minimal – Page 3 – Synecdoche

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

SOUNDWAVE : 67 : felt body

Today’s guest deejay is Hunter Reyne; AKA felt body.

Hunter is yet another talented musician I discovered through Bandcamp. What appealed to me was Hunter’s deft use of field recording in his music. He creates a very lived-in world and evokes imaginary memories of a time and place I’ve never experienced. It’s lovely. And of course, I invited Hunter to join us on Soundwave.

What’s delightful about Hunter’s mix is while some of the songs reflect his sensibilities, some are entirely unexpected. I’m specifically thinking of his inclusion on Tôsha Suihô’s “時雨のあと(Shigure no Ato)” and an example. It’s those surprises that are one of the reasons I get excited about when I listen to our guest deejay’s mixes, and I hope you’ll feel the same.

Hunter has some words about his mix, which you’ll find below.

Before we get to that, I want to mention that guest deejay and Krautrock legend, Roedelius, has put together an excellent program for the music festival and symposium, More Ohr Less, that will have ended as of the release of today’s show. The event took place in his hometown in Baden, near Vienna. Some of the participants were Anna von Hausswolff, Carl-Michael von Hausswolff , Chandra Shukla, and many more. More Ohr Less will have been live-streamed, and if I know Roedelius, he’ll make the stream available to those who missed it.

The other thing I wanted to mention is that a few weeks ago, I said I would wrap up Soundwave in early 2022. At the time, I felt the pandemic was winding down, and Soundwave will have served its purpose. I hadn’t realized that I was myopic. Yes, things are improving in the U.S., but here are parts of the world that are in a terrible state. I hope I’m not implying that Soundwave is some transcendent force for good. I mean that this little show provides solace or distraction for a brief period during the pandemic, then I will keep releasing shows.

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

See you then!

I wanted to capture some of the ideas and inspirations that I’ve been taking from throughout Covid, as well as that latent sense of both anxiety and, in the end, a peacefulness – however, it’s achieved.

Quarantine has had an odd effect on my lifestyle. I find I unable to make broad movements anymore (like taking a trip or even commuting to work). Still, my smaller movements, like simple walks along the river near my house, have become themselves opened-up and, in their way, as expansive as a weekend spent in a different country. I have become so attentive and enamored with the space around me. I have gone crazy, and I speak to it, and it speaks back to me. We are lovers.

In making this mix, I was drawing from Guy Debord’s psychogeographyand also broader atmospheric theories put forward by theorists like Julianne Rebentisch and Tonino Griffero. Walking and movement, and momentum are essential to the worlds within these nine pieces, yet I find each of them incredibly still, meltingly so. This is the paradox at the heart of a psychogeographic outlook. As I move, I become more singular with the landscape around me, more fluent in its languages and behaviors, and poetries. I hope in listening you will find some stillness in movement, too.

Toshiya Tsunoda “The Day After A Typhoon, Miyagawa”
perila & ulla “blue drum”
Maria Teresa Luciani “Giardini Pubblici”
Gesellschaft Zur Emanzipation Des Samples “TaxiTrailer”
Zdeněk Liška “A Small Stone in Space”
Tôsha Suihô “時雨のあと(Shigure no Ato)”
Tzvi Avni “Vocalise”
Hiroshi Yoshimura “Horizon I’ve Ever Seen Before”
Haco “Faito!”

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Logo by Rik Oostenbroek

SOUNDWAVE : 65 : YANN NOVAK

Today’s guest deejay is Yann Novak, the founder of Dragon’s Eye Recordings.

I met Yann when I showcased his label on solipsistic NATION.

I discovered Yann’s label through Mike Lazarev’s music blog, Headphone Commute (if you enjoy Soundwave, you’re going to love Headphone Commute).

Yann curates a heady offer of music through Dragon’s Eye Recordings featuring notable artists such as Pinkcourtesyphone (Richard Chartier), Genrietta, and Lawrence English. Some of the label’s releases are whimsical, some challenging, and some so ephemeral that you might imagine you dreamt of hearing it. But all the releases on his label are lovingly selected and demands to be listened to just as Yann’s mix demands to be heard.

