The Mellow Side of Prog

Back in 2007 I did a Prog Rock mix that is still one of my favorite low light mixes.  You can find the original post & download here...PROG ROCK '07.

I've always wanted to do another prog mix.  While on a pro rock binge I came across "For Absent Friends" by Genesis and that gave me the idea of doing a mellow prog mix.

In the original mix I tried to stay away from prog rock mainstays like Genesis & Yes & King Crimson.  This time I couldn't resist some big names like Pink Floyd, Genesis, Brian Eno & Crimson.  Those well known artists combine with some Cantebury scene music from National Health, Soft Machine & Hugh Hopper and Al Gowen.  Most of the tunes are vintage 70's music, with only a couple newer tracks from Willowglass & David Gilmore.

I included kind of an oddball cut from Tony R. Clef.  It's an acoustic cover of Genesis' "Undertow."  He has a few other Genesis tunes that he covers on his YouTube channel here.

I know this mix is a bit different than the usual Low Light Mixes fair, but it was fun to put together and I hope you enjoy it.

[ s t r e a m ] | [ d o w n l o a d ] | [ i t u n e s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Genesis - For Absent Friends
• 01:40    Pink Floyd - If
• 06:05    Soft Machine - Carol Ann
• 09:33    Genesis - Hairless Heart
• 11:45    Strawbs - You & I(when we were young)
• 15:40    Phil Manzanera - Diamond Head
• 19:57    Willowglass - The End
• 21:09    David Gilmore - The Blue
• 26:25    King Crimson - Starless
• 30:54    Brian Eno - Golden Hours
• 34:30    Genesis - Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats
• 36:42    Anthony Philips - Which Way the Wind Blows
• 42:25    National Health - Arriving Twice
• 44:35    Hugh Hopper & Al Gowen - Morning Order
• 50:57    Chris Squire - Lucky Seven
• 57:45     Soft Machine - Virtually Part 4
• 1:01:02    Tony R. Clef - Undertow(acoustic Genesis cover)
• 1:05:54    Pink Floyd - Pigs on a Wing, Pt. 2
• 1:07:18    end

The Mellow Side of Prog by Lowlight on Mixcloud

starry starry night

"I, the fiery life of divine essence, am aflame beyond the beauty of the meadows, I gleam in the waters, and I burn in the sun, moon and stars."

               - Hildegard von Bingen

Electronic & ambient music seems perfectly suited for stargazing.  So you really could use just about any ambient mix for night sky viewing and it will work just fine.  But sometimes it's nice to do a mix specifically geared towards astronomical awe.

It's always interesting to see how the song titles match the theme of the mix.  Sometimes I pick tunes precisely because the titles match but most of the time it's accidental.  In this mix we have titles like "Alpha Centauri", "Polaris", "After Midnight", "One Starry Starry Night" and "Encounter in an unexplored nebula."

As usual the music is a mix of old & new, with most tunes being from the last couple years.  I was happy to sneak in an old track from Jean-Michel Jarre.  Different from his normal berlin-school stuff, this one is a nice long ambient cut from 1990.

As with a lot of stargazing mixes, this one works well as a sleep mix too.  I can testify to it's effectiveness.

On a side note...thanks to anyone who voted for Low Light Mixes in the Mixcloud best of 2011 poll.  We came in 78th.  Doesn't sound like much but considering they have thousands of "cloudcasters", coming 78th was great.  Thanks for all your support last year & over the last 6 years.

