Tag: jazz

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SOUNDWAVE : 138 : GLYN BUSH

SOUNDWAVE : 138 : GLYN BUSH

Today’s guest deejay is Glyn Bush.

Last month I shared a retrospective mix from the Ambient Dub compilation series. It was a fantastic experience revisiting those albums, which also served as a touchstone to some beautiful times. Inspired, I reached out to as many of the musicians on the compilation album as possible, leading me to Glyn, whom I’ve always known as one-half of Original Rockers.

Glyn’s mix re-introduced me to gems from Durutti Column and Faust and introduced me to new favorites such as Chassol and Khotin. And Glyn’s mix is chock full of his music projects, such as Biggabush.

Glyn has some words about his mix below.

Join us next weekend when our guest deejay will be Rubén Tamayo.

See you then.

 

Glyn Bush
Glyn Bush

It was really nice to be asked to do an ambient mix as it’s a genre I always enjoy even if I don’t normally listen to it that much.

With Original Rockers/Rockers Hi-Fi, we were asked to do an “ambient dub” track by Mike Barnet from Beyond Records around 1992. We just went with our gut and very quickly produced “Sexy Selector.” I suppose we defined ambient dub as being quite lush, with deep chords, lots of space, sequences, and odd bits of vocal. At the time I was listening to The Orb’s Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld and going to a club called Oscillate in Birmingham and hearing quite a bit of what you might call ambient electronica, seeing people like Autechre play live, Alex Paterson on the decks and of course the Higher Intelligence Agency who ran the night.

So I’ve delved back into that era a bit in my mix and checked out some more contemporary stuff with tips from my daughter, re:ni, plus an ambient track we made together a couple of years ago using the sounds of glaciers crumbling, rainfall, and suchlike.

The opener by Richie Hawtin alias F.U.S.E. is one of my all-time fave tracks, just a slowly unfurling 303 looping over and over in its inimitable way.

I dropped a couple of bits from Chassol who makes really beautiful music, not necessarily defined as “ambient” but lush and interesting and full of surprises. He does incredible stuff with recordings of voices where he literally turns all the inflections of speech into musical notes. Check out his Barack Obama track too.

I included a track from my Sunken Foal Stories album, possibly my favourite release and unlike anything I’ve done before or since, with lots of random juxtapositions and happy accidents.

re:ni recommended a lovely track by MLO called ”Sleeper”, which didn’t make the cut, but I used a nice Wagon Christ remix of one of his tracks which I’d not heard before. I’m always happy to crowbar a Luke Vibert track into any mix.

Ghost Power is a collab between Tim Gane of Stereolab and Jeremy Novak of Dymaxion who do some really interesting stuff, mostly nothing like the track I used but all good.

Neotropic is Riz Maslen, who made lovely stuff in the early 90s. This was a fave on cassette back in the day.

Beak> is a Geoff Barrow from Portishead side project, doing a mix of krautrock-ish, motorik beats, plus some excellent synth work, quite soundtrack-y vibes.

Durutti Column was making ambient guitar stuff in the early 80s, of which this is a fine example and always makes me think of sunshine.

PLO Man and C3D-E are on the coveted Acting Press label, which I’d not heard of before re:ni gave me a tip, but it’s high-quality stuff. Likewise, Khotin – is a Canadian producer doing some lovely things on Bandcamp.

Faust was a bunch of crazy German guys who lived in their studio, recorded shedloads of improvisations, and wrote some beautiful songs. The two Faust tracks are from the The Faust Tapes, another all-time fave album of mine compiled from their unreleased tapes from the early 70s.

A couple of Bigga Bush tracks, one called “The Bells,” written in the mid-90s, and the collab mentioned above with re:ni, which was written for a DJs for Climate Action campaign using natural found sounds.

We close with the last ambient dub track recorded by Rockers Hi-Fi for the Ambient Dub Volume 3 (Aqua) album on Beyond, named ”Mecca of Space” after a FireballXL5 comic strip.

