Infinite Coil

This is just a quick post to bring attention to a fine ambient release that you can find on Bandcamp.

The recording is transmit by infinite_coil and it's a wonderful example of guitar based ambient.  I've been using this as sleep music for the last week or so, works perfectly.

The music comes to us from Tom Lindsey, the curator of the excellent Spaceman's Transmissions mix blog.  You can also find Tom's mixes on Mixcloud here... tonepoet.

Tom also has a recording he did with a friend under the name harmony & decay.  It's on Bandcamp as well & is definitely worth downloading.  I'm sure I'll be working both of these recordings into future mixes.

Enjoy.

Sci Fi Adventures - All These Worlds

The good folks over at Nocturne Records asked me to do a mix for their podcast.  They put out some great music so how could I resist!

Most of the time with my mixes I'll stumble upon one or two tunes that spark an idea.  In this case I rediscovered an old electronic album that I had in college. It's a compilation called Music from the 21st Century.

That album got me thinking about science fiction music, whether it's music used in sci-fi or just tunes that sound like they should be in a sci-fi film.

This mix uses two tracks from the 21st Century album along with several other old electronic cuts.  A couple of those older cuts are from another college favorite, Synergy - Cords.  I loved that album back then & still go to it occasionally for a nostalgia hit.  The whole album definitely has a sci fi movie soundtrack sort of feel to it.  The mix isn't totally old electronics, there is also some newer material mixed in. 

Enjoy.



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T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Vangelis - Blush Response
• 04:00    Synergy - A Presuming to be Modern I
• 06:50    Richard Pinhas - L' Ethique
• 11:20    Lights Out Asia - All These Worlds are Yours
• 13:15    The Black Dog - Lounge
• 14:15    Frank Comstock - On the Dark Side of the Moon
• 16:00    Michael Garrison - Escape (music from the 21st century)
• 18:20    Synergy - Disruption in World Communications
• 22:00    David Bowie - Abdulmajid
• 25:10    Elf Machine - Evolutions Arrow
• 29:00    Underworld & John Murphy - Capa Meets the Sun
• 30:45    Vector Lovers - Girl + Robot
• 32:50    Maps & Diagrams - Skynet
• 35:30    Bruce Courtois - Inside the Black Hole (music from the 21st century)
• 37:10    Vangelis - Longing
• 38:35    Solar Fields - Blue Moon Station
• 45:00    Cliff Martinez - First Sleep
• 47:30    Rena Jones - The Problem of Time
• 49:50    Schengen - Me n' U
• 50:30    Lopside - To the Point of Obscurity
• 55:50    Vangelis - Fading Away
• 59:00    end 

 
 
 

Sci Fi Adventures Vol. 1 - All These Worlds by Lowlight on Mixcloud

 
 
 

Searching for songs

I'm looking for more song suggestions for an upcoming mix.

I've done several Sunday Morning Music mixes and for the next one I'd like to give it a new wrinkle.  Or actually an old wrinkle, as I'd like to a 1970s version of the Sunday Morning series.

So if you have any ideas for quiet music from the 70s, I'd love to hear them.  The tunes can be jazz, folk, ambient, electronic, whatever fits the feel of the series.

I've already started collecting tracks from folks like Eno, Soft Machine, Nick Drake, John Martyn, King Crimson and more.  I'm sure there are plenty of songs out there that would fit right in, so just leave any suggestions you have in the comments.

Thanks!

Rivers Flow

Cedar Creeek in Cedarburg, WI.

 This mix ended up in a different place than when it started.  I have folder in my prospective mix bin called "just plain old good ambient."  It had a few tracks in it & I sat down with it intending to make a mix with that "theme" in mind.

But then when I got to tracks #5, the Jasper, TX track, I started to hear something else happening.  It was the title of track #5, "Rivers Flow," that gave me the idea of where this mix really wanted to go.  It was taking me downstream.  Floating, drifting, flowing downstream.

I listened to the cut already laid down and sure enough they did fit with a river theme.  After deciding on the new direction I sought out a few more tracks and.. TA DA!  A new mix with a flowing river theme.

The mix contains some low light regulars like Eno and Maps & Diagrams.  The Kiln track I've been hanging on to for a long time, waiting for the right spot & I think this is it.  The first cut is from Lowercase Noises, an artist I discovered on Bandcamp.  Check him out here...Lowercase Noises.

Next up, a Sci Fi mix for Josh at Nocturne Records.