Yann Novak
*Photo Credit: Robert Crouch*

A few highlights.

The hairs went up on the back of my neck when I instantly recognized Geinō Yamashirogumi’s score for the cyberpunk classic, Akira. Back in the 80s, the movie was considered as imponderable as 2001: A Space Odyssey, but Akira has influenced culture to such a degree that it seems straightforward by our current standards. Incidentally, you can purchase Kaneda’s jacket, who is the film’s protagonist.

Yann’s inclusion of Billie Eilish & ROSALÍA’s was an unexpected delight. Eilish is kind of cyberpunk herself, having sung about our anthropogenic doom and interviewed by an AI bot.

The Future Sound Of London make yet another appearance on Soundwave via Yann’s mix. So much of the electronic music that was fasionalble in the late 80s seems dated but The Future Sound of London still feel timeless.

Lloop was also a surprise. I first heard Lloop when I showcased The Agriculture label on solipsistic NATION (mumbles) 15 years ago.

I know it isn’t true but I can’t help but feel that Yann made this mix specifically for me. It’s uncanny.

Yann modestly didn’t include his own music in his mix but I wanted to mention that Friday he released his new album, Lifeblood of Light and Rapture., available through Room40 (streaming starts July 2). Yann is really proud of this album and he can’t wait for everyone to experience it! He hopes it’s just the kind of lightness… or darkness you need right now.

Frank Riggio’s Empreinte Musicale 3 LP — Frank Riggio’s *Empreinte Musicale 3* LP

Before I wrap this up, there are two things I need to mention.

Frank Riggio just released the third and last installment of his new trilogy, Empreinte Musicale 3. It’s just as weird and wonderful as his previous two albums. Go listen to it, and then buy it, and afterwards, listen to Frank’s Soundwave mix.

Lastly, I believe I’ll wrap up Soundwave sometime in 2022. I launched Soundwave to cope with the stress and isolation of the pandemic. I told myself that once COVID-19 is no longer the threat that grinds nations to a halt that the show willhave served it’s purpose and that I’d bring it to an end. Unless the pandemic spirals out of control again or unless I change my mind, I will release all the remaining mixes our generous guest deejays have provided for us.

And on that note, please join us next week when our guest deejay will be Corey Parlamento.

See you then!

Geinō Yamashirogumi “Requiem”
Félicia Atkinson “Infant vampire”
Tim Hecker “Arctic Lover’s Rock Pt. 2”
Billie Eilish & ROSALÍA “Lo Vas A Olvidar”
The Future Sound Of London “Domain”
Braulio Lam “Dream Lens (Edit)”
Fortresses “Spring”
Labrinth “Forever (Euphoria: Special Episode 2)”
Allen Ginsberg “Pacific High Studio Mantras (feat. Arthur Russell)”
Byron Westbrook “Heavy Weather”
Tim Hecker “The Return Of Sam Snead”
Ian Wellman “Watershed”
LLOOP “Track 1”
Geinō Yamashirogumi “Requiem”

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Logo by Rik Oostenbroek

SOUNDWAVE : 61 : NANEUM

Today’s guest deejay is Jon Solo, AKA Naneum.

Carmen Rizzo introduced me to Naneum when he was a guest deejay on Soundwave. Carmen’s mix was gorgeous and I invited each musician he featured on his mix to guest deejay on Soundwave as well.

Jon’s mix is equally gorgeous. Whenever I listen to it I’m transported from sunny San Diego to a snow morning in the woods of Massachusetts when I was a boy. I can’t explain why but there is something about the delicacy of the music Jon selected that evokes that experience. That’s the beauty of the mixes on Soundwave, they take you on a journey. I’m curious to know where Jon’s mix takes you.

Naneum: solo piano — Naneum: *solo piano*

If you want to hear more music from Jon, you can begin with his January 2021 release, Solo Piano. You can hear more of his music here.

I’m going to keep today’s show notes brief. I just drove over eight hours to Sacramento to spend the next few weeks with my wife. I’m looking forward to catching up, having a nice meal, and getting some shuteye. I want to get up early so we can go kayaking.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Brian Sangmeister.

