SOUNDWAVE : 75 : COMPLEX HOLIDAY

Today’s guest deejay is Robert Farrugia, co-founder of Complex Holiday, an itinerant label for inside-out ambient and sound art tomfoolery.

I’m usually fastidious about tracking how I come to know guest deejays on Soundwave. Unfortunately, my initial conversation with Robert began on Facebook Messenger and that chat is lost to the ether. Well, really, Facebook has that conversation stored somewhere. But it’s as good as gone for me.

Whatever lead me to Robert, I’m glad I invited him to join us.

What you may or may not know is that I get the mixes you hear months in advance. I usually enjoy it for a week or two before I move on to listen to the next guest deejay’s mix. I’ll also re-listen to the mix a few weeks before their show is released. I listen to the mixes a lot.

Robert Farrugia, Photograph by Chris Vella / Storbju

Robert’s mix was a welcome companion for the last week. Nationally, the U.S. is caught between wildfires and hurricanes. Internationally, the U.S. has left Afghanistan. And on a personal note, the was my kid’s first week at high school. While our area is 75% vaccinated, I’m still anxious about how this will work out. Within the first week there’s already been a report of a student with COVID-19. Robert’s mix felt like an echo of how I’ve been feeling about all of it.

There’s a tension that builds up early in Robert’s mix that unravels nearly halfway through before exploring different sonic territory. The mix ends hauntingly and somberly.

That feels right.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Michael Donaldson.

See you then!

Dylan Henner “I Was Reading the News But I Felt So Sad I had to Stop”

Snap Dragon “Breathe”

Benoît Pioulard “Whose Palms Create”

Robert Farrugia “Tlellix”

Warmth “Cirrus”

David Cordero “Sevredol (Sight Below Remix)”

Marsha Fisher “Chapter House”

Kurt Buttigieg “Confiance en quoi”

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