uk – Synecdoche

SOUNDWAVE : 126 : JOHAN DE REYBEKILL

Today’s guest deejay is Johan de Reybekill, AKA Phaedrus.

I discovered Johan through Quasi, the album collaborated on with Dronny Darko (listen to Dronny’s mix for Soundwave here). I was swept away by the experience and listened to Johan’s projects and concerts. Of course, I invited Johan to guest deejay on Soundwave, and he’s shared something wonderful with us.

I have a routine for my four-year-old grandkid when it’s time to sleep. I tell him a story that includes events from his day and his friends, the Little Old Mouse and Purple Monster. Then I play some ambient music for him to drift away to, usually Brian Eno, whom we call Uncle Eno. My go-to’s are Eno’s Ambient 4: On Land and The Pearl, an album he recorded with the late Harold Budd. I’ve listed to a lot of Brian Eno since becoming a Dziadzia (that’s Polish for “grandpa”), and as much as I love Eno’s music, sometimes that means switching things up. Johan doesn’t know it, but I’ve used today’s mix to send my grandkid off to Sleepytime on more than one occasion.

Johan has words about today’s mix below.

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

See you then.

In this mix I have worked with subtle contrasts like: “noisy / minimalistic”, “melodic / droning”, “dark / gentle”, “static / volatile”. A majority of the pieces on the mix is from some of my favourite Scandinavian artists.

The process of creating the mix made me realise just how much I love listening to music in that special way, where I am actively listening to the music in depth; its composition, qualities and details.

I found myself going for long walks just to listen to the mix in its entirety, go home and make adjustments, go for another walk, and so on. I loved the process of working with my own and others’ music as an integral part of what came to be the mix. It was a pleasure and an honour to contribute to Soundwave.

Thanks, Joseph.

Deru “1979 (On a Snowy February Day)”
Badun “SP-0 (Space Leslie Lovers)”
Maulex & Phaedrus “Ouatim”
Phaedrus “Lnog”
Fieldhead “Sky Peals”
Sofie Birch “Begin Sync End”
Kiloton “Disarray”
Signelykke “Wetlands”
ROSYAN “Retaw”
Maulex “Reijka”
Dronny Darko & Phaedrus “Ptolemy’s Parable”
Phaedrus “Rooibos”

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Logo by Rik Oostenbroek

SOUNDWAVE : 88 : DEAD MELODIES

Today’s guest deejay is Tom Moore, AKA Dead Melodies.

After listening to his latest album, Fabled Machines of Old, I invited Tom to guest deejay on Soundwave back in June. The album was released on Cryo Chamber, and it’s what I’ve come to expect from every release from the label: exquisitely crafted dark ambient music that takes you on an emotional journey. Sometimes harrowing, but always rewarding.

Today’s show has been a different experience for me than what I’ve become accustomed to. Usually, I receive mixes for Soundwave six months before I share them with you. I do this for practical reasons. I like to have the mixes well before the release date, so I don’t have to scramble to get shows out weekly. I listened to the mixes you repeatedly hear for months, a byproduct of this arrangement. I become intimately acquainted with the music. They become the soundtrack for my life.

Tom’s schedule did not permit him to send me his mix in advance. I only just got his mix for Soundwave two weeks ago. I didn’t think that would be time enough to allow Tom’s mix to “breather,” but fortunately, I was able to lose myself in the music, and Tom’s mix quickly became an old friend.

Tom has some words about today’s show below.

As always, the shadow of the pandemic looms over Soundwave.

Yesterday I spoke with a professional colleague, and he shared that his production partner had come down with COVID. He told me that he had contracted COVID some months ago, and as a result, his blood pressure is up by 20%; he has experienced liver damage, and his joints ache. I wished him a speedy recovery and that his partner would not suffer lasting effects from the virus. There but for the grace of God goes I, as they say. Except that I expect to catch the virus myself at some point. I don’t know where you listen to Soundwave, but here in the U.S., it seems we want the pandemic to last as long as possible.

But today, I’m still healthy. And I have a lovely show to share with you.

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

See you then!

