I was introduced to Hekla through the kind folks at Phantom Limb (listen to their mix for Soundwave here). Hekla is known for her explorations into the depths of sound, blending influences from her Icelandic roots with experimental electronic sounds. Her album, Á, was breath taking, as is her more recent album, Xiuxiuejar, both of which I encourage you to experience.
Hekla
In her mix for Soundwave, Hekla takes us on a journey through the themes of nature, spirituality, and human connection. Her selection of songs includes works by the Estonian composer Veljo Tormis, whose choral music draws on ancient folk traditions, as well as Ghédalia Tazartés’ haunting “Un amour si grand Qu’il Nie Son Objet” and Meredith Monk’s playful “Cow Song.” Hekla also includes a selection from the French composer Olivier Messiaen’s “O Sacrum Convivium,” which explores the theme of spiritual communion.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Jonas Munk.
I met Bulut well over a decade ago while producing Solipsistic Nation, my electronic music podcast. I was a fan of his New Turkish Beat podcast, and we started an acquaintanceship on Twitter.
I’ve been reflecting on that time for the last few days. It was during Solipsistic Nation that I enjoyed Twitter the most. The network was becoming large enough that I could strike up great conversations and meet interesting people but still small enough that things didn’t get lost in the noise. I still love Twitter, but I admit that the number of genuine interactions I’ve had in the last few years has dwindled.
As I write this, Twitter seems like it might crash and burn. Something will emerge out of the wreckage, but it might not be anything we recognize as Twitter. But maybe that’s okay. Perhaps Twitter has served its purpose. I’m glad I met people like Bulut while it was still vibrant.
Bulut has some words about his mix below.
Join us next weekend when out guest deejay will be Glyn Bush.
See you then.
My idea while recording this podcast was that the listener would pay some attention to the music at the beginning of the podcast. Then they would gradually let the sound disappear into the background after the second half. I call this mix “Relax” because I selected some tracks that I believe are relaxing from the beginning. The podcast gets dreamier toward the second half. The second half is super easy to ignore. I recommend starting with a volume that you consider medium or even louder. The podcast intentionally gets very quiet toward the end, so you may barely hear it. I thought this podcast could provide an hour-long atmosphere where you can ignore the sound towards the end by focusing on reading, studying, or falling asleep.
“Funky Zena” by Mickey Hart
Mickey Heart is the legendary drummer of Grateful Dead. There is definitely magic on this entire album. This is a surprisingly relaxing percussion album that is also good for dancing. I play the hand drums myself and I enjoy the meditational aspect of repetitive beats. There is magic in this track for sure.
“Big Man Cry” by Banco de Gaia
An English electronic musician named TobyMarks. This is one of my favorite tracks by Banco de Gaia.This sound sends your soul to a faraway place.
“Selig Sind, Die Da HierWeinen” by Popol Vuh
Popol Vuh was aGerman musical collective founded by Florian Fricke and FrankFiedler. Some say that Popol Vuh is a Krautrock band. I enjoy their relaxing psychedelic tracks and the good news is that they have a lot of good ones. This is what I call "comfortably numb ":)
“Letting Go of This Radiant Hive” by Vir Unis
Vir Unis is an American New Age Musician. The New Age music radiates positive energy. This track is exactly what we needed in this spot.
“Ancient Anatolia” by DJ.Bulut
The only instrument on this track is my electric guitar. I processed the sound to give this a slow and ambient vibe. There is repetition in this which should help us lose track of time very quickly. I believe that my track sounds relaxing at low volumes. It is a long track. In fact, it turned the volume down on the podcast recording so that the listeners can enjoy it quietly. Too quiet for you at this point? Feel free to turn it up 🙂
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!
I invited Pierre to share a mix on Soundwave after hearing his 2019 album, You Disappeared. Since then, Pierre has released a new album, Sundown. Where You Disappeared felt like the soundtrack to a China Miéville novel, Sundown felt like a Koyaanisqatsisque soundtrack for a doomed planet. The album notes for Sundown tell a tale of desperate conflict in Rome in the year 2062. That works, too. The album drips with foreboding.
