Saturday, November 21, 2015

the healing piano


After the attacks in Paris on November 13th, NPR music did a show about music for healing.  You can find it here... http://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2015/11/17/456343231/music-for-healing
Two cuts on their playlist are from two of my favorite albums this year, Goldmund - Sometimes and Nils Frahm - Solo.

As I listened to those two tracks over & over I started to think about the piano as a healing instrument.  The right song & circumstances can make just about any instrument a healing instrument.  But somehow the piano seems ideally suited for that role.

Most of the tunes used here are new.  In addition to the Goldmund & Frahm cuts another 2015 favorite album included in the mix is Chris Walla - Tape Loops.  Walla is the drummer for Death Cab for Cutie and he has put together a nice collection that reminds me of Music for Airports & Music for Films.

I hope this mix can act as a musical balm, soothing our psyches in these turbulent times.

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 Goldmund - Sometimes
  • 02:40 Chris Walla - Goodbye
  • 08:00 Nils Frahm - Ode
  • 12:10 Hior Chronik & Mikael Delta - Everything We Want to Feel
  • 15:00 Max Richter - Cumulonimbus
  • 20:20 Moon ate the dark - If Vanishing
  • 24:25 Ocean in a Bottle - Circling Winter
  • 25:50 Eskmo - Tamara
  • 27:48 Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts II
  • 30:55 Nils Frahm - 4'33"
  • 32:40 Mette Henriette - .oOo.
  • 35:55 Aphex Twin - Aisatsana
  • 40:55 Chris Walla - flytoget
  • 49:28 A Winged Victory for the Sullen - Atmos III
  • 53:27 Stars of the Lid - Humectez La Mouture
  • 57:45 Nils Frahm - merry
  • 61:45 end




Saturday, November 14, 2015

Slow Decay


A slowly developing amalgamation of mixed-genre madness, fusing ambient, experimental & jazz soundscapes into a mixture of quiet deconstruction.

"Slow Decay" is a collaborative mix from Low Light Mixes & Ambient Landscape.  We've each done mixes for each other but we thought it would be cool make a mix in which we both contributed alternating sections. 

Gene(ambient landscape) came up with the title and I started things off with a couple of cuts.  I sent it to Gene, he added a few more, sent it back to me, I added more tracks and so on and so on.  Until we had a fascinating 1 hour & 16 minute journey.

I love how things turned out. The combination of ecm-style jazz and ambient and experimental music worked perfectly.

Don't forget to check out Ambient Landscape here...

https://ambientlandscape.wordpress.com/

https://www.mixcloud.com/gab_labs/


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    Signal Structure (w/treatments) - Positive Centre
  • 03:12    Upon Contact Reworked - Jorge Haro (Bruno Sanfilippo)
  • 07:10    The Squealing of Rats & the Squeaking of Boards - Marielle V Jakobsons (w/treatments)
  • 08:45    Parallel Realities (excerpt) - Jack DeJohnette, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock
  • 11:40    Dis Loops 1.1 - William Basinski - performed by The Wordless Music Orchestra
  • 21:40    Upon the Break Arch - Benoit Pioulard
  • 26:20    Structural Functions Of Prezens (excerpt) - David Torn, Tim Berne, Craig Taborn, Tom Rainey
  • 30:25    Sluimer (excerpt) - FANTOOM (RenĂ© Aquarius, Otto Kokke, Dirk Serries, Martina Verhoeven)
  • 34:50    Passage D.E. - Jon Hassell
  • 39:10    Solphaer - Alva Noto
  • 44:05    Porch Swings - Cinchel
  • 45:55    Arder De No Sentir Calor - Mauro Beltran
  • 50:27    Night Peculiarities – Johan Troch
  • 53:19    Tunis at Dawn - Anouar Brahem
  • 59:44    Rosemarie - Trio3: Oliver Lake, Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille w/ Vijay Iyer
  • 66:04    Setting Out - Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
  • 67:50    The Wind in High Places: Above Sunset Pass - John Luther Adams
  • 70:45    Tipping Point - Andy Sheppard Quartet
  • 76:15    end