Sunday, August 28, 2022

Walk Softly Upon This Earth - A Handpan Journey

 

The Handpan, or Hang, is an instrument related to the Caribbean steelpan. It is like a convex version of a steel drum with the two halves attached together. The instrument has been used in a lot of new age music and faux new-age eastern mysticism. Like a lot of new age music instrumentation there is a fine line between enjoyable, relaxing ambient and new age schlock. Unfortunately, many time use of the handpan falls into the latter category.

That being said, I do occasionally like the sound of the handpan and I don't care about healing energy and mystical power crapola. I just like the sound. While relaxing outside on my deck I came across Musical Incense vol. 1 by Laura Inserra. It became my go to music for zoning out in a chaise lounge while doom-scrolling Twitter, a habit I really need to break.

I decided to make an all handpan mix. The vibe is slow and relaxing. Sometimes handpan players can show off with their hands racing around the instrument to create intricate patterns. That style has its place but not in this mix. I tried to keep the pace slow and the vibe relaxing. 

I can imagine some folks complaining that it all sounds the same. But that's what I like about this mix - it feels like one long handpan track. I can really zone out to it.

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


Kick back and come along on this relaxing handpan journey.

Cheers!




T R A C K L I S T :
  • 00:00    Laura Inserra - Passage I (Musical Incense vol. 1)
  • 05:40    Christopher Of The Wolves - Dream Sequence (Rhythms Of Sleep)
  • 13:52    James Hood - Stereoscopic Mindgasm (Pure Ceremony)
  • 18:10    Calm Whale - Awaken Earth - Handpan Journey
  • 30:45    Laura Inserra - Passage III (Musical Incense vol. 1)
  • 40:15    Christopher Of The Wolves - Surrender (Reiki - Healing Music)
  • 51:12    James Hood - 12 Uses of Time (Pure Ceremony)
  • 59:00    Ravid Goldschmidt - Calm Upon You(hang solo) (Calm Upon You)
  • 63:45    end

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Sunday, August 21, 2022

Summer Stargazing

 

I have been making stargazing and space themed mixes for a long time. But I realized that I haven't posted a straightforward stargazing mix for almost two years. So this mix fixes that.

All the tracks are fairly new, with half of them being from this year. Some tracks are from low light mixes regulars like Loscil, Loneward and Hipnotic Earth alongside new discoveries like RIKAAR, Tone Color and Audio Obscura.

Here are links to all the albums used 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 ]    [ a p p l e _ p o d c a s t s ]


T R A C K L I S T :

  • 00:00    RIKAAR - Future Hope to Past Lightyears (Malin 1 2022)
  • 12:15    Loneward - Star Portal (Our Unyielding Sky 2022)
  • 11:58    Hipnotic Earth - Full of Stars (Starfish and Giant Foams 2021)
  • 16:45    Alva Noto - Xerrox Neige (Xerrox Vol. 4 2020)
  • 20:40    Alpha Wave Movement - Timeless Starfields(Infinite Realms 2021)
  • 27:50    Tone Color - The Beauty of Not Knowing (Dwelling in Light 2022)
  • 30:50    Motionfield - Evolve (Evolve 2022)
  • 36:00    Tapes and Topographies - The Worn Surface of Heart (Modalities 2022)
  • 41:40    Pruski - Moment V (Moments of Immersion 2022)
  • 46:00    Audio Obscura - The Quiet Night (Triplicate Tapes Vol. 2 Space Invaders 2021)
  • 49:50    Machinefabriek - Waqūr (To Yemen With Love 2020)
  • 53:14    Loscil - Swipe Enforce (Lifelike 2019)
  • 58:11    end


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Sunday, August 14, 2022

Undeniably Ambient

 


Here's a new mix in the "Simply Ambient" series. There is no theme, no story, no big concept - just straightforward ambient music. All the tracks are from 2022 and all the tracks are...Undeniably Ambient.

