For the Love of Iceland

 

I just got back from a week in Iceland so naturally I had to make a mix with music from Icelandic artists. The usual suspects are here - Sigur Ros, Johann Johannsson, Bjork, Olafur Arnalds, along with some new additions. 

It still boggles my mind that the tiny island has produced such amazing music. But now, having been there, I guess it makes a bit more sense because the place is unique. The landscape and spirit seeps into your mind and body like hot water through porous volcanic rock. It's impossible not to fall in love with the people and the natural beauty.

Hopefully this mix can be your own mini vaca to Iceland. 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    Sigur Rós - Blóðberg (ÁTTA 2023)
• 07:03    Jóhann Jóhannsson - A Prayer to the Dynamo pt. 1 (Spectral Symphony 2023)
• 13:50    Friðþjófur Johnson - Black Sand Blues
• 19:10    Rökkurró - Svanur (Í Annan Heim 2010)
• 24:20    Björk - Vokuro (Medulla 2004)
• 27:18    Ólafur Arnalds feat Ella McRobb - And we'll leave it there (2023)
• 30:47    Valgeir Sigurðsson - Eva's Lament (Kvika 2021)
• 32:17    Kiasmos - Looped (Kiasmos 2014)
• 36:00    Friðþjófur Johnson - Sambólúsí
• 40:50    Yagya - The Downpour (Faded Photographs 2023)
• 44:33    Múm - Faraway Swimmingpool (Finally We Are No One 2002)
• 47:00    Frakkur - Dream Fyrir John (Pling pong)
• 52:33    Ruxpin & Stafrænn Hákon - Dark Rift (Meet Me In Forever 2023)
• 56:14    Jóhann Jóhannsson - Stuk (Elegy for Lost Time 2023)
• 58:35    Ólafur Arnalds - Spiral (some kind of peace 2020)
• 61:54    end

Summer's End by The Lonely Bell

 

I've been busy with important things like going to baseball games, drinking beer, sitting on my back deck doing nothing, and getting ready for an trip at the end of the month. So this guest mix comes a perfect time. It's also a perfect mix for sitting on the deck and doing nothing.

This mix comes to us from Ali Murray who records as The Lonely Bell. "Kingdoms of the Deep" by The Lonely Bell was one of my favorite ambient albums of 2022. https://thelonelybell.bandcamp.com/album/kingdoms-of-the-deep

Here's what Ali says:

"My name is Ali Murray. I’m a songwriter and musician from the Isle of Lewis, which is a small remote island in the north of Scotland. I write and release dark introspective ambient music under the name The Lonely Bell.

As the title suggests, this is an ambient guest mix to mark the end of the summer season, and the coming of autumn. It’s a dreamy and eclectic selection of dark ambience, haunting drones, fuzzy electronica, cinematic modern classical, immersive sound art and ethereal soundscapes - bookended by the two songs that comprise my brand new EP - ‘The Outer Banks’. ‘The Outer Banks’ is out now on the label Frosti, and is available both digitally and on limited edition cassette tape.

You can check it out at the following link :

https://frostilabel.bandcamp.com/album/the-outer-banks

And you can find the rest of my discography at :

www.thelonelybell.bandcamp.com

As I've said many times before, one of the reasons I like guest mixes is they go in a direction that I usually don't take myself and that is the case here. I am very hit and miss with darker ambient tracks and the same goes for drone ambient. But I really like the way The Lonely Bell treats those styles so it's no surprise that I enjoy what Ali did with this mix. I know you'll like it too.

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  :

• 0:00    The Lonely Bell – The Outer Banks
• 8:00    Claire Deak – A Million Cloaked Ghosts
• 10:58    Barley & Blush To The Snow – The Eternal Note of Sadness In (excerpt)
• 14:42    Broken Chip – Yellow
• 19:06    Karen Vogt – Amidst The Sea Fog
• 21:48    Glacis & Adrian Lane – A Flower In The Mind
• 26:42    CLAIR – Queen Bee Prelude
• 31:40    Patrick Corcoran – GEN 2
• 34:20    Mollbury Medical Research Centre – Temporary Amnesia
• 37:10    Leonard Donat – Fog Horn Deer Trap
• 43:40    The Lonely Bell – Fires of Dawn
• 52:46    end

Summoning The Spirits

 

One of my favorite ambient albums from the first half of 2023 is "Intrapersonal Experience" by Saphileaum. It's a great combination of atmospherics and percussion, reminiscent of 90s Steve Roach tribal ambient. After hearing this album I needed to do a drum/percussion-based mix and "Summoning The Spirits" is the result.