[ s t r e a m ] | [ d o w n l o a d ] | [ i t u n e s ]


T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Lunar Testing Lab - Paaliaq (I, Absentee)
• 01:35    Sonmi451 - Alpha Centauri (Time Released Sound)
• 04:40    Digitonal - Polaris (Leaves)
• 07:20    Diatonis - One Starry Starry Night (Diatonis)
• 12:15    The Winterhouse - Clearing (DataObscura)
• 18:00    Frederico Durand - El Mundo Secreto De La Montana (Spekk)
• 21:30    A Produce & Loren Nerell - Intangible (Hypnos)
• 28:20    Maps & Diagrams - The Infinite Delay (Handstitched Recordings)
• 30:45    Thom Brennan - Pulse
• 31:55    Aglaia - After Midnight (Hic Sunt Leones)
• 37:30    Sonmi451 - Blue (U cover)
• 43:05    Biosphere - Warmed by the Drift (Touch)
• 48:20    Jean Michel Jarre - En Attendant Cousteau (Disques Dreyfus)
• 55:10    The Civilized Electrons - Encounter, In an Unexplored Nebula (Databloem)

Starry starry night by Lowlight on Mixcloud

fire and ice - an Icelandic mix

For such a small country, Iceland has produced a surprising number of excellent artists.  From Bjork to Mum to Seabear to Olaf Arnalds to Sigur Ros, it's really extraordinary the amount of wonderful music that comes from that island.

This last mix of 2011 is an Icelandic journey.  All the music is created by artists from Iceland.  The brilliant idea for it came from loyal listener, Kevin.  I wasn't sure how much music of Iceland I had in my collection but I was surprised to find quite a bit.

Icelandic music for me begins & ends with Sigur Ros & Bjork.  They are both in the mix, with Jonsi, from Sigur Ros, making multiple appearances.  In addition to the Sigur Ros tune, Jonsi contributes "Stokkseyri" from Riceboy Sleeps & "9" by Frakkur.

When Kevin suggested the mix & the title, he was thinking of Iceland as a land of extremes...glaciers & volcanoes, 24hr days & 24hr nights.  This mix doesn't swing too wildly from one extreme to another.  It's more ice than fire.  A few of the tunes do build in typical post-rock fashion, but generally things are fairly subdued.

I used two Johann Johannsson tracks fairly close together, which I normally don't like to do but the IBM track just seemed to fit perfectly with the preceding cut.  Plus I was just happy to be able to use that IBM track again because I LOVE it!

The pic in this post is from a terrific blog called "Stuck in Customs."  Check out the blog or go to his Flickr stream to see some amazing photos.  I'm a little tired of the HDR effect in photos but Tret Ratcliff does a really nice job with it & it definitely helps that he is shooting in unbelievable locations.

This was a fun mix to put together & I'd like to thank Kevin for suggesting it, I'm very happy with how it turned out.

[ s t r e a m ] | [ d o w n l o a d ] | [ i t u n e s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Amiina - Boga (from kurr 2007)
• 06:01    Johann Johannsson - The Flat (from And In The Endless Pause There Came The Sound Of Bees 2009)
• 08:15    Olafur Arnalds - Himininn er a hrynja, en stjornurnar fara per vel (from Variations Of Static 2007)
• 12:05    Johann Johannsson - Part 2 Ibm 1403 Printer (from Ibm1401-A Users Manual 2006)
• 15:50    Stafraenn Hakon - Veggur (from Gummi 2007)
• 18:55    Valgeir Sigurðsson - Equilibrium is Restored (from Ekvilibrium 2007)
• 30:54    Jonsi & Alex - Stokkseyri (from Riceboy Sleeps 2009)
• 37:49    Sigur Rós - Álafoss (from () 2002)
• 46:15    Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson - Sudurgata (from Children of Nature 1996)
• 49:08    Bjork - Cosmogony (from Biophillia 2011)
• 53:40    Frakkur - 9 (from songs for the little boy 2008)
• 1:01:23   end

Fire & ice - an Icelandic mix by Lowlight on Mixcloud

I can hear the snow fall

For some reason,when I think of falling snow, the instrument that comes to mind is the piano.  Maybe it's from years of listening to Vince Guaraldi's Charlie Brown Christmas album.  So it's no surprise that there is a fair amount of piano music in this "snow" mix.