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T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Lowercase Noises - Ambient songs 01
• 05:15    Kiln - Drala
• 07:15    Michael Brook - Mimosa
• 12:40    Field Rotation - Repetition of History
• 17:00    Jasper, TX - Rivers Flow
• 21:45    Xela - The Only Rose
• 24:10    Gagarin - An Tarbet
• 28:50    Maps & Diagrams - Searching Faraway Places
• 30:50    Brian Eno - Unfamiliar Wind
• 35:10    Benoit Pioulard - If I could possibly tell the difference
•   I wouldn't care anyway
• 39:40    The Green Kingdom - Kalimba Sketch
• 43:05    Noto & Sakamoto - By This River (phantom)
• 46:00    Aglaia - On the Banks of a River
• 49:33    Martin Herterich - Silent Fields 2
• 55:15    Brian Eno - Riverside
• 58:37    end

Rivers Flow by Lowlight on Mixcloud

Ambient by Non-ambient Artists

Ambient music will never be a popular genre.  We all know the kind of looks we get from people when they hear some of our ambient tunes.  But over time ambient sensibilities have crept into a lot of modern music.  And artists that normally don't do ambient music have dipped their toes into a droning sea.

So that's where this mix takes us, to tunes that are fairly to very ambient, by non-ambient artists.  Many of the artists on this tracklist aren't exactly big surprises, Sylvian, Bowie, Gabriel & Boards of Canada have done many ambient-like tracks over the years.  But they are not known primarily as ambient artists.  I didn't include the Genesis tune that inspired this mix, mainly because it was the featured track in an earlier mix.  But I did manage to sneak in another Genesis tune from the same album.

Thanks to everyone for all the great suggestions.  I think 6 made it into the final mix.  I am saving some of the recommendations for the next Sunday morning mix.  Thanks!


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T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Andrew Bird - Belles
• 02:20    U2 - 4th of July
• 04:00    David Sylvian - Answered Prayers
• 06:39    S. Cary - Rothko Fields
• 07:44    Peter Gabriel - Slow Marimbas
• 10:30    Mercury Rev - Pickup if you're there
• 12:00    Radiohead - Treefingers
• 15:17    Boards of Canada - Over the Horizon Radar
• 16:05    Boards of Canada - Heard from Telegraph Lines
• 17:00    Nine Inch Nails - A Warm Place
• 19:33    David Bowie - Art Decade
• 22:45    Genesis - Ravine
• 24:15    Andrew Bird - Yawny at the Apocalypse
• 27:00    Trespassers William - Just Like This(disinterested remix)
• 31:45    Peter Gabriel - The Nest That Sailed The Sky
• 36:08    Richard Hawley - Last Orders
• 40:55    Unkle - The Piano Echoes
• 45:30    David Bowie - The Mysteries
• 51:50    Peter Gabriel - Powerhouse at the Foot of the Mountain
• 52:50    Laurie Anderson - Walking and Falling
• 54:20    John Martyn - Small Hours(instrumental version)
• 1:04:10    end

Ambient by non-ambient artists by Lowlight on Mixcloud

Looking for songs

I don't know if I've ever posted a request for song ideas before.  But I am now.

I want to do a mix of ambient songs by non-ambient artists.  My perfect example of this is "Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats" by Genesis.  I've used in mixes in the past and I'd like to find other songs that fit the criteria.  Something like Radiohead - Treefingers would work too.  There are probably strange little cuts buried on albums over the years that only real fans know about(like the Genesis tune).

So if anyone has any ideas please either leave them in the comments or email me.  Hopefully I can cobble together a mix of these tunes in the next few weeks.

Thanks!

Sunday Morning Music vol. 5 - Chasing Ice

I have to be honest.  One of the reasons I've done so many(#5 now) of these Sunday morning music mixes is that they are so popular, especially on Mixcloud.  So I'm a sellout, a ratings whore.  I admit it.  But I like to think that each Sunday mix is a good listen in it's own way.

I usually stumble upon a song or two that prompts me to start a new mix.  In this case it was the song "Before My Time" which leads off the mix.  It's the song that plays during the credits of the film Chasing Ice.  When I heard it as the credits rolled it knocked my socks off.  That's Scarlett Johansson singing.  She's got a unique voice,  not one to be used for candy coated pop music.  But absolutely perfect for the beautiful restraint of "Before My Time."

I hope this mix is another worthy addition to the Sunday morning music series.  Enjoy.