Pierre Laplace
The first mix Pierre shared was an unexpected delight. Then I could hear the influences of someone like, say, Ennio Morricone, in his music, Pierre’s mix didn’t convey the feeling of his own music. Pierre’s mix for today’s show is further from his albums. His mix is more unexpected and just as delightful.
Aside from three artists, I’m unfamiliar with the musicians who appear in Pierre’s mix. I’ve gone down the listening rabbit hole on Spotify because all the music in his mix is brilliant. I’m sure you’ll be doing the same.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be KMRU.
Everybody hates Twitter. I understand why. There’s so much vitriol and misinformation. I’ve rarely had those experiences on Twitter. My experiences on Twitter have been good for the most part.
Take today’s show.
Last year Emil Zapffe guest deejayed on the show. He opened his mix with a track from Giulio. I shared the show on Twitter, and Giulio thanked Emil for including him in the mix. I invited Giulio to join us on Soundwave, and here we all are today.
Giulio Aldinucci
Giulio describes his mix as “Altri ambienti: a glimpse at Italian minimalism between the 70s and 80s in five pictures.”
Giulio’s mix is lovely. It’s helped get me through the week. Summer decided to get hot in San Diego. I work from my kitchen table and am blasted by the sun all day. If you had a video camera trained on me, you’d see me moving my laptop around my kitchen table to flee the sun’s light coming from my skylight. But there’s no escaping the heat. I’ve been baking in the sun all week long, which leaves me a little stunned, making me more receptive to Giulio’s mix. Some songs lend themselves to the heat, and I lost myself in their shimmering sound waves. Others felt like a cool draught of air.
You’ll want to hear more music from Giulio. His new album Real will be released on Karlrecords on October 14, available on vinyl, cassette, and digital.
All this from a conversation that started on Twitter.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Stefan Beck.
Alisú included Riz Maslen in her mix for Soundwave last fall, which led to me spending hours re-visiting the music Riz recorded as Neotropic, as well as her work with 4hero and The Future Sound of London. I invited Riz to share a mix with us, and it’s something else.
Riz mix begins with a piece by Freddie Philips, a British composer known for his work on television music, particularly the theme for Camberwick Green. It’s what I imagine a mix from Wes Anderson might sound like, and I would have been completely satisfied if Riz stayed within that genre. But Riz pivots to Egyptian jazz-inspired psychedelic rock, shifts to trip-hop, and never looks back. And yet, Riz’s mix never feels incongruous. Each track seamlessly blends into the next.
You’re in for quite the journey.
Each mix shared on Soundwave is special. When I say that, I’m not equivocating; they are unique. But some resonate with me more than others, and Riz’s mix is one of those mixes. As the pandemic continues to disrupt our lives, I’ve found Riz’s mix to sometimes act as a balm and other times a needed distraction.
I envy you. I wish I could hear Riz’s mix again for the first time.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Robocat.
In the beforetimes, a friend posted a link to Heilung’s new album, Futha, on Facebook. I listened to a few songs and scoffed that Heilung was a Nordic version of Enya. But Heilung’s costumes captured my imagination, and I went back and listened to their album in its entirety and became a fan. So much so that I went to perform when they were in Los Angeles.
Heilung we’re excellent! I was transported to an age undreamt of for the next hour or so. Heilung looked like Nordic shamans and cheiftans. Aside from the band, there were a dozen warriors and shield maidens. Antlers adorned microphone stands. Some of the audience dressed almost as provocatively as I saw on stage.
Spotify started to serve up music much like Heilung on my Discover Weekly playlist within a few weeks. It dawned on me that what Heilung called amplified history was a genre.
Munknörr
And that’s how I came across Munknörr.
Munknörr means “the ship of the mind,” and this music on today’s show will transport you to other worlds and times. If you’re new to Munknörr, today’s show is an excellent place to start. Damián’s mix explores their many singles and albums.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Darren McClure.
I’ve been a fan of Alex’s music since the last century. It feels strange to write that, but it’s true.
I discovered Alex on his Cypher 7 album, Decoder that he recorded with Jeff Bova. Decoder came in all all-back CD jewel case. Very mysterious and very sexy. Decoder was released on Strata, Bill Laswell’s sub-label of Subharmonic Records, and that was all I needed to know in my decision-making process to purchase the album. I was not disappointed. Decoder was as mysterious and sexy as its CD case. The music was minimal, sinuous, and entrancing.