We didn't have any snow yet but I had been thinking about doing a "first snow" mix for awhile & decided to throw one together Friday night.  Then I woke up Saturday morning to a light dusting of snow on the ground.  Maybe next I should do a mix for winning the lottery. ;)

 As I said there is a lot of piano music in here.  Led by Nils Frahm, from his excellent Felt album.  A release that will end up on my best of the year list & one which everyone needs to hear.  I think this mix works well as an early season "snow" mix versus the more bleak mid winter drones that will show up later.

I expect to crank out at least one more mix before the end of the year.  Plus I'll have a year-end top 20 list, so start thinking of your own lists if you'd like to contribute.

Enjoy.

[ s t r e a m ] | [ d o w n l o a d ] | [ i t u n e s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Nils Frahm - less [erased tapes]
• 05:20    Bernocchi, Budd, Guthrie - Heavy Heart Some More [Rarenoise Records]
• 09:35    Deepspace - Whisper
• 12:50   The Humble Bee - Sky Litter [cotton goods]
• 15:22    Willamette - Echo Park [infraction]
• 18:10    Pleq + Lauki - II (antonymes remix) [somehow recordings]
• 24:44    Cliff Martinez - Wrong Floor [lakeshore records]
• 25:45    Max Richter - eternal flowers question stars [Metropolis Movie Music]
• 27:48    e and i - Pearls for Alma [cotton goods]
• 29:40    Isnaj Dui - Always Close [hibernate]
• 32:48    I've Lost - in this cold, empty place [future sequence]
• 36:35    Diatonis - Whiring Above Our Heads
• 40:00    Nils Frahm - Pause [erased tapes]
• 44:25    Cliff Martinez - He Had A Good Time [lakeshore records]
• 45:39    Harold Budd - Three-Fingered Jack [darla]
• 47:40    Maps & Diagrams - Groghe(fort) [nomadic kids republic]
• 51:00    S. Carey - Rothko Fields [jagjaguwar]
• 54:50    Part Timer - seed collection [mobeer]
• 58:20    Nils Frahm - Keep [erased tapes]

I can hear the snow fall by Lowlight on Mixcloud

Vote

Mixcloud has started taking votes for Mixcloud Cloudcaster of the year.  So I'm basically shilling for votes.

If you click on the link it will take you to my Mixcloud page.  Unfortunately there is no simple "vote" button.  You have to "share" on Facebook to vote.  I hate that.  There are probably other cloudcasters I'd vote for but I don't like cluttering up my Facebook with random stuff like that.

Anyway, if anyone doesn't mind the Facebook sharing aspect, I'd really appreciate any votes you can throw my way.  Last year Low Light Mixes finished surprisingly high.

Thanks for your support.

Launch of Curiosity

This past Saturday NASA launched the Mars Science Laboratory known as "Curiosity" on a 9 month journey to the planet Mars.  As I was watching video of the launch, I was thinking about music that would work well with a launch & space voyage.  I quickly collected some appropriate tune & cranked out this mix at escape velocity speed.

The tracks are all electronic/electronica cuts that I thought seem to fit the theme.  As it turns out, many of the tunes have titles that are perfect for a mix like this.  Titles such as "Towards Unknown Space", "Solar Sailer", "Born to Fire", "Your Wings Make You Fly" and of course "Phobos & Deimos Go To Mars".

That "Phobos & Deimos" tracks was one of my absolute favorite tracks in college.  I had a clear vinyl version of the Synergy album "Cords".  There aren't going to be too many times that I can sneak that cut into a mix so I'm glad I got that one in here.

The NASA audio is all from the actual launch of the Curiosity Mars rover mission.

In the coming months maybe I'll do "Flight of Curiosity" & "Curiosity Lands" mixes.