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T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    J. Ralph & Scarlett Johansson - Before My Time (from Chasing Ice OST)
• 03:33    Sigur Ros - Varðeldur (from Valtari)
• 09:15    Manu Katché - Slowing the Tides (from Manu Katché)
• 14:35    Simon Scott - sealevel.1 (from Below Sealevel)
• 18:25    Kiln - Centrifu (from Thermals)
• 19:40    S. Carey - Mothers (from All We Grow)
• 24:45    Andrew Bird - Night Sky (from Norman OST)
• 28:13    Endless Melancholy - A Song for the Morning Star (from Music for Quiet Mornings)
• 32:40    Schulte & Martin - Frosty Morning (from Treasure)
• 36:10   J. Ralph - Chasing Ice (Croconite) (from Chasing Ice OST)
• 39:05    Max Richter - Winter 3 (from Vivaldi 4 Seasons Recomposed)
• 43:15    Patrick Watson - Noisy Sunday (from Adventurers in Your Own Backyard)
• 45:05    Garth Stevenson - Dawn (from Flying)
• 50:55    Manuell Göttsching - Quasarsphere (from Inventions for Electric Guitar)
• 56:55    J. Ralph - You're No Longer Just a Human Being (from Chasing Ice OST)
• 58:40    end

Sunday Morning Music vol. 5 - Chasing Ice by Lowlight on Mixcloud

dubscapes & dreamscapes

I love the end of the year because of all the lists that get posted all over the place.  I love discovering releases that I knew nothing about.  The folks over at Headphone Commute have started their mammoth collection of 15 best of lists here.  

Over at A Closer Listen they have lists for best field recordings, modern composition, experimental, post rock, overall, etc. and guest lists.

Secret Thirteen has a ton of guest lists where I found a bunch of stuff I'd never heard of.

There is a nice eclectic list over at Textura that is worth checking out.

While cruising these lists I came across some excellent electronic music.  Some of techno, some idm, some dub.  I found enough ambient/dub stuff to make me want to do a new dubby & dreamy mix.  So that's what this new mix is, a collection slow beats with a dubby feel with some ambient synth washes to keep things dreamy.


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T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Ezekiel Honig & Morgan Packard - Balm
• 02:15    Submersion - Erosion II
• 04:00    Ezekiel Honig & Morgan Packard - Hibernate
• 06:55    Silent Harbour - Descending Radius Curve
• 09:00    Kabana - Reflex
• 13:55    Ghosting Season - Through Your Teeth
• 18:00    DJAx - Machines
• 21:00    Deepchord - Rippling
• 22:00    Arc of Doves - Arabesque
• 24:45    1991 - High-Tech Slow-Life
• 28:00    Andy Stott - Luxury Problems
• 30:30    Deepchord - Theme from Silent World
• 36:40    Alteria Percepsyne - Circumvent
• 39:10    sonmi451 - Vladivostok
• 44:00    Coppice Halifax - Dusk II (axs silent night breathing)
• 49:50    Voices from the Lake - Hgs
• 53:55    Lee Gamble - 3,4 synthetics
• 54:25    Willits & Sakamoto - I Don’t Want To Understand
• 1:00:33    end

Dubscapes & dreamscapes by Lowlight on Mixcloud

Best of 2012 pt. 2 - ambient version

As I said in my previous post, I spent more time listening to "normal" music than usual this year.  But hat's not to say there weren't some fine ambient recordings released in 2012. 

Back in October I did a mix of my favorite ambient artists of all time and three of those artists appear on the 2012 best of list.  Topping that list is Kyle Bobby Dunn.  He continues to put out absolutely perfect ambient music.  Very much like 2010's "A Young Person's guide...", the new album, "Bring Me The Head Of Kyle Bobby Dunn", creates waves of sound & drones that calm & transport.



Here's the entire list of the best ambient/electronic/whatever of 2012, with audio samples when available...


1) Kyle Bobby Dunn - Bring Me The Head of Kyle Bobby Dunn(low point)


2) Bersarin Quartett - II(Denovali Records)


3) Mohn - Mohn(Kompakt)


4) 36 - Lithea(3six Recordings)


5) Taylow Deupree - Faint(12k)


6) Forrest Fang - Animism(Projekt)

7) Loops of Your Heart - And Never Ending Nights(Magazine)

8) Loscil - Sketches from New Brighton(Kranky)


9) Sonmi451 - Four Peaks(Time Released Sound)
http://soundcloud.com/time-released-sound/sonmi451-grossglockner

10) Steve Roach & Dirk Serries -  low volume music(Projekt)


11) Spheruleus - Cyanometry(Tessellate)


