Tag: mechelen

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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Logo by Rik Oostenbroek

SOUNDWAVE : 14 : GERT DE MEESTER

Hello again. Welcome back to SOUNDWAVE!

I just got back from a 4th of July party with my wife’s unit so I’m going to keep this short and sweet.

If you’re new to the show, I launched SOUNDWAVE to help cope with the stress of the first month of the lockdown due to COVID-19. Ambient, classical, experimental and instrumental music was the only music I could listen at that time. If it was helping me, I imagined it would help others.

Today was the first time in over four months of the lockdown I’ve been around this many people at once. It was great! It felt completely normal. And it gave me a charge. But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I was a little uneasy. Four months will do that to you.

If you’re in the U.S., I hope you had a fine holiday. For everyone in the world, I hope you’re having a lovely weekend.

We just got home and we’re winding down and this is the perfect opportunity to jot down today’s show notes. Our guest for today’s show is Gert De Meester of Distant Fires Burning.

I met Gert when I reached out to David Newman, founder of Audiobulb Records to participate on the show with a mix. David took pass but suggested I contact Gert and Kirk Markarian. I owe David because Kirk’s mix was fantastic and I’ve been waiting impatiently to take Gert’s mix live. I know you’re going to love it!

Gert’s going to rap with you about his mix below. Before I go, please join us again next week when our guest deejay is Carmen Rizzo. You’re in for a treat.

See you then!

 

Gert De Meester
Gert De Meester

Our first track is Autistici’s “Wire Cage For Tiny Birds.” Something that allways has attracted me to Autistici’s music, is the sense for new sounds and intricate sounddesign. This has allways been reflected in my music. I am quite happy with the fact that David has released my last album on his Audiobulb label. It fits there perfectly.

“K & J” is the opener of my last album. You hear a Jazzbass processed through ableton and a stockload of effects, basically my livesetup. “K & J” are the two most important people in my life.

Our third track is Taylor Deupree’s “Northern”. Taylor has allways been of great influence on me, besides Tim Hecker and Biosphere. But in Taylor’s music, I really find beauty, reminiscence, maybe a bit of wanderlust. It’s that freedom that speaks to me, that encounter with the new, but allways the hint at nature and down to earth noises.

“Scrape To Touch” is by Neuro… No Neuro and is one of my best labelmates and I saw him grow immensely in music making. His music really cought me by surprise as I host a Spotify playlist and i listen to all Audiobulb albums to give them a fair chance of getting included (me and David get along quite well, musically). But Kirk’s music really caught me on a permanent level.

“Geomagnetic Disturbance” is one of the first tracks where the Jazzbass got incorporated in my music. It was an outtake of 2010’s album Build on Me on U-Cover CDR Limited, but it got picked up by these great people of Consouling Sounds for this compilation. Quite a lot Hecker inspired, but hey, everybody’s got to learn sometimes…

Our last track is Svær’s “Broken Waltz Of Fukushima”. (Such a great 2019 discovery. He played as support of Tim Hecker in Brussels in 2019. What a great show that was, connected with him on Facebook, discovered he was a fellow Belgian too. And all of a sudden I got a message he released his debut album, the rest is history…

Cheers, I hope you enjoy this mix.

  1. Autistici “Wire Cage For Tiny Birds”
  2. Distant Fires Burning “K & J”
  3. Taylor Deupree “Northern”
  4. Neuro… No Neuro “Scrape To Touch”
  5. Distant Fires Burning “Geomagnetic Disturbance”
  6. Svær “Broken Waltz Of Fukushima”

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Logo by Rik Oostenbroek

SOUNDWAVE : 9 : KIRK MARKARIAN

When I launched SOUNDWAVE I didn’t have a plan for the show beyond being a coping mechanism for COVID-19. The first could of weeks under the safe at home lockdown I was white-knuckling it every day. We’re we going to enter a Great Depression? A lot of the shelves in the supermarket were bare. When I used the keypad to pay for my groceries there was an undercurrent of anxiety. Would touching it might end up killing me? I’m sure you experienced your own version.

It became clear one of the few things that was providing solace was the ambient, classical, experimental and instrumental music I was listening to. I reasoned that if the music was listening to was giving me some relief then other folks might as well. And producing a monthly show would also provide a welcome distraction from my fears.

That was it. That was the plan.

But I quickly decided to update SOUNDWAVE’s schedule to a weekly basis for as long as the safe at home orders were in place. Almost immediately afterwards I began inviting guest deejays to contribute mixes to the show.

I did not anticipate was everyone’s generosity. Nearly everyone I asked to sent me a mix and as I write this I have shows scheduled to September. I’m tempted to release all the shows all at once à la Netflix so you can listen to the mixes à la carte. It feels criminal to have all this wonderful music to myself only to dole it out to you once a week.

When I made the decision to invite guest deejays to share their mixes I reached out to people I knew from my electronic music podcast, solipsistic NATION. One person I contacted was David Newman, founder of Audiobulb Records. I never had the opportunity to have David on the show but I was hoping to have him contribute a mix to SOUNDWAVE. David wasn’t able to participate but he did introduce me to Gert De Meester of Distant Fires Burning and Kirk Markarian of Neuro… No Neuro.

Kirk is our guest deejay today. I knew the show was in good hands when I listened to Kirk’s Electronic Frequencies, an excellent program on Concertzender Radio in Utrecht, that features ambient and experimental composers. More great music for us to enjoy!

Before Kirk talks about his mix I encourage you to purchase one or more of the songs you enjoyed on today’s show. The artists pour their hearts into each track. Your purchase of songs or albums helps them continue working on their craft but also puts food on their tables and a roof over their heads.

See you next Sunday. Our guest deejay is Planet Boelex!

 

Kirk Markarian
Kirk Markarian

This mix begins with a track by NOEL-KIT – “Summertime” – from their album, Tokyo Noise. Sounds pan about the audio field, growing, fading; bursting from underneath NOEL-KIT’s enthusiastic interpretation of the season.

Following this, we move into “Edall” by Autistici from their album Beneath Peaks. Almost like breathing, the track pulls one in and cycles to and fro until the cycle speeds up, and becomes off-kilter, shifting the listener into a gentle, calm, yet shiny future.

From there, out of the soothing wash, we have a longer track by the artist Distant Fires Burning – “Science Stops…” – from their album Build on Me. Starting with a beautiful electric keyboard sound that echos softly into the distance, the track blends into a harmonic freeze that shifts the listener into a hazy field.

From there, a soft segue into Wil Bolton’s long play “Woven Geometry” from their album Viridian Loops begins. Field recordings exist throughout the entire track while beautiful synthetics pulsate fade in and out around the beautiful padding underneath the entire piece.

For the final track, we fade into an uplifting rhythmic piece by mg&mw – “Seagulls” – off their album All Steamed Up. Analog synths, harmonica, bass, and electric percussion all blend into a very catchy tune that places the listener directly into a moment.

  1. NOEL-KIT “Summertime”
  2. Autistici “Edall”
  3. Distant Fires Burning “Science Stops…”
  4. Wil Bolton “Woven Geometry”
  5. mg&mw “Seagulls”

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Logo by Rik Oostenbroek