[ s t r e a m ] | [ d o w n l o a d ] | [ i t u n e s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    M83 - Another Wave from You
• 01:55    Boards of Canada - Dayvan Cowboy
• 04:40    Saul Stokes - Greys
• 08:25    Pinch & Shackleton - Monks on the Rum
• 13:07    Synergy - Phobos & Deimos Go To Mars
• 17:40    Brad Smith - Any Colour You Like (8-bit Pink Floyd cover)
• 21:05    Balam Acab - Apart
• 23:30    Jumpel - Lissabon
• 26:20    Daft Punk - Solar Sailer
• 28:25    Steve Roach & Vir Unis - Born to Fire
• 36:15    Delta M45 - Towards Unknown Space
• 41:00    Winterlight - Your Wings Make You Fly
• 46:20    Jumpel - Arles
• 49:25    Rena Jones - Helix
• 54:28    Plumbline - 66 w12
• 58:51    end




Launch of Curiosity by Lowlight on Mixcloud

drowsy

I recently had surgery on a broken collarbone & had to spend a fair amount of time laying around, recuperating, sleeping.  So I decided to make a mix that would work well with Percocet & Vicodin.

I've produced other sleep mixes before, "I fell asleep at my desk making this mix", "slo mo", "slow & sleepy", and have often relied on them for nighttime listening.  Of course most of the mixes found here could work as "sleep" mixes. 

This new mix, "drowsy", fits right in with those others.  It's a soothing mix of drones & synth washes that will put anyone to sleep.

[ s t r e a m ] | [ d o w n l o a d ] | [ i t u n e s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Benoît Pioulard - Drowsy
• 04:15    Ex Confusion - Bloom
• 09:45    Peter James & Disturbed Earth - A Descending Calm
• 13:45    Steve Roach - Slow Heat (excerpt)
• 21:05    Aglaia - Milosis
• 30:45    David Tagg - Wolf Suite II
• 34:40    Alio Die - Innamorato
• 42:35    Kyle Bobby Dunn - New Pures
• 45:35    Loscil - Stave Peak
• 51:15    Nest - Koretz's Meteor
• 55:55    Ursula - Un final decepcionante
• 01:01:01    end
• 
  

Drowsy by Lowlight on Mixcloud

psalms & lullabies

A friend of mine made an excellent Spotify playlist called "Atmospheric Songs for Travelers" which had some great music from John Martyn, Nick Drake, Wilco & more.(I saved it as my own playlist which is why name is on it if you click the link.)

Listening to that collection made me want put together my own mix of vocal music.  I don't do vocal mixes very often but I thought it'd be nice to do one now, while all that music is swimming around in my head.

The songs are very laid back.  Most are acoustic.  Some new music(Antlers, Bon Iver, Horse Thieves) and some old stuff(John Martyn, Loudon Wainwright, Cat Stevens).

Somehow the mix ended up with 3 covers in it -  Iron & Wine - Love Vigilantes(New Order Cover),   Josh Rouse - Straight to Hell(Clash cover) and Radiohead - Wish You Were Here(Pink Floyd cover).  All brilliant covers.

I have some leftover vocal tunes that might make it into a new mix fairly soon.  Then it'll be back to good 'ol low light ambient.  For now, enjoy this vocal detour.

[ s t r e a m ] | [ d o w n l o a d ] | [ i t u n e s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Bon Iver - Flume(daytrotter session)
• 03:25    The Horse Thieves - (I was) Crazy (About You)
• 07:55    J. Tillman - Earthly Bodies
• 12:00    Josh Rouse - Straight to Hell(Clash cover)
• 16:35    Cat Stevens - The Wind
• 18:07    Damien Juardo - Beacon Hill
• 21:05    Johm Martyn - Let the Good Things Come
• 23:55    Radiohead - Wish You Were Here(Pink Floyd cover)
• 30:50    The XX - Stars
• 34:55    The Antlers - Corsicana
• 38:15    Bon Iver - Wash.
• 42:45    David Sylvian - September
• 43:55    Loudon Wainwright III - Lullaby
• 46:45    Iron & Wine - Love Vigilantes(New Order Cover)
• 49:50    Alexi Murdoch - All My Days
• 54:35    Red House Painters - Song for a Blue Guitar
• 1:00:20    end

Psalms & lullabies by Lowlight on Mixcloud

Shadowland

Josh, from Nocturne Records,  requested a Halloween mix.  