Here are link to all the albums used 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 Innesti -  A Collection of Ideas (Folding, A Study 2022)
  • 04:50 Andarctica - Basalt (Basal 2022)
  • 09:00 Gylden - Into The Night (Island Friend 2022)
  • 13:15 Jogging House - Low (Fiber 2022)
  • 20:22 S. van der Toorn - vervlogenheid v (vervlogenheden i-xi 2022)
  • 22:30 halftribe - Concept of Happiness (Elegant, Golden 2022)
  • 26:55 Christopher Hanlon - Light Returning (Dreaming of Summer in Winter 2022)
  • 29:41 Loris S. Sarid - Yellow Lines (Seabed-Sunbath 2022)
  • 32:20 Toàn - Ambre (Phonolite 2022)
  • 36:46 Pruski - Moment III (Moments of Immersion 2022)
  • 41:05 Erik Wøllo - Inversion, part 5 (Inversions 2022)
  • 45:25 ASC - Solitude (Ultimae Records - Isolated 2022)
  • 50:55 David Cordero - Snoqualmie Falls(feat. Carlos Ferreira) (And Stillness Came 2022)
  • 55:20 Alio Die & Dirk Serries - The Shadow Is Slow, The Hour Is Fleeting (The Chapters Of The Eclipse 2022)
  • 64:29 end



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Sunday, August 07, 2022

Train Six-56 by Paul Asbury Seaman

 


Yes, another train mix. They are just too intriguing and cinematic to pass up. This one come from friend of the blog, Paul Asbury Seaman. Paul has given us some excellent train mixes in the past and this one continues that tradition. This one clocks in at just a bit under 100 minutes! So much great music in one mix.

Here's what Paul says about this set:

“A special summertime extended-play mix… nearly 100 minutes of long-distance bliss. This is my sixth train-themed production for Low Light Mixes. (The #‘56’ is just for alliteration.) The Zen concept of “stillness within motion” has long been one of my guiding principles and it struck me recently that train travel is a great illustration of this: You can sit quietly while the world literally rushes by.
     Trains are a central part of modern history and continue to be woven into the cultural landscape, whether in the movement of consumer goods or the daily commute of suburban workers to desperate families displaced by war. There are many kinds of associations with trains—all vivid, some very dark—and now with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, trains have become not just a symbol of nostalgia, romance and travel, but literally instruments of salvation for millions of people. I have no such pretensions here, but as always, I hope it will sooth and refresh. Once again, sequencers dominate this mix, with their obvious match with the fast clickity-clack of train tracks.”

Thanks again to Paul for this wonderful trip.

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

Cheers!




T R A C K L I S T :
  • 00:00    SiJ - Inkerman - Sevastopol #1 (From Inkerman To Sevastopol)
  • 00:46    Trevor Jones - Runaway Train (Runaway Train 1985)
  • 03:00    Paul Speer - Tornado Warning (Ax Inferno 2013)
  • 07:30    Gert Emmens - At the end of the track (On the Edge of Nowhere 2022)
  • 12:50    David Parsons - Perhatian (Atmanaut 2018)
  • 19:38    Mercan Dede - Kapadokya
  • 26:25    Manuel Göttsching - And Sovereignty (E2-E4 1984)
  • 29:12    Andrew Lahiff - Scalar Fields (Outward Currents 2021)
  • 37:05    SiJ - Inkerman - Sevastopol #2 (From Inkerman To Sevastopol)
  • 37:50    Solar Fields - Mountain King (Ourdom 2018)
  • 46:25    Shamans Dream - The Way Through (Prana Pulse 2012)
  • 52:40    Redshift - Vampyre (Life to Come 2015)
  • 58:00    Tangerine Dream - Dreaming In A Kyoto Train (Summer In Nagasaki 2007)
  • 60:45    Johan Tronestam - Deep Field (Space Collection 2017)
  • 67:20    Erik Wøllo - Viewpoint (North Star 2021)
  • 73:00    Thom Brennan - Eventide Pt.3 (Eventide 2022)
  • 77:50    Lars Leonhard - Physical Objects (GRAVITY 2022)
  • 83:50    LAD - Spectral Lines (Quasar 2022)
  • 88:20    Cheryl B. Engelhardt - The Zephyr Remembers (The Passenger 2022)
  • 91:15    Divine Matrix - Journey's End (Journeys 2022)
  • 97:18    end

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