See you then!

Goldmund “Sometimes”
Islands Of Light “Goerde”
Abby Gundersen “Stratus”
Carmen Rizzo “Stratification (Naneum Remix)”
Ólafur Arnalds “Saman”
Slow Meadow “Ships Along The Harbor”
Lars Jakob Rudjord “Mothersong”
Joel Shearer “Sunday”
Alan Ellis “Soothe”
Poppy Ackroyd “Feathers”

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SOUNDWAVE : 55 : INNESTI

Today’s guest deejay is Innesti.

Innesti’s mix concludes my deep dive of musicians I’ve discovered on Bandcamp and invited to deejay on SOUNDWAVE.

When I found Innesti on Bandcamp, I immersed myself in their music. I think it was Brian Eno who described ambient music in a metaphor of a painting: you can either have the painting as something that’s part of your background and enjoy it on that level, or you can choose to shift your focus to the painting and experience it at that level. Innesti’s music definitely fulfills those categories but awards active listening.

I’m listening to some of Innesti’s music as I write this. It’s the golden hour, and the kitchen I am writing you from is magically lit, and Innesti is providing the soundtrack to this enchanting moment.

I’ll most definitely feature more artists on Bandcamp on the show in the future, but not at the same volume.

If you’re unfamiliar with Bandcamp, it’s a service that sells music and gives musician and music labels a fair percentage of money generated from sales on Bandcamp.

Speaking of buying music, yesterday we took our son to Amoeba Music in Los Angeles. He recently got into vinyl, so and I’m happy to indulge him. California has leveled off on COVID-19 infections enough that the state is opening business to the public. Even so, there was a long line to get in the building because they can only admit people in at lowered numbers for everyone’s safety.

Our son picked up Tomahawk‘s Tonic Immobility and Crazy Horse and Neil Young‘s Zuma. I had a list of five CDs I was hoping to find but turned up nothing. When I got home, I found them all on eBay and Amazon. On the other hand, I did discover Killing Joke’s Malicious Damage, an album that includes some tracks I’m not used to seeing on their live albums, and Solti‘s Wagner‘s Götterdämmerung boxed set.

As soon as you feel safe enough, I encourage you to head out to your local music store and pick up some albums for yourself or someone as a gift. You or they deserve it, and your local music store needs your support.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be John Shanahan, host of the Hypnagogue Podcast.

See you then!

Innesti “Parenthetical Moments”
In the Branches and Neglect “Stepping into the Past“
echospace plays michael mantra “Sea Shell City (morning)”
Eternell “cove (meditation)”
Billow Observatory “Pankalia”
Andrew Lahiff “This Side of Winter”

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SOUNDWAVE : 53 : AMBIENTBLOG

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

I ask each guest to deejay who they know who would be interested in participating in the show with a mix. Harrold Roeland, who was a guest deejay on Soundwave back in December, suggested Peter. I’ve known about Ambientblog for years and have listened to many of Peter’s mixes on Mixcloud. I’m thankful that Harrold made the introduction because Peter’s mix is exceptional.

Mix is not the word for what Peter does on today’s show.

It’s more accurate to say that Peter composed a concept album masterfully weaved from a multitude of sampled material. Take a look at the “playlist” below to get an idea of the scope of today’s show. It’s a work of art you get to immerse yourself in for the next hour.

Peter’s mix, like all of his Ambientblog shows, is an experience. Follow Ambientblog on Mixcloud to hear more of his work.

I’ve included an excerpt about today’s show from Peter’s website below.

Today’s show is special because it’s also Soundwave’s one-year anniversary.

I launched Soundwave to help me cope with the stress and isolation of COVID-19.

This close to what we all hope is the finish line of the pandemic its easy to forget that we were all white-knuckling it for the first couple of months. Every day was filled with existential dread. Would this trip to the grocery store kill me or someone I love? It’s exhausting to live that way.

During that time, I could not watch tv or movies or listen to music because they were not speaking to the truth of our new reality. I’d watch a tv show and fret how there was no social distancing and why the cast wasn’t wearing masks. Pop music was particularly difficult to listen to because it was so painfully vapid. How am I supposed to enjoy a love song when I might be a patient or a vector in this pandemic?