At first I was reluctant because I'm not a big fan of dark ambient.  I've never really cared for Lustmord records, although I do have "The Place Where Black Stars Hang."  While I do have a fair amount of drone music, I don't like dissonant drones.

When I set out to do this mix I wasn't sure what direction it would take.  Would it be noisy, scary ambient drones?  As I was looking through my music I came across "The Twin Peaks Archive" by David Lynch & Angelo Badalamenti.  I thought, now there is some dark-ish music that would be cool to use in a Halloween mix.

Three Twins Peaks tunes made it into the final mix & helped establish a sort of film noir feel.  There are definite dissonant moments but hopefully the mix is more creepy & shadowy rather than outright scary & annoying.

It was fun putting this together and I'm looking forward to making this an annual ritual.

[ s t r e a m ] | [ d o w n l o a d ] | [ i t u n e s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Bass Communion - Ghosts on Magnetic Tape IV
• 04:30    Felicia Atkinson - Half-Blonde
• 06:10    David Lynch & Angelo Badalamenti - Mysterioso 2
• 09:30    Ricardo Villalobos and Max Loderbauer - rethikhiy
• 14:20    The Caretaker - Friends Past Reunited
• 16:00    Grouper - Soul Eraser
• 21:45    Je Suis Le Petit Chevalier - Maine Jungle
• 23:05    DJ Signify - The Sickness
• 24:20    Julien Neto - V(Rivers)
• 28:45    Deaf Center - Hunted Twice
• 32:05    David Lynch & Angelo Badalamenti - Dark Mood Woods
• 36:00    Deaf Center - New Beginning
• 38:45    Aidan Baker - complex iconographical symbology
• 44:25    The Caretaker - Dream Waltz
• 47:05    David Lynch & Angelo Badalamenti - Mysterioso 2 (film version)
• 49:35    Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Maximum Black
• 54:15    Earth - Dry Lake
• 57:00    Clint Mansell - Death is a Disease
• 59:27    end

Shadowland by Lowlight on Mixcloud

AUTUMN IN SLOW MOTION

It hasn't felt much like autumn around here, with temps in the 70's & 80's the last week or two.  But the leaves are still falling and before you know it we'll have snow flying.  

So I figured now is as good a time as any to publish this new mix, "Autumn in Slow Motion."  This is a fairly straight forward mix with a nice blend of old & new tracks.  As you can tell all the tracks have the word "autumn" or " leaves" in the title.  I'm pretty sure I've used the track by Eluder, "Autmun Hips", before but I just had to include it again because it's absolutely beautiful.

Normally I don't use my own pics for these posts, but the last two have been Low Light originals.  This one was taken last fall on a photo hike through a nature park in my neighborhood.  If you shoot a ton of pix one or two are bound to turn out.

Enjoy.

[ s t r e a m ] | [ d o w n l o a d ] | [ i t u n e s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    wind
• 00:30    Shuttle358 - Dead Leaves
• 04:50    Eluder - Autumn Hips
• 10:10    Need More Sources - Autumn
• 13:15    A Broken Consort - Leaves
• 15:28    Shinichi Hirota - Autumn Loop Rain
• 18:40    The Green Kingdom - Autumn Toadlick
• 23:55    Peter James & Disturbed Earth - Autumnal Nights
• 31:45    Brian Eno - Dunwich Beach, Autumn 1960
• 37:45    Philip Sulidea - Autumn in Town
• 40:40    Spheruleus - Autumn
• 45:45    Jasper, TX - Through Dusk & Falling Leaves(Steinbruchel remix)
• 50:40    Aaron Martin - The Shape of Leaves
• 52:00    Tape Loop Orchestra - A Late Autumn
• 54:35    D RRadio - Leaves
• 58:22    end

Autumn in slow motion by Lowlight on Mixcloud