Ian is another fantastic musician I was introduced to through Yann Novak (listen to his mixes for Soundwave here and here). Every artist Yann has turned me on to has been outstanding. Oh, I’ll still listen to the releases of the musicians he recommends before inviting the person to guest deejay on Soundwave, but it’s perfunctory at this point. I know anyone Yann suggests is going worthwhile.
Take today’s mix.
Ian begins his playlists with a lovely tune by Cosmo Sheldrake. Wherever Ian is going to take me on this mix, I’m happy to be along for the ride. And it’s an emotional journey, full of meditations and reflections, not all of it gentle. Appropriate enough for the time of year.
Ian recently released Sedge, which he calls “a little tape of sandhill crane recordings,” available through Luminous Drift. I’m listening to the album as I write this. It’s quite nice and a great way to wind down this post.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Joshua Bruner.
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.
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.
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!