Another recent discovery makes its way into this mix - The Rain Dogs. So far I only have one of their albums but I plan on buying many more. I have to pace myself though. Their album, From Abydos To Dendera, has shades of Jon Hassell and other 4th world styles that I love. The tracks fit perfectly in this mix.

I hope you enjoy the atmospheres and the rhythms.

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    The Rain Dogs - Market Day (From Abydos To Dendera 2021)
• 05:33    Saphileaum - Dear (Intrapersonal Experience 2023)
• 09:45    The Chi Factory - Part One (Travel In Pece 2020)
• 14:40    Benjy Wertheimer & John de Kadt - Underwater (One River 2012)
• 21:08    Byron Metcalf - As Clouds Dance (Inner Rhythm Meditations 2016)
• 29:50    Chi - Before The Mountain (The Original Recordings 2016)
• 36:50    The Rain Dogs - Dawn Over Qurna (From Abydos To Dendera 2021)
• 40:54    Eli Keszler - Barcelona Part VI (LIVE 2023)
• 44:40    D.K. - Summoning the Spirits (The Goddess Is Dancing 2019)
• 50:00    Saphileaum - Remote (Intrapersonal Experience 2023)
• 54:40    The Chi Factory - Part Two (The Kallikatsou Recordings 2017)
• 57:43    Night Sky Pulse - Luminescence (These Possible Lives 2021)
• 61:03    end
•  
  

Electronic Music 1972

 

The trip through the electronic music of the 70s continues with a stop in 1972. As with '70 & '71 this is a mix with some tracks that are very electronic, like the Wendy Carlos tunes, and others that are more electronic adjacent, like the Cluster or Pick Floyd tracks. But I think it gives a good sense of where things stood at the time.

I purposely stayed away from cheesy electronic versions of classical music like "The Electronic Spirit Of Erik Satie" or "The Unusual Classical Synthesizer." I'm just not a fan of that type of electronic music. I understand it's place in bringing synths to mass attention, I just don't like those recordings.

Enjoy 1972, I have a feeling 1973 will sound fairly similar. But things will start to change in '74 & '75.

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    A.R. & Machines - Wie Ich Mir So Ich Dir (AR3)
• 02:12    Cluster - Im Suden (Cluster II)
• 08:10    Galactic Explorers - Lunarscape (Epitaph For Venus)
• 14:22    Terry Riley - Persian Surgery Dervishes
• 18:40    Klaus Schulze - Last Not Least (La Vie Electronique, Vol. 2)
• 25:15    Kraftwerk - Klingklang (Kraftwerk 2)
• 34:00    Wendy Carlos - Country Life (Clockwork Orange)
• 38:40    Tangerine Dream - Zeit (Zeit)
• 43:20    Pink Floyd - Absolutely Curtains (Obscured by Clouds)
• 45:55    Neu! - Im Glück (Nue!)
• 49:35    Wendy Carlos - Fall (Sonic Seasonings)
• 60:00    end

Last Train Home by Paul Asbury Seaman

 

Photo by Alan Seaman (Paul’s father) in Raiwind, Lahore District, Pakistan, c.1966.

Another train-themed mix? Yes, because they are awesome! This one comes from the mind of Paul Asbury Seaman, as have several other train mixes. As per usual, it's a great collection of familiar and unfamiliar artists, to me at least. 

Here's what Paul says about this latest trip down the tracks:

“On this one—my seventh train-themed mix for LLM—I’m going for the feeling of exhilaration and weary melancholy of travel, as much as the clickety-clack rhythm associated with trains. Plus a twinge of the mystical that can be experienced while crossing between worlds. Once again, drawing from 40 years of music… a couple of new artists, some perennial favorites (of mine), and some classics of the genre.”

Thanks, Paul, for delivering once again.

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    Christian Fiesel - A Train And No Final Destination (The New Voyages Of Little Nemo 2023)
• 03:29    Frolin - Afterthought (Morrowtide 2022)
• 07:26    Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene 7 (Oxygene 7-13 1997)
• 15:05    Johan Tronestam - Reveals the Invisible (Cosmic Drama II 2023)
• 22:14    Fritz Mayr - Breath of the Wind (Mythical Worlds 2022)
• 28:40    Cristian Richet - Sansucy (Life Is But A Dream 2023)
• 35:05    Cosmic Ground - Phasing 76 (Entropy 2023)
• 42:40    The Soviet Space Dog Project - Star City (Star City 2021)
• 51:45    Vangelis - Life Of Antarctica (Antartica 1983)
• 57:19    LAD - Starburst (Andromeda 2023)
• 62:42    Robert Rich - Loom Of Origins (Travelers' Cloth 2023)
• 69:30    Patrick O'Hearn - Traveler's Rest (So Flows the Current 2000)
• 75:33    end

Favorite Ambient Albums of 2023, so far

 

I guess the title of this mix is as straightforward as it gets. This one is a collection of tracks from my favorite ambient albums from the first half of 2023. There's some really good stuff in there and a nice variety.

