Tag: japanese

SOUNDWAVE : 133 : KMRU

Today’s guest deejay is Joseph Kamaru, AKA KMRU.

Having Joseph on the show is a bit of synchronicity. I became aware of Joseph’s music a few years ago while searching for music on Bandcamp. What immediately struck me was the sense of intimacy I experienced while listening to his music. Yes, I’m aware that the genres Joseph expresses himself through lend themselves to that kind of feeling. And I’m also aware that this is a complete projection, but I got the sense that a movement of thoughts and emotions conveyed in his music.

 

Joseph Kamaru, AKA KMRU
Joseph Kamaru, AKA KMRU

Shortly after conning across Joseph, guest deejays on Soundwave began including tracks from his album in their mixes. So, of course, I reached out to him to share select tracks on the show.

Joseph’s mix, like his releases, has that sense of interplay between thoughts and emotions. And, perhaps, sympathetically, Joseph’s mix stirred up thoughts and feelings in me, which is the whole point.

Join sun next week when our guest deejay will be protoU.

See you then.

  1. Tenka “Nutrition ~ Microorganisms In The Darkness Of Life ~”
  2. Gylden “Bug light”
  3. Emily A. Sprague “Water Memory 2”
  4. Félicia Atkinson “Our Tides”
  5. Julia Reidy “World in World”
  6. anthéne “Cedar Point II”
  7. Emilía “Layover II”
  8. naemi “rast”
  9. LB Marszalek “Sorrow”
  10. Hiroki Takahashi “Seed”
  11. Belong “Vowel (Digital Bonus)”

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Logo by Rik Oostenbroek

SOUNDWAVE : 93 : CHRISTOPH BERG

Today’s guest deejay is Christoph Berg.

Christoph is a composer and musician living and working in Berlin, focusing on chamber music and music for film. Besides releasing music on various imprints, Christoph runs his own record label Monochrome Editions. He also releases electroacoustic music as Field Rotation.

That’s all verbiage I copied and pasted from Discogs. I could use words like minimal, haunted, and mournful to describe it but you really, you need to experience Christoph’s music for yourself.

 

Christoph Berg
Christoph Berg

While writing this, I can tell you that I was listening to his Tape Anthology Vol. 1 album over my AirPods. My wife is asleep next to me, and I don’t want to disturb her. I was caught up in the emotions that Christoph was stirring in me when I began to be aware of the sounds of my stomach gurgling. But then it dawned on me that it wasn’t my stomach. It was gentle rumbling sounds within Christoph’s music. I’m sure that wasn’t Christoph’s intent, but for me, it gave an intimate and organic feel to his music. The experience endeared me to Christoph in an unexpected way.

Christoph’s mix, on the other hand, seems to capture the desolate spirit of our pandemic winter of 2022.

Everyone I know seems to have COVID. I have a dry, slight cough. It could be from the booster shot I received last week, a common cold I picked up, or the virus. And so, as part of my now monthly routine, I need to schedule yet another COVID test. But this is the shape of our lives now, so I square my shoulders and get on with it.

Christoph’s mix provides the soundtrack to what feels like it will be a very long winter.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Kazuya Nagaya.

See you then.

  1. Strain of Laws “Ordinary Mystique”
  2. Hildur Guðnadóttir “Gallery”
  3. Murcof “Dropped Soul/Shadow Surfing”
  4. Jasmine Guffond & Erik K Skodvin “The Burrower”
  5. Egisto Macchi “Segni Preistorici”
  6. John Wall “Stat:Unt:Dist”
  7. Tim Hecker and Daniel Lopatin “Vaccination No. 2”
  8. Black Merlin “Sibi”
  9. PDP III “Walls of Kyoto”
  10. Radiohead “The Jumbled Words of Climbing Up the Walls Read by Little Dan Clements”
  11. Makunouchi Bento “Jubokko”
  12. Meitei / 冥丁 “Jizo”
  13. Twinkle³ with Sidsel Endresen “Debris in L.E.O.”
  14. Mica Levi “Delete Beach (Japanese)
  15. Mikado Koko みかどここ “Ten Little Kuronbo”
  16. Demdike Stare x Il Gruppo Di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza “The Feed-Back Loop (excerpt)”
  17. Robert Millis “Only Here A Short While”

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

Logo by Rik Oostenbroek

SOUNDWAVE : 92 : IU TAKAHASHI

Today’s guest deejay is Iu Takahashi.

Last May, I discovered Iu on Bandcamp’s The Best Ambient Music blog post and instantly became a fan. Iu’s songs delicately unfold as you listen to them. It feels that her music might immediately unravel with any sudden movement. Calmness and patience are required, which reinforces the experience of Iu’s gentle songs.

 

Iu Takahashi
Iu Takahashi

Iu herself does not appear in her mix, but I encourage you to listen to her new releases, both of which were released in December.

One release is her “Stay” EP from A RED THREAD. Iu made this work thinking about her grandparents, who have dementia. Both of them are now living in a facility. She stayed for a few days at their house, where no one lived, and was inspired by the clothing, dishes, and plants left there. For the sound source, she used environmental sounds coming from the house’s windows and an old electronic organ that she used to play when she was a kid. In the midst of realizing the changes in her daily life, the sounds of construction, cars, and crows cawing that may otherwise sound like noise make it feel as if time has stopped only in this house.

Iu’s second release is her “Interspace” EP from The Slow Music Movement. In these three tracks, she intentionally created gaps by reducing the number of notes, and she wanted to enjoy the coincidence and awareness with the outside sounds.

I can’t think of a better way to be in the New Year than listening to Iu’s music. And today’s mix, of course.

Before I go, I also ask that you listen to Genius and Soul, a new show that I launched with Soundwave guest deejays Fitz Gitler and Jason Smith.

Genius and Soul is a weekly show featuring jazz, Black classical music, and more, with mixes lovingly selected by our guest deejays. Our first guest is Brian Jackson, an American keyboardist, flautist, singer, composer, and producer. Brian has recorded and performed with everyone from Gil Scott-Heron to Stevie Wonder, and recently released an album with Jazz Is Dead’s Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad.

You can listen to our first episode on your favorite podcast app or listen here.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Christoph Berg.

See you then.

  1. Grotta Veterano “Bleiweisova Cesta i (as the snow falls)”
  2. Sarah Davachi “Third Hour”
  3. Stijn Hüwels + Tomoyoshi Date Featuring Tadahito Ichinoseki “A Distant Fire, A Distant Cloud (遠き火、遠き雲)”
  4. Masayoshi Fujita “Anakreon”
  5. baechulgi “the breath of the moon”
  6. Satoshi Ashikawa “Still Space”
  7. Emily A. Sprague “Water Memory 1”
  8. Yumiko Morioka “Moon Road”