The only music that I could tolerate and gave me solace was ambient, classical, experimental, and instrumental music. It was the soundtrack for my stay-at-home lockdown. And if I found some relief with this music, why not share it with others? Any why not ask people I respect to share their mixes?

I’m humbled by everyone’s gift of generosity of time and effort. We’re all going through this together, each in our way. I’m grateful that during this pandemic that each guest deejay lovingly crafted mixes to share with us.

Today’s show is also special because today, I also got my first shot for the COVID-19 vaccination.

I was shopping for groceries when the Mercy Plaza Pharmacy called me and told me they had extra doses. Could I stop by for a vaccination? Most definitely.

My cilantro stymied the woman who was ringing up my items at the grocery store: were they regular cilantro or organic? She was about to do a price check when I explained that I needed to get the hell out of there to be vaccinated. I didn’t care about the cilantro’s cost; ring me up so I can leave! She understood.

The folks at Mercy Plaza Pharmacy couldn’t be nicer. They’re a family-owned business, and the owner checked up on me after my shot to see how I was feeling. We talked about San Diego, Sacramento, and our kids. This is going to sound weird, but I had such a great time that I can’t wait to go back.

So here we are a year later. We’re almost at the finish line. Hopefully, next year, this will be behind us, and we can all enjoy each other’s company. I’m looking forward to meeting some of you in person. Maybe I’ll even get to meet Peter.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Michał Milczarek.

See you then!

It’s my honour to open the second year of this series with my contribution. Of course, we can only hope that the series will continue for musical reasons, not because of the pandemic.

Clicking through the list of contributions, you’ll find that most of them are what I call mixtape-style compilations: a head-tail-mix of (full) tracks. Traditionally, my (Ambientblog) mixes are different (which does not mean necessarily ‘better’, by the way) in that they incorporate many sampled parts of tracks (a full-length track is either an exception or a very short track itself), mixed in a layered collage-style. I always try to shuffle the collage’s fragments so that they seem to melt together and thus start telling a different story.

Whether this is successful or not can only be determined by the listener.

This mix is simply named after the podcast Soundwave. It is a happy coincidence that it literally starts with waves—sonically manipulated by Jos Smolders—and ends with the same waves morphing into the sound of a cheering crowd.

Different kinds of soundwaves are all around us, every moment. Sometimes we’re aware; most of the time, we are not. This mix (hopefully) shows that it can be rewarding to take a moment’s rest to really listen and let the sounds affect you.

Thanks to Joseph Aleo for inviting me!

Jos Smolders “Plate 7”
Mia Zabelka & Icostech “The Final Stop”
Robert Scott Thompson “Still The Syllables Of Water Whisper”
Charley van Veldhoven & Túrion “Hemellichaam IV (Henrik Meierkord Recycle)”
FM Einheit & Susie Green “Joyful Pleasure”
Joey Largent “Below Diorite Waters”
Barbara Ellison “De Auflaan de Pussychat”
Jana Winderen “The Listener”
Grace Ferguson “Barnumbirr”
C-drík “An Imaginary Place Inhabited By Those Who Are Asleep”
James Osland & Finn Kelvin “Things That Have Form Will Alway Disappear”
Daniel Thomas Freeman “Crawling Out Of The Void”
William Basinski “For Whom The Bell Tolls”
Morgen Würde “Mittsommer”
Biosphere “Stordjupta”
Randal Collier-Ford “Eyes Of The Temple (feat. Northumbria)”
Merope “Alma”
Space Whisper “Park Date”
Innesti “Dark Describes An Arc”
Joost Lijbaart “Twinkling Night”
Pinkcourtesyphone “Another Interior”
f5point6 “Natural Selection”
Andrew Heath “I Sleep Above The Forest”
Lustmord “Journey Of The Dead Man”
Bow Quintet feat. Aidan Baker “Bryanbaum Variation”
Aase Frejadóttir “Saying It”
James Rushford “Musica Callada, Book I – Angelico”
Nick Luscombe “Tokyo Spring Birdsong”
Akropolis Reed Quintet “Homage to Paradise Valley: I. Ghosts of Black Bottom”
Kate Carr “I Spotted Some Backyard Dancing”
Olivier Alary “Khaltoum”
Kazuya Nagaya “the Book Of Sunken Memory”
Jos Smolders “Plate 5”
A Winged Victory For The Sullen “Every Solstice & Equinox”

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Logo by Rik Oostenbroek

SOUNDWAVE : 52 : ROBIN RIMBAUD

Today’s guest deejay is Robin Rimbaud, AKA Scanner.