Thanks for the invitation to put together a mix for the show. It was a fun challenge deciding what to do as I trawled through all my influences and favourite artists, but it wasn’t long before it dawned on me it was near impossible to capture even a fraction of the music that makes me tick in an hour-long cut. So I decided to look at my music, pick out some rarities and remixes, and see how best to present them. My output is pretty diverse, but these rarities seemed to tap into a dark-ambient meets post-rock style. I paired with a few popular tunes from my Cryo Chamber releases to keep on the theme and hopefully create a haunting yet soothing listening experience.

Honourable mentions to the collaborating artists named on the tracks – a remix is always much more than a reforming of stems, but a respectful collaboration with layers of new instruments added, paying homage to the original piece while expanding the sound. Thanks to; Everyday Dust, Zenjungle, Understated Theory (my side project/band), and Owsey. Thanks to Cryo Chamber and Sparkwood Records, who have published a few of the included tunes.

Dead Melodies “Winter’s Bite”
Everyday Dust “Where Light Fails (Dead Melodies Solar Frenzy Mix)”
Dead Melodies “The Wake of Man”
Zenjungle “Elegy for The Will (Dead Melodies’ Perspective)”
Dead Melodies “Secrets Foretold”
Understated Theory “Solitary Demons”
Owsey “Thousands of Summer Twilights (Dead Melodies Remix)”
Dead Melodies “A Trial of Crows and Blood”
Dead Melodies “Certain Beasts”

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SOUNDWAVE : 78 : TRIPLICATE RECORDS

Today’s guest deejay is Michael Southard of Triplicate Records.

A couple of months ago, Soundwave guest deejay Ishmael Cormack (listen to his mix here) asked for musical recommendations from his followers on Twitter.

Ismael got a lot of responses, and I listened to every suggestion on Spotify. If I heard something I liked, I’d invite the musician to guest deejay on Soundwave. Anthéne, for example, appeared on the show back in August. And today’s show, of course, features Triplicate Records.

I remember back in the 80’s listening to the soundtrack to Birdy by Peter Gabriel and wishing some musicians would record music for imaginary soundtracks. Such music existed, but I wasn’t aware of it until the following year when I was turned on to Brian Eno’s Ambient 4: On Land and Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks. Finding Eno, and musicians like him, was everything I hoped for and more.

Over the decades, I’ve seen more and more record labels dedicated to ambient, modern classical, experimental and instrumental music. 12k comes to mind, as does n5MD and Ultimae Records.

Music from Triplicate Records was already popping up on my Spotify Discover Weekly playlist and music I was discovering on Bandcamp. When Triplicate Records was recommended to Ishmael on Twitter, it felt like the universe was telling me to invite them on the show.

Triplicate Records is a boutique record label working primarily with instrumental electronic music. They are 100% artist-run, by producers Michael Southard (Time Rival), Bryan Kraft (BVSMV), and George Ernst (Suncastle). Despite the pandemic, they have gained a following with their unique musical tastes, striking artwork, and consistent output.

You’re going to love today’s mix. If you want to hear more from Triplicate Records, listen to their Spotify playlist here.

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Oleg Puzan of Line Spectrum.

See you then!

Belly Full of Stars “Pattern 3”
Building a Building “As an Animal I Roamed Fearless and Free Over The Hills In The Warmth of the Sun”
Ian Hawgood “Flutter Echo Refrain”
Gary Rees “Flora & Fauna”
Hverheij “Inklings”
Time Rival “Light Pollution”
Belial Pelegrim “The Trillings of Nightingales”
BVSMV “Rubicon”
Survey Channel “Seppy Divide”
Crest of the Syndicate “The Orchard”
Devras Plexi “Radii Central Source”
Suncastle “Boutique”
Glass Roots “The Daily Male”
Chris Randall “Twisted Airwaves”
Chaircrusher “Freue Mich”

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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!

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.

NOEL-KIT “Summertime”
Autistici “Edall”
Distant Fires Burning “Science Stops…”
Wil Bolton “Woven Geometry”
mg&mw “Seagulls”

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Logo by Rik Oostenbroek