Today’s returning guest deejay is Raziel Panic. You can listen to Raziel’s previous mix for Soundwave here.
Raziel’s last mix defied my expectations. I naively assumed he would share a mix much like the music Raziel records and performs as YouShriek. Einstürzende Neubauten and Kraftwerk was not a surprise. Arvo Pärt was unexpected. Kitaro caught me entirely off guard.
And yet, where we are again, Raziel has delightfully baffled me.
Today’s mix is full of hypnotic melodies, haunting atmospheres, and evocative compositions. But those are just words. You have to experience Raziel’s mix for yourself. Headphones are perfect. But if you are one of those fortunate few with a decent sound system, crank that sucker and let Raziel’s mix rattle your windowpanes.
Raziel has a few words about his mix below.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Cole Peters.
See you then.
Raziel Panic
Karl is from Angelspit is one of my most recent acquaintances. Drekka is one of my oldest, and Charles from Cathode Ray Tube was my randomly-selected college roommate / dorm flood survivor.
I met Tim through Sanderson Dear, who get deejayed on Soundwave a few months ago (listen to Sanderson’s mix here). As is my want, I asked Sanderon who he thought would share a mix on Soundwave and he highly recommended Tim.
As it happens, both Tim and I are fellow devotees of the Excursions in Ambience compilation album series (listen to my Excursions in Ambience compilation retrospective here). That may explain why Tim’s mix, which features songs completely new to me, feels so familiar. It’s a delight to share Tim’s mix with you.
Tim has words about his mix below.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Raziel Panic.
My 2021 album Excursion was a release born through influence. It was inspired by improvised live electronics, a deep love of electronic music from the 1990’s, and even the compilation series Excursions in Ambience, of which the album was named after. I wanted to revisit those influences for this mix, crafting a similar sonic tapestry, through a different lens. I’ve included the inspiring music that influenced me to start making music, as well as some new works that elicit that same emotional frequency. Enjoy the journey.
Welcome to Soundwave, where we dive deep into the experimental, electronic, and ambient soundscape.
Today’s episode takes us on a nostalgic journey with a retrospective mix of the groundbreaking Excursions in Ambience compilation series. These albums played a pivotal role in shaping the ambient music genre. From the first volume in 1993 to the final fourth installment in 1996, the Excursions in Ambience series explored the intersection of dance music and ambient sounds, capturing the essence of a musical movement that continues to influence artists today.
As a former deejay at WMFO 91.5 FM, these albums were a constant presence in my playlists, providing the perfect soundtrack to my late-night walks home after spinning records at the radio station.
We dedicate this week’s show to the memory of Michael Kandel, who made several appearances on the Excursions in Ambience series and passed away in 2015.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Hekla.
Each track from Sanderson’s mix carries its distinct tone and texture, yet they all resonate with a shared melancholy and longing.
Sanderson has over a decade of experience pushing the boundaries of electronic music. His productions are like a carefully crafted time machine, transporting the listener to otherworldly realms of sound and sensation. At least, that’s what my experience is like.
If you enjoy today’s mix, as I’m sure you will, and want to hear more music from Stasis Recodings, you can look forward to an album from Glo Phase this Where We At…, the label’s third compilation, will be released this May. Don’t want to wait that long? SubDan’s 12” EP, They Shine, is fresh off the presses.
Sanderson has some words about his mix below.
Join us next week when for our Excursions in Ambience compilation retrospective.
See you then.
Sanderson Dear
It’s often difficult to distill the ethos and mantra of an imprint into 60mins while still maintaining a purposed ebb and flow. That was my challenge with this mix. My name is Sanderson Dear. I’m the label manager for Stasis Recordings, a Canadian electronic label operating out of Toronto with an international cast of musicians lending their talents to shape our sonic character. We’ve been releasing music since 2010. This mix highlights and focuses heavily on the chilled-out side of the music ledger. Most of the tracks are from our catalog, but I’ve also snuck in a couple of gems from the crew on other labels I am a fan of.
“After” is one of those pieces by Louis which never fails to leave me speechless. The strings, the spatial dynamics, and just the overall emotional tone. Appears on his vinyl release for Indigo Aera, in my opinion it is the standout track.
“Breathing-In” is Louis’ contribution to our 2020 7” box compilation. The compilation is a decade celebration of releasing music. It’s a project we took 4yrs to organize, and it’s the release I’m most proud of us realizing.
“Entwine (reprise)” is from our upcoming 2023 vinyl LP by Glo Phase.
“Rising Tide” to this day, Urenga’s “Floating Island” release is my favourite out of all the titles we’ve released by him on Stasis Recordings.