I discovered Robin last century on a compilation album. At the time, Robin was snatching phone conversations from the ether and incorporating them into his music. It was at once intimate and troubling because the very act of listening to Robin’s music made you complicit in his eavesdropping.

Those tracks, however, are just one area he explores in his music. If you delved into his work, you’d find that it is not incongruous to find him straddling minimalism, classical music, soundtracks and more.

When I showcased Robin’s music and featured one of his performances on solipsistic NATION I was as giddy as a fanboy. I had been listening to his releases since the ‘90s, and I was thrilled to have him on my show. It was only natural that I invited him to be a guest deejay on SOUNDWAVE, and I’m just excited about today’s show as when he was my guest on solipsistic NATION many years ago.

Robin has some words about his mix, which you can read below.

In pandemic news, California, like the rest of the U.S., has stepped up vaccinations. I know people who have been highly diligent regarding COVID-19 safety protocol and were still waylaid by the virus. I’m currently staying in Sacramento, and anecdotally, I can tell you that a lot of people here have stopped giving a fuck. I don’t want to catch the virus when we’re this close to the finish line, so I hope to be vaccinated within the next week or two.

Hopefully, this summer, I will be able to hug some of you who listen to SOUNDWAVE. Who knows, maybe I’ll throw a SOUNDWAVE festival. Wouldn’t that be a hoot?

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Peter van Cooten, host of Ambientblog.net and DreamScenes on Concertzender.

See you then!

I always find it challenging to know how to begin to choose music from literally hundreds of thousands of pieces of music that I own. Music lives with me from the moment I wake up early in the morning until I go to bed at night (at a very reasonable time). So, I thought it might be of interest to simply make a collage of a few of the many pieces of music that have accompanied me in the last seven days. These are playing as I work on emails, administration, accounts, and so on through my day. A brief picture of a moment in a day for my ears.

Ø “Otava”
Roméo Poirier “Thalassocratie”
Stephen Vitiello “Light Readings”
Nurse with Wound “Echo Poeme Sequence N° 2”
Blank Gloss “Of a Vessel”
Brian Eno “Top Boy”
Disjecta “Are You an Echo”
Benjamin Britten “Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge, Op. 10 – Chant”
John Cage “Dream”
strië “Hallilaul”
Mark Pritchard “Beautiful People (feat. Thom Yorke)”
Bersarin Quartett “Oktober”

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SOUNDWAVE : 51 : RHUCLE

Today’s guest deejay is Rhucle.

Rhucle is yet another amazing talent I discovered on Bandcamp.

Typically I’ll do a deep dive on Spotify to discover musicians who explore ambient, classical, experimental, and instrumental music. The last few months, I’ve been searching for new music on Bandcamp. The original reason was that I know Bandcamp is one of the platforms where musicians and labels can get a more significant percentage of money from sales of songs and albums (nearly all the tracks on today’s show can be purchased on Bandcamp, by the way). While I stream my share of music through Spotify, I still purchase music to support the artists, so I decided that as long as I’m buying music on Bandcamp, I should see what they have to offer.

It’s been a rewarding experience because I’ve spent many hours listening to fantastic music. Bandcamp seems to attract musicians and labels who offer a higher caliber of releases. I don’t know why that is so, but in general, it appears to be true.

As I delved into Bandcamp, I came across Rhucle and his lovely music.

Rhucle’s albums will forever feel like a Sunday winter afternoon walking my dog in Sacramento because that’s how I first experienced his music.