Cheers,

Glyn

  1. F.U.S.E. “Theychx (extract)”
  2. Chassol “I lôôôôve usometimes (extract)”
  3. Glyn Bigga Bush “Now There’s Pain”
  4. MLO “Spike (Wagon Christ Mix)”
  5. Edgar Broughton Band “The Dawn Crept Away (extract)”
  6. Ghost Power “Astral Melancholy Suite (extract)”
  7. Neotropic “Neotropic”
  8. Durutti Column “Conduct (edit)”
  9. PLO Man & C3D-E “100 Pt. II – Pt. III”
  10. Faust “Untitled (Arnulf on Drums 2)”
  11. Chassol “Les Oursses”
  12. Khotin “Dialogue 6”
  13. Faust “Rudolf der Pianist”
  14. BiggaBush “The Bells”
  15. BiggaBush & re:ni “Dub Plate Tectonics”
  16. Original Rockers “Mecca of Space”

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SOUNDWAVE : 135 : AMBIENTBLOG

SOUNDWAVE : 135 : AMBIENTBLOG

Today’s guest deejay is Peter van Cooten, host of Ambientblog and DreamScenes on Concertzender.

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
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
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!

Cloudwatching Playlist (includes start length, artist title, album title, year, and label).

  1. Francisco López “Untitled #373”
  2. Lawrence English “Pre-Approach”
  3. William Basinski & Janek Schaefer “. . . on reflection (four)”
  4. Arve Henriksen & Eivind Aarset & Jan Bang “The Swans Bend Their Necks Backward To See God”
  5. Masayoshi Fujita “Harp”
  6. Mombi Yuleman “Mental Telepathy”
  7. ASMUS TIETCHENS “Paralelle Ebene 1”
  8. Abul Mogard “Like Water”
  9. KEDA “La Lune De Corée”
  10. Tapani Rinne & Teho Majamäki “Reflection”
  11. Radboud Mens “Convolution”
  12. Alex Haas & Michel Banabila “The Woods (ft. Bill Laswell)”
  13. Imperial Valley “Fields North Of Kane Spring, Oct 8, 1938”
  14. James Murray “Clearings”
  15. Raum “Daughter”
  16. Tierro Cosmico “Eres Nocturna”
  17. Emmanuel Holterbach “Rivage (Shore)”
  18. Holland Patent Public Library “a road I’ve passed but never taken”
  19. Thomas Ragsdale & Richard Arnold “The View”
  20. David Cordero & Kenji Kihara “Grazalema”
  21. Abul Mogard “The Rain Has Gone”
  22. Robyn Miller “Gateroom”
  23. From The Mouth of the Sun “Paint & Stories”
  24. Olga Wojciechowska “Recreating Worlds”
  25. Biosphere “Aura In The Kitchen With The Candlesticks”
  26. Jolanda Moletta “Spell II: Daydream And Nightbloom”
  27. Budhaditya Chattopadhay “Dhvani”
  28. Cell “Geiger”
  29. Clarice Jensen “Fear”
  30. Erik Wøllo “Peace Bells”
  31. Tarotplane “Auximenes”
  32. NORMAN W. LONG “Return & Recovery”
  33. Marine Eyes & Antarctic Wastelands “Enshrouded”
  34. Ryoji Ikeda “Data.Tron (2007-14)”
  35. Masayoshi Fujita “Pons”
  36. Tetsuroh Konishi “Kevaan Aania”
  37. Madeleine Cocolas “Presence”
  38. PINKCOURTESYPHONE “Comfortable Predictability”
  39. Clarice Jensen “Love”
  40. Radboud Mens “Modular”
  41. Arve Henriksen “The Farmers Of Sonic Alchemy”
  42. Daigo Hanada “Kage”
  43. Ivan Cebrian | Victor Cerdan “Snow in silence”
  44. Robert Rich and Luca Formentini “First Day”
  45. Sofie Birch & Antonina Nowacka “Outro”
  46. Sven Laux & Fione “Stay”
  47. loscil “Dub For Cascadia”
  48. Powlos & Holt “Our Shimmering Breath”
  49. Anne Chris Bakker “Johan (In Memoriam)”
  50. Glåsbird “Sirsa”
  51. Trio Ramberget “D Minor Postlude”
  52. Galya Bisengalieva “The Crash”
  53. Madeleine Cocolas “Enfold”

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SOUNDWAVE : 129 : SERGE TIMMERS

SOUNDWAVE : 129 : SERGE TIMMERS

Today’s guest deejay is Serge Timmers.