“Caju (extended version)” is part of a special vinyl companion to our Time Capsule compilation we’re organizing and planning to calendar soon. It’s a tune by Adriano Mirabile which describes his downtempo chillin’ sound.
“Mistpouffers” a new Off Land jam, appears on our next label compilation hitting digital shops this May.
“Flow” is from our recent vinyl release by SubDan. a 4-track EP bonding 90s D&B elements with ambient chillage vibes.
“Ambrosia” label debut by Mellonius One. Best way to describe his sound, ambient scapes, and soundtrack composing meets downtempo breaks.
“Horizons” by Diahgonal. The production alias of Ruben Alonso Tamayo.. super proud to have some Mexicali techno representation on our little international imprint.
“The Detective” is a jazzy, downtempo track from my first long player.
I met Petter through his brother Jakob Lindhagen. After Jakob shared his mix on Soundwave I asked him who he thought should guest deejay on the show and he highly recommended Petter and I’m so glad he did. Jakob also mentioned that
Petter recently released an absolutely incredible album, Thing. The production is top-notch, with a perfect balance of nostalgia and modernity. Thing showcases a wide range of styles, from downtempo and IDM, to house, techno and experimental music, much like today’s show! Petter’s mix has been the much needed kick in the ass to get my day started.
Petter has some words about his mix below.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Rhucle.
See you then.
Petter Lindhagen
This is a mix of music that inspired my latest album, Thing (released March 2022), and also a couple of songs from that album. My earlier albums with TiredTape Machine were more about harmonies and atmosphere, but for the last few years, I’ve been more interested in beats, rhythm, and sampling.
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
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.
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
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
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!
Sasha is the closest thing Soundwave has to an in-house deejay. I was introduced to her through Dronny Darko (listen to his mix for Soundwave here). Sasha’s first mix was elemental and cosmic. Her second mix was cozy and intimate. Sasha, as Robocat, shared anthemic bangers to celebrate Pride on her third mix for Soundwave.
Sasha Puzan, AKA protoU
Sasha returns with a mix that is, for the most part, a compilation of select tracks from Tehnofonika Records. It’s been my soundtrack as San Diego transitions from summer to fall. It’s dark, rhythmic, atmospheric, and sexy.
Sasha’s new album, Untitledcloud, will be released next month on her birthday, November 10th, through ECOUL SND. If you enjoy Sasha’s music and mixes, consider purchasing her album as a gift to her and yourself. More importantly, she asks that you support Ukraine.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Peter van Cooten.
Having Joseph on the show is a bit of synchronicity. I became aware of Joseph’s music a few years ago while searching for music on Bandcamp. What immediately struck me was the sense of intimacy I experienced while listening to his music. Yes, I’m aware that the genres Joseph expresses himself through lend themselves to that kind of feeling. And I’m also aware that this is a complete projection, but I got the sense that a movement of thoughts and emotions conveyed in his music.
Joseph Kamaru, AKA KMRU
Shortly after conning across Joseph, guest deejays on Soundwave began including tracks from his album in their mixes. So, of course, I reached out to him to share select tracks on the show.
Joseph’s mix, like his releases, has that sense of interplay between thoughts and emotions. And, perhaps, sympathetically, Joseph’s mix stirred up thoughts and feelings in me, which is the whole point.
Join sun next week when our guest deejay will be protoU.
See you then.
Tenka “Nutrition ~ Microorganisms In The Darkness Of Life ~”
Today’s guest deejay is Mike Cadoo, the founder of n5MD, a much loved and respected independent record label based out of Oakland, California. n5MD focuses on ambient, modern composition, post-rock, and experimental electronic music.
As a long-time fan of n5MD, I showcased Mike’s label on solipsistic NATION, my electronic music show, years ago. Mike guest deejayed on Soundwave in 2021 and returns today with a much-needed mix for me.
I can’t go into the details, but last week I nearly died. You’d never know it by looking at me. Physically I’m fine. But I’m shaken. I find that I quickly get emotional about things. Sometimes I have a profound respect for life, all lives. Sometimes I’m filled with existential despair. I’m told this will pass in a few months. In the meantime, I’m having these overwhelming experiences.
Mike doesn’t know this, but his mix helped get me through the week.
Mike has some words about today’s mix below.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Giulio Aldinucci.
See you then.
My song, “Sunrise at Ironhorse Trail,” included in today’s mix, is from a release that I will be releasing on my personal Bandcamp page on World Alzheimer’s Day. My father passed this January in what can best be described as complications due to mixed dementia. All proceeds will be donated to Hope Hospice, which was very integral in the comfort of my father in the last days of his life, as well as, and maybe even more importantly, my mother’s grief counseling after his passing.
