetribe’s “Uthernno”, which features one of my favorite recording of a 1950s housewife trying to describe a LSD experience.

You will not be disappointed with Sasha’s mix. I’ve had her mix on repeat for weeks and I still find something new in it.

In other news, this tiny show dedicated to niche genres of music that I launched to help cope with the stress of COVID-19 is growing ever so slightly, which is gratifying.

I don’t do much to promote SOUNDWAVE because it’s not that kind of show. It really is a form of therapy and I’m touched by every guest deejay’s generosity. I’m also moved that you, dear listener, take time out of your no doubt busy week to experience the mixes offered on this show. Maybe it’s time to share this show with more people. If you know of someone that you think would enjoy SOUNDWAVE, grab their phone and subscribe them to the podcast.

Join us again next week when our guest deejay will be… let me check my schedule… me!

Alphaxone & protoU “Consumed”
protoU “Transparent Clusters”
protoU “Unreal Symbols”
protoU “Dai Robsa Preah”
Dronny Darko & protoU “Riparian Forest [300 million years ago]”
Dronny Darko & protoU “Everything”
Untitledcloud “Waves”
Untitledcloud “Abstractions”
Hivetribe “Herbquake”
Hivetribe “Uthernno”

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

Logo by Rik Oostenbroek