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
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.

  1. Distant Fires Burning “Book Of Fragmentation”
  2. Stratosphere “God Was Nowhere To Be Found”
  3. O Yuki Conjugate “Sunchemical”
  4. Misantronics “Zenenacht”
  5. Ulf Söderberg “Vidarnas Hus”
  6. Ashtoreth & Grey Malkin “Bone, Leaf & Moss”
  7. Atrium Carceri, Cities Last Broadcast, God Body Disconnect “Miles to Midnight”
  8. Higher Intelligence Agency / Biosphere “The Rotunda”
  9. Bohren und der Club of Gore “Black City Skyline”
  10. Bersarin Quartett “Keine Angst”
  11. Anunada “Cosmonaut”
  12. EVA “Anna’s Planets”

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SOUNDWAVE : 128 : STEFAN BECK

SOUNDWAVE : 128 : STEFAN BECK

Today’s guest deejay is Stefan Beck, AKA Golden Brown.

I met Stefan through Steve Targo from Inner Islands after he guest deejayed on Soundwave. I asked Steve, whom he knew would share a mix on the show, and he recommended Stefan. I listened to Stefan’s music and lost myself in his gentle guitar playing, swathes of warm sounds, and field recordings. So we have Steve to thank for today’s gorgeous mix.

As is my habit, I reacquaint myself with the mixes sent my way two weeks before I share them with you. Stefan provided the soundtrack for hurricane Kay which hit Mexico this week. In the evenings, when it was cooler, I’d go for an hour-long walk and listen to Stefan’s mix. Wednesday was a very sensual night. There was a moment as I was walking past a canyon when a rivulet of sweat ran from my temple and behind my right ear. It cooled and evaporated immediately. There was a hint of sage in the air. And Stefan’s mix played over my AirPods. Delicious.

Friday, San Diego was awash with the rain from hurricane Kay. It was very dramatic. The sky was gloomy, the wind gusted from my patio door, and occasionally raindrops would land on my shoulders from my skylight window above me, all while Stefan’s mix playing in the background.

I hope Stefan’s mix provides an equally wonderful experience.

Stefan has a few words about his mix below.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Serge Timmers.

See you then.

 

Stefan Beck
Stefan Beck

The songs selected here don’t have any unifying theme apart from that they inspire me and put me in a certain 🌀zone🌀

I think they all have a lot of heart in them and make elegant use of space. Jerry Garcia appears here twice under the radar as well. I can’t resist.

I hope you enjoy!

  1. Mickey Hart “Sky Water”
  2. Stein Urheim “Water-part I”
  3. William Parker & Hamid Drake “Earth”
  4. Joyce Moreno with Nana Vasconcelos and Mauricio Maestro “Chegada”
  5. Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté “ Warbé”
  6. Bill Frisell “Outlaw”
  7. Collin Walcott “Jewel Ornament”
  8. David Crosby “Kids and Dogs”
  9. Alice Coltrane “Er Ra”
  10. Laraaji “Through Luminous Eyes 2”
  11. Hailu Mergia “Yefikir Engurguro”

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SOUNDWAVE : 127 : GIULIO ALDINUCCI

SOUNDWAVE : 127 : GIULIO ALDINUCCI

Today’s guest deejay is Giulio Aldinucci.

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 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.

See you then.

  1. Luciano Cilio “Primo Quadro ‘Della Conoscenza’”
  2. Lino Capra Vaccina “Canti Delle Sfere”
  3. Piero Milesi “Mr. Nanof’s Tango”
  4. Francesco Messina “Prati Bagnati Del Monte Analogo”
  5. Tiziano Popoli “Night Flight-Prozession”

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SOUNDWAVE : 126 : JOHAN DE REYBEKILL

SOUNDWAVE : 126 : JOHAN DE REYBEKILL

Today’s guest deejay is Johan de Reybekill, AKA Phaedrus.