12) V.A. - lost in the humming air (music inspired by harold budd) (Oktaf)

13) Willamette - Always in Postscript(Own Records)

14) Marconi Union - Different Colours(Just Music)


15) Eivind Aarset - Dream Logic(ECM)
dream logic player

16) Nils Frahm - Screws(Erased Tapes)


17) John Adams - Harmonielehre - Short Ride in a Fast Machine(SFS Media)


18) VA - Air Texture Volume II(Air Texture)


19) Andy Stott - Luxury Problems(Modern Love)


20) Peter James - Landfall(Relaxed Machinery)

Best of 2012, part 1

Over the last couple of years, I've been listening to more & more "normal" music.  By "normal" I mean music that is not ambient or electronic.  Most of it I guess would qualify as indie music.  

I think my changing taste is due to the influence of my daughter & a few coworkers.  Maybe it's also due to accumulating such huge amounts of ambient music over the years that it all starts to blend together after awhile.  I still listen to a lot of ambient & electronic music and I'll have a list of my favorite ambient/electronic records of the year soon.  I will definitely keep making ambient mixes with some beat driven & vocal mixes sprinkled in.

My son is trying to turn me on to electronic dance/trance/dubstep/club music and even some hip hop.  As a matter of fact one of my top albums is a hip hop record from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - "The Heist".  It's a ton of fun and has one of my favorite songs of year on it - "Same Love".  That tune will be on another list of great songs from 2012.

For my top album of the year I kind of cheated.  Andrew Bird released two fabulous albums this year, "Break It Yourself" and "Hands of Glory".  "Hands" is sort of a companion piece to the first album so I combined them together as my favorite of the year(they are sold together as a set now).
   


Recorded in a weeklong session at his barn outside of Chicago, the songs were performed essentially live.  That approach gives the music an intimate feel.  I had always been aware of Bird's music but was never really sucked into his world.  But these deceptively simple folk songs combined with his beautiful violin playing absolutely blew me away.  I am now on a mission to listen to his entire back catalog.

An album that I really liked but am surprised to not see it on more end of the year lists is "History Speaks" by Deep Sea Diver.  Front-woman Jessica Dobson has played bass and keys with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, guitar for the Shins and Beck.  Just one great song after another.  Check out the link below for an excellent video from Sound on Sound.

Deep Sea Diver : In Black & White 

 One of several surprises this year was the album "Home Again" by Michael Kiwanuka.  It's possibly the most "normal" album I've listened to in years.  It has the wonderful retro, soulful feel to it.  The recording obviously is trying to sound like it's 40 years old but it doesn't feel forced, the music is completely natural.  It sounds like something I've been listening to my whole life.



 Another surprise was Neil Young's "Psychedelic Pill".  Some epic tunes that go on forever and are all the more awesome for it.  Here's a short version of "Walk Like a Giant"(long version is much better)...



One last sound sample I couldn't resist posting because they are a local band from Milwaukee.  They are Vic and Gab, a songwriting sister duo playing indie pop/rock with nice harmonies.

 

 I think that's probably enough babbling on for now.  I'll post a list of ambient favs soon.  And a list of favorite songs, some of which I've been playing on continuous loop for weeks now.  Wow, it was a good year for music!  I haven't had this much fun discovering, playing & really getting into new music for years.  Anyone who says there is no more good music out there is either an idiot, not really trying or both.

Here's the list...

Best of 2012:
1) Andrew Bird - Break It Yourself & Hands of Glory
2) Lord Huron - Lonesome Dreams
3) Neil Young - Psychedelic pill
4) Deep Sea Diver - History Speaks
5) Of Monsters & Men - My Head is an Animal
6) Father John Misty – Fear Fun
7) The Lumineers - The Lumineers
8) Michael Kiwanuka  - Home Again
9) Best Coast - The Only Place
10) The Avett Brothers - The Once and Future Carpenter
11) Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Here
12) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - The Heist
13) Arrange - New Memory
14) Grizzly Bear - Shields
15) The xx - Coexist
16) Elbow - Dead in the Boot
17) Patrick Watson - Adventures in Your Own Backyard
18) DIIV - Oshin
19) Sun Kil Moon - Among the Leaves
20) Tallest Man on Earth - There’s No Leaving Now
21) David Byrne & St. Vincent – Love This Giant
22) Vic and Gab - Bridges and Guns
23) Daniel Rossen - Silent Hour/Golden Mile
24) Divine Fits - A Thing Called Divine Fits
25) Alt-J - An Awesome Wave