Low Light Mixes: April 2022

Sunday, April 24, 2022

Totally Ambient

Here's the latest in a series of simple, straightforward ambient mixes. It started with Simply Ambient then we also had Always Ambient, Purely Ambient, and Absolutely Ambient.

This is a mix with no theme or story or concept. Just excellent ambient tracks. All the cuts used here are from 2022.

Here are links to the music used in this mix in the order in which they appear:

https://krysalisound.bandcamp.com/album/our-own-unknown
https://jogginghouse.bandcamp.com/album/weight
https://ambientologist.bandcamp.com/album/the-unavoidable-death-of-loneliness
https://projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/neogene
https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/bullfinch
https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/1989
https://aliodie.bandcamp.com/album/distillation-of-time
https://wreathmusic.bandcamp.com/album/green-wall
https://andrewheath.bandcamp.com/album/quiet-noise
https://michaelscottdawson.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-listening
https://krysalisound.bandcamp.com/album/imaginary-taleshttps://polarseasrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/restful-spaces
https://benmcelroy.bandcamp.com/

Cheers!

[ 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 Austin Rockman - Illuma (Our Own Unknown on [Krysalisound 2022)
06:52 Jogging House - Shape (Weight on Seil 2022)
11:08 Sven Laux & Logic Moon - A Cascade Made of Stars (The Unavoidable Death of Loneliness on Ambientologist 2022)
15:50 Jarguna - Neogene (Neogene 2022)
20:48 headland - jellybone (bullfinch on Whitelabrecs 2022)
25:02 Jens Pauly - Ohne (1989 on Whitelabrecs 2022)
29:35 Alio Die - L'estasi Del Silenzio (Distillation Of Time on Hic Sunt Leones 2022)
35:15 wreath - Esjan (Green Wall on Stereoscenic 2022)
38:06 Andrew Heath - Particle Drift (Quiet Noise on Whitelabrecs 2022)
42:43 Michael Scott Dawson - Praise and Other (Music for Listening 2022)
45:00 Wil Bolton & Francis Gri - The relief in an empty row (Imaginary Tales on Krysalisound 2022)
51:09 Harry Towell & Guy Gelem - The Springs (Restful Spaces on Polar Seas 2022)
56:20 Ben McElroy - Bed Down in the Murk (How I Learnt To Disengage From The Pack on The Slow Music Movement 2022)
61:00 end

Sunday, April 17, 2022

Severance - an alternative soundtrack

I love doing these alternative soundtrack mixes. I believe this is the fifth one I've made. Sometimes I have the mix take the soundtrack in a different direction and sometimes I simply follow the vibe of the original with all new tracks. This mix takes the later approach.

For anyone not familiar with it, Severance is a series on AppleTV+, an eerie dystopia where people can sever their work life from their home life with a brain implant. Variations on the main theme are used throughout the show. It's just odd & sinister enough to leave you feeling off kilter. Here's the opening credit sequence:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmS3m0OG-Ug

And here's the series trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJYlG5I4rOk

I was happy to have stumbled upon a collection of Erik Satie piano pieces that I've had for 40 years and found that the Gnossienne tracks worked perfectly with the feel of the Severance theme. Another common sound in the show is ticking or pulsing so you hear that in the Hans Zimmer cut and The Nick Cave track as well as a few others.

Even if you don't watch the show I hope you enjoy the mix.

Cheers!

[ 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 Just a Human - The Basement (2022)
01:20 Hans Zimmer - The Mole (Dunkirk 2017)
02:58 Erik Satie - Gnossienne No. 1 (Early Piano Works, Vol. 1 1975)
08:31 Roedelius & Tim Story - Seeweed (4 Hands 2022)
12:19 Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross - Orphans of Krypton (Watchmen 2019)
14:11 Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - Red Ford (Kings OST 2018)
16:18 Piero Umiliani - Sole Percussioni (Continente Nero 1975)
18:50 Martin Glass - Okinawa Fantasia (The Pacific VIsions Of Martin Glass 2017)
20:10 Wilburn Burchette - Witch's Will (I Am The Center: Private Issue New Age In America, 1950-1990, 2013)
21:33 Eli Keszler - Realtor Creep (The Scary of Sixty-First 2021)
22:14 Angelo Badalamenti & David Lynch - Mysterioso #2 Film Version (Twin Peaks Archive 2011)
25:38 Nicholas Britell - Keepers of the Keys and Seals (If Beale Street Could Talk 2018)
27:20 Klaus Gesing, Björn Meyer, Samuel Rohrer - What We Leave (Amiira 2016)
32:08 Erik Satie - Gnossienne No. 4 (Early Piano Works, Vol. 1 1975)
35:02 Corey Fuller & Richard Skelton - Insula (Isolarii 2022)
38:19 Klaus Gesing, Björn Meyer, Samuel Rohrer - Flimmer (Amiira 2016)
40:20 Seefeel - Monastic (Succour [Redux] 2021)
46:08 Tale Of Us - Alla sera (Endless 2017)
52:09 Erik Satie - Gnossienne No. 3 (Early Piano Works, Vol. 1 1975)
56:33 end

Sunday, April 03, 2022

Listening in the Dark (Mystical Ambience #4) by Paul Asbury Seaman

"Listening in the Dark" is such a great title for an ambient mix. I've listened to a lot of these mixes in the dark - sitting on the deck at night, in bed before sleep, stargazing, etc. I wonder how many folks purposely listen to ambient & electronic music in the dark. I remember playing the Conet Project recordings in the dark and a friend said it was a little too freaky. This mix is definitely not freaky.

This is the latest installment in Paul Asbury Seaman's "Mystical Ambience" series. And like the others, it's a great collection of tunes, some of which are not in my normal ambient rotation. But that's why I love getting mixes from Paul, they expose me to new artists and styles. Here's what he has to say about this compilation:

“Here’s another mixed genre program, including one (just one) spoken word song early in the set. I find it interesting that, metaphorically, darkness has many more layers than what we associate with light. It can be scary and impenetrable, but also part of the hero’s journey into deeper understanding, or working through the infamous dark night of the soul. As Guy Clark says it, there’s a world of things you can’t see in the day time. And some folks take comfort in that.”

Thanks for putting this together, Paul!

Links to all the albums in this mix in the order in which they appear:

Cheers!

[ 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 Sherry Finzer & Karasvana - Music of the Spheres (Centered 2022)
04:30 Guy Clark - The Dark (The Dark 2002)
08:00 Art Patience - The Unknown (The Unknown 2022)
14:05 Tom Moore & Tim Sadow - Gravity Free (Looking for the Timeless 2021)
20:00 M.NOMIZED - Virus (Ice Bells-A Tribute To Björk 2018)
25:12 Peter Phippen - Northern Lights (Into the Ancient 2022)
28:56 Jeff Johnson & Brian Dunning - Tara Hill (Eirlandia 2018)
31:56 Popol Vuh - Lacrime Dei Rei (Best Soundtracks From Werner Herzog Films 1991)
37:37 ASC - Surrounded by Silence (No Stars Without Darkness 2016)
44:18 Sherry Finzer & Karasvana - Sacred Spiral (Centered 2022)
49:10 Lorenzo Montana - Vertical Corridors (Descent 2022)
53:33 Johan Agebjörn & Mikael Ögren - The Hall of Crystals (Artefact 2021)
57:57 Astropilot - Night Meeting(Winter Dreams Version) (Pineland 2022)
60:38 Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd - After Dark (Another Flower 2020)
65:07 end