I discovered Johan through Quasi, the album collaborated on with Dronny Darko (listen to Dronny’s mix for Soundwave here). I was swept away by the experience and listened to Johan’s projects and concerts. Of course, I invited Johan to guest deejay on Soundwave, and he’s shared something wonderful with us.

I have a routine for my four-year-old grandkid when it’s time to sleep. I tell him a story that includes events from his day and his friends, the Little Old Mouse and Purple Monster. Then I play some ambient music for him to drift away to, usually Brian Eno, whom we call Uncle Eno. My go-to’s are Eno’s Ambient 4: On Land and The Pearl, an album he recorded with the late Harold Budd. I’ve listed to a lot of Brian Eno since becoming a Dziadzia (that’s Polish for “grandpa”), and as much as I love Eno’s music, sometimes that means switching things up. Johan doesn’t know it, but I’ve used today’s mix to send my grandkid off to Sleepytime on more than one occasion.

Johan has words about today’s mix below.

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

See you then.

 

Johan de Reybekill, AKA Phaedrus
Johan de Reybekill, AKA Phaedrus

In this mix I have worked with subtle contrasts like: “noisy / minimalistic”, “melodic / droning”, “dark / gentle”, “static / volatile”. A majority of the pieces on the mix is from some of my favourite Scandinavian artists.

The process of creating the mix made me realise just how much I love listening to music in that special way, where I am actively listening to the music in depth; its composition, qualities and details.

I found myself going for long walks just to listen to the mix in its entirety, go home and make adjustments, go for another walk, and so on. I loved the process of working with my own and others’ music as an integral part of what came to be the mix. It was a pleasure and an honour to contribute to Soundwave.

Thanks, Joseph.

  1. Deru “1979 (On a Snowy February Day)”
  2. Badun “SP​-​0 (Space Leslie Lovers)”
  3. Maulex & Phaedrus “Ouatim”
  4. Phaedrus “Lnog”
  5. Fieldhead “Sky Peals”
  6. Sofie Birch “Begin Sync End”
  7. Kiloton “Disarray”
  8. Signelykke “Wetlands”
  9. ROSYAN “Retaw”
  10. Maulex “Reijka”
  11. Dronny Darko & Phaedrus “Ptolemy’s Parable”
  12. Phaedrus “Rooibos”

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SOUNDWAVE : 122 : HESSEL VELDMAN

SOUNDWAVE : 122 : HESSEL VELDMAN

Today’s guest deejay is Hessel Veldman.

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.

See you then.

 

Hessel Veldman
Hessel Veldman

Peter Rehberg “Inferno 01”, Inferno: Kurzfilme & Fragmente 1903 – 1924
Release: Verlag Filmarchiv Austria. (2012)

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.

Alessandro Cortini “Nessuno”, Scuro Chiaro
Label: Mute. (2021)

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.

Sanctuary “In Absolute”, Sanctuary Vol. 1
Label: Safari Riot. (2021)

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.”

Hessel Veldman “Duinbeton”, Ymuiden
Label: Winter Light. (2022)

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.

Words by Jordan Rothlein

  1. Peter Rehberg “Inferno 01”
  2. Rafael Anton Irisarri “Mellified”
  3. Eli Keszler “The Basement”
  4. Dale Cooper Quartet & The Dictaphones “Huis Chevêchett”
  5. claire rousay “Peak Chroma”
  6. Alessandro Cortini “Nessuno”
  7. loscil “Orta”
  8. Sanctuary “In Absolute”
  9. Hessel Veldman “Duinbeton”
  10. Andy Stott “How It Was”

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SOUNDWAVE : 118 : STEVE SWARTZ

SOUNDWAVE : 118 : STEVE SWARTZ

Today’s guest deejay is Steve Swartz.

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.

Steve has some words about his mix below.

Join us again next week when our guest deejay will be Robert Farrugia, co-founder of Complex Holiday.

See you then.

 

Steve Swartz
Steve Swartz

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.