Alex Haas
I’ve been listening to Alex’s music over the decades. When his album, The Woods, recorded with Michel Banabila and Bill Laswell, popped up on my Spotify Discover Weekly playlist, I immediately invited Alex to guest deejay on Soundwave.
Alex’s mix is exactly what I expected and delights with music from unexpected sources. You’re in for a treat.
Before I get out of here, I want to wish everyone happy holidays.
I also encourage you to followGenius and Soul on your favorite podcast app. Genius and Soul is a weekly show featuring jazz, Black classical music, and more, with mixes lovingly selected by our guest deejays. Our first guest deejay will be legendary composer, pianist, singer, and flautist Brian Jackson. Genius and Soul launches on January 1, 2022.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be iu takahashi.
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!
Hunter Reyne, AKA felt body
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.
Corey was on Soundwave last summer, and his mix was unique because it was an extension of his show on AshevilleFM, where he played instrumental soundtracks. Sadly, Corey no longer produces that show. Fortunately for us, Corey kept to that format for today’s mix.
When I invite guest deejays on Soundwave, I’ll ask them to write up a description of their mix: the reason they chose songs, if there was a theme or story they wanted to convert through their mix, etc. The mixes speak for themselves, but I think it adds another level of appreciation for understanding their intentions.
If they don’t send me a description, I’ll usually write my impressions of their mix. But for today’s show, I decided to call Corey and hear in his own words the motivations behind his mix.
Corey Parlamento
Corey’s mix is built around the kernel of Black to Comm’s “Stolen Androgens.” Corey said he listened to this track repeatedly long before he assembled today’s show. The song begins so abruptly and then loops itself around some fascinating accompaniment. He liked how voice is used in this track.
Corey has had Yasuaki Shimizu’s Music for Commercials album for quite some time and incorporated it into his radio show for segues. The faint sound of water drops is what attracted him to Shimizu’s “Seiko 2.”
Fatima Al Qadiri’s “Souleiman’s Theme” is taken from the Atlantic film score, Corey’s current favorite soundtracks of the last couple of years, and transitions nicely into Kali Malone’s “Hagakyrka Bells,” from her album, The Sacrificial Code.
Corey also selected a track from the remastered soundtrack for Lady Macbeth by Third Ear Band, followed by Mary Steele’s “Al Rosana (My Rose),” which is available through Canary Records. This label specializes in archival music. “Al Rosana (My Rose)” is recorded from the 1920s in New York City and features a sonic blend of many cultures. Corey told me this piece is eery and conveyed a sense of decaying time.
Loren Connors takes it down a notch after Gordon, who is one of Corey’s favorite guitarists.
Corey wanted to follow Connors with a longer track from Sean McCann’s “Puck” but settled on “Nightfall.” Corey describes the album that track was taken from as having a lot of space, weird vocalizations, subtle noises, drones, and crashing sounds.
Corey closes his mix with a track of his own which he recorded under the name Livingdog. The track is taken from his album, The Four Times, released by Cold Moon Records out of New York City. This is the one-year anniversary of The Four Times, and Corey says the album was inspired by Le Quattro Volte. The movie has no soundtrack, but Corey’s imagination was capture by the meditations on a goat farmer who is reincarnated into a goat, then reincarnated into a tree which then turns into smoke.
And there you have it, Corey’s mix.
Oh, and Corey wanted me to tell you that he’s got a new album coming out on July 23 called Many Aways. I will, of course, remind you when the album is released
Jon Hassell
Before I leave you to Corey’s wonderful and mysterious mix, I have some sad news. When I launched Soundwave, I didn’t anticipate having to say farewell to so many talented and wonderful musicians in one short year. Today it saddens me to tell you that Jon Hassell, a trumpet player pioneering electronic musician, left planet earth last week. Jon played with everyone, from Brian Eno to Peter Gabriel to Techno Animal. I first became aware of Jon on his appearance on the Myths 3 : La nouvelle sérénité compilation album, and he’s been part of the soundtrack to my life ever since. You owe it to yourself to make Jon part of the soundtrack to your own life. I encourage you to purchase his music or stream him on your favorite streaming service.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be felt body.