There’s a bike path not far from where I’m living. One Sunday, I took my dog, Blossom, for a walk down the path so we could play ball. I listened to Rhucle’s albums on my phone, and his music became the soundtrack for our stroll. We went through fields, saw ducks and egrets in the stream and turtles sunning themselves. At some point, I stopped being aware of Rhucle’s music, it was simply part of the environment.

Naturally, I invited Rhucle to guest deejay on SOUNDWAVE. It’s beautiful and taps into the same magic I got listening to Rhucle’s album that Sunday spent walking my dog. I hope you’ll have a delightfully similar experience when you listen to it.

Rhucle had a few words about his mix below.

Before I wrap things up, I wanted to share my last weekend with you.

My wife and I met some friends in Napa Valley to celebrate her birthday. We ate some great food and drank some spectacular wine. Everyone was having such a great time. It was undoubtedly due to the wine and the beauty of Napa Valley. I can’t help but think that there was a certain buoyancy because we all know we’re turning the corner on this pandemic.

The last year has been long and hard. Some of us were ill. Some of us lost family and friends to the virus. But we’re close to the end. While we can’t yet congregate and be with our loved ones, that day is near.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Robin Rimbaud AKA Scanner.

See you then!

These tracks get close to my feelings recently. When I am tired of my work and any bad news, these sounds help me with my stress. I think that ambient music is more important for people than ever. This mix applies to a contemporary person.

Loris S. Sarid “Orizzontale verticale”
Inner Travels “Sirao”
Chie Otomi “Cardamom”
Gallery Six “Her Gentle Smile”
Kyle Bobby Dunn “Grab (And It’s Lost Legacies)”
Harold Budd “Campanile”
Bålsam “You’ll Be Safe Here (Long Version)”
Rhucle “Gardenia”

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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”

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Logo by Rik Oostenbroek

SOUNDWAVE : 42 : MIKE CADOO

Today’s guest deejay is Mike Cadoo, the founder of n5MD, an independent record label based out of Oakland, California, that focuses on ambient, modern composition, post-rock, and experimental electronic music.

I showcased n5MD on solipsistic NATION some years ago. Let me share what I said about n5MD on that episode of solipsistic NATION, which explains why I invited Mike to be our guest deejay on today’s show.

“What I’ve always found so charming is that the releases on n5MD don’t just provide music that establishes a mood. The releases on n5MD take you on an emotional journey, which I find far more compelling and interesting. Anyone can play a chord in E minor that will evoke an emotional response. Still, it’s much more difficult to build an emotionally complex song and takes you places in your imagination. Let me take that back. There are plenty of people who can do that, there are a just few people who do it well and do it with sincerity, and I think that’s what n5MD is all about.”

Mike’s mix for today’s show captures everything I just said about his label. Mike is going to take you by the hand and gently guide you through an emotional journey.

Mike explained that while waiting for the Near The Parenthesis vinyl to arrive, he made an ambient mix that features no n5MD artists. Mike usually does one of these each year, and I’m thankful he shared it with us.

As I’ve mentioned many times before, I launched SOUNDWAVE to cope with the stress and isolation brought about by COVID-19. I did not expect how much I would need SOUNDWAVE, and Mike’s mix, in particular, to provide the solace I need during our nation’s attempted coup. I suspect I will need it more in the next few weeks, if not the next few months and years.

On that sad note…

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Steve Swartz.

See you then!

dj healer “Protectionspell”
Stars of the Lid “Mullholland”
Jon Hopkins featuring King Creosote “Immunity”
Neil Cowley & Ben Lukas Boysen “A Grain of Truth”
The Ideal Setback “Whittle”
Black Swan “Slow Oblivion, Part I”
Chronovalve “Something to Hope For”
Holy Fawn “Tethered”
loscil “Neve”
Nils Frahm “A Shine”
ILUITEQ “Moon Disconnected”
KMRU “degree of change”
r beny “Golden Larch Emerging fin Spring”
Julianna Barwick “Same”
KMRU “Whir”
Carlos Ferreira “Epilogue”
Sea Oleena “Portugal (A Lift)”
bvdub “I Would Have Waited”

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

Logo by Rik Oostenbroek