  1. William Tyler “Slow Night’s Static”
  2. Suso Saiz “Healthy Digestion”
  3. Bremer McCoy “Mit Hjerte”
  4. Hara Noda “Night Swimmer”
  5. Kenji Kihara “Flowering Quince”
  6. Björn Meyer “Provenance”
  7. Ólafur Arnalds & Nils Frahm “20:17”
  8. Carrie Carlton Quartet “City Morning Views”
  9. Benoit Pioulard “Stone In Focus”
  10. zakè “Night Shineth As The Day”
  11. Philip Wilkerson “The Edge of Being”
  12. Bark Psychosis “Pendulum Man”

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SOUNDWAVE : 113 : JAMES VELLA

SOUNDWAVE : 113 : JAMES VELLA

Today’s guest deejay is James Vella.

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.

Robert had not steered me wrong. James runs Phantom Limb, a record label, a music publishing, and touring and label management company. I dipped into his roster of artists, which ranges from everything from experimental hip hop to music inspired by Pre-Columbian Central and South American myths and folktales.

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.

See you then.

  1. Visible Cloaks & dip in the pool “Valve (Reanimated Feat. Miyako Coda)”
  2. UCC Harlo “Lyricist of Panic”
  3. Tralala Blip “Castles of Golden Sound”
  4. Waclaw Zimpel “Lines”
  5. Nate Scheible “With Any Kind of Luck”
  6. Wayne Phoenix “I Gave You Power”
  7. Dear Laika “Ubi Sunt”
  8. A Lily “Mbira Heart”
  9. NIAGARA “Dia 1, Parte 2, Música 3”
  10. David Darling & The Wulu Bunun “Mataisah-hik Sagan”
  11. Ki Oni “Dream World”
  12. Volkan İncüvez “Black Hole”
  13. Ulla “leaves and wish”
  14. Throbbing Gristle “Still Walking”

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SOUNDWAVE : 110 : JAKOB LINDHAGEN

SOUNDWAVE : 110 : JAKOB LINDHAGEN

Today’s guest deejay is Jakob Lindhagen.

Sofia Nystrand introduced me to several fantastic musicians after sharing her Vargkvint mix on Soundwave (you can listen to it here). Jakob was one of those musicians, and after I listened to some of his releases, I invited him to guest deejay.

Jakob is an award-winning film composer based in Stockholm, Sweden. His most recent soundtrack is Ziba, a movie about an Afghan woman living in Sweden, struggling with the realisation that she has developed romantic feelings for another woman, and the consequences that will have for her marriage and family. Jakob’s soundtrack for Ziba will be released Thursday, May 12. You can listen to a single from the soundtrack here. It’s a beautiful, moving piece.

Speaking of soundtracks, I listened to Jakob’s mix while playing the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game on Roll20. It lent atmosphere to the game and heightened the experience.

Jakob has some words about his mix below.

Before I leave you, Soundwave guest deejay Alex Haas has released his new album, STRING OF PIECES. His album has become part of my mourning routine as I start my workday. Listen to Alex’s mix for Soundwave here.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Andrew Tasslemyer.

 

Jakob Lindhagen
Jakob Lindhagen

I’ve always found the duo constellation very interesting, as it’s so intimate. Whereas the solo work is the reflection of one vision, and a band can be everything from a fair democracy to a dictatorship, the duo is such a fascinating reflection of two combined minds, often resulting in a synergy effect. The mix contains some of the most inspiring duos I know (of), as well as a couple of examples where I myself have felt elevated by my collaborator.

  1. Aaron Martin & Dag Rosenqvist “Opening”
  2. CEEYS_Brueder Selke “Hiddensee”
  3. Jakob Lindhagen & Dag Rosenqvist “Östersjön”
  4. Hoshiko Yamane & Mikael Lind “Beyond The Hidden”
  5. AVAWAVES “Waves”
  6. Kinbrae “The River Awakens”
  7. Hydras Dream “The Little Match Girl”
  8. Jakob Lindhagen & Vargkvint “Bäckahäst”
  9. Ben Frost & Daníel Bjarnason “Simulacra II”
  10. Klangriket and Sjors Mans “Prinsengracht”
  11. Olec Mün and Michael Sarian “Manaas”
  12. John Hayes & Maxy Dutcher “Arrival”

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