First I'll give my list of favorites with links and then the tracklist of the mix. Cheers to a great second half!

Alva Noto - Kinder der Sonne (From Komplizen) [Noton]

https://bleep.com/release/380644-alva-noto-kinder-der-sonne-from-komplizen

ARROWOUNDS - In The Octopus Pond [LostTribe Sound]

https://arrowounds.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-octopus-pond

Between - Low Flying Owls [12k]

https://12kmusic.bandcamp.com/album/low-flying-owls

Brendan Eder Ensemble - Therapy

https://brendaneder.bandcamp.com/album/therapy

Crows Labyrinth - Neon Scenes I- Granular Dreams

https://crowslabyrinth.bandcamp.com/album/neon-scenes-i-granular-dreams

Crows Labyrinth- Pulse Mandala - Astral Solstice [Valley View Records]

https://valleyviewrecords.bandcamp.com/album/astral-solstice

Eli Keszler - LIVE [LUCKYME]

https://elikeszler.bandcamp.com/album/live

Foreign Body Sensation & Justin Maranga - Subterranean Environments [Dune Alter]

https://foreignbodysensation.bandcamp.com/album/subterranean-environments

Hainbach - Voice Magnetic[Seil]

https://hainbach.bandcamp.com/album/voice-magnetic

Loneward - Willoweald [Stereoscenic]

https://altusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/willoweald

Michael Scott Dawson - Find Yourself Lost [We Are Busy Bodies]

https://michaelscottdawson.bandcamp.com/album/find-yourself-lost

Mount Shrine - Lost Loops Collection [Cryo Chamber]

https://cryochamber.bandcamp.com/album/lost-loops-collection

Nico Less - Still

https://nicoless.bandcamp.com/album/still

Pan American - in daylight dub [Foam On A Wave]

https://foamonawave.bandcamp.com/album/in-daylight-dub

Rod Modell & Taka Noda - Glow World [13]

http://13.silentes.it/private_sounds/sps2360.htm

Saphileaum - Intrapersonal Experience

https://saphileaum.bandcamp.com/album/saphileaum-intrapersonal-experience

Sigur Rós - ÁTTA

https://store.sigurros.com/album/tta

this floating world - floatings [Whitelabrecs]

https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/floatings

Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan - The Nation's Most Central Location

https://warrington-runcorn-cis.bandcamp.com/album/the-nations-most-central-location

Wil Bolton - Swept [Audiobulb]

https://ab-wil-bolton.bandcamp.com/album/swept

William Ryan Fritch - Cohesion [Lost Tribe Sound]

https://williamryanfritch.bandcamp.com/album/cohesion

 

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    Rod Modell & Taka Noda - Untilted 1 [Glow World (13)]
• 05:40    Nico Less - Try a Little Kindess [Still]
• 09:40    Pan American - Renzo [in daylight dub (Foam On A Wave)]
• 13:50    Eli Keszler - Manhattan Part III [LIVE (LUCKYME)]
• 20:10    Foreign Body Sensation & Justin Maranga - Cenote Meditation [Subterranean Environments (Dune Alter)]
• 25:30    Michael Scott Dawson - Almanac Pages [Find Yourself Lost (We Are Busy Bodies)]
• 32:00    Brendan Eder Ensemble - #20 Lichen Aphex Twin Cover [Therapy]
• 35:40    William Ryan Fritch - Futiles Heaves [Cohesion (Lost Tribe Sound)]
• 39:33    this floating world - winds I [floatings (Whitelabrecs)]
• 40:50    Between - Pushed [Low Flying Owls (12k)]
• 46:38    Sigur Rós - Blóðberg [ÁTTA)]
• 53:25    Alva Noto - Sehnsuchtsvoll [Kinder der Sonne(From Komplizen) (Noton)]
• 1:06:00    Hainbach - Last Song of Summer [Voice Magnetic (Seil)]
• 1:03:05    Mount Shrine - Ghostly [Lost Loops Collection (Cryo Chamber)]
• 1:06:50    ARROWOUNDS - Tree of Disciples [In The Octopus Pond (LostTribe Sound)]
• 1:12:42    Loneward - Delicate Illusions [Willoweald (Stereoscenic)]
• 1:21:30    end

Longform Sleepy Time

 

This mix is pretty just as the title describes - a set of long ambient pieces, perfect for sleeping. There's not much else to say other than the tracks are all fairly new with most of them from 2023.

I was happy to use a longer version of the Crows Labyrinth track in this mix. I used it in my Blade Runner mix earlier in the year but it was the short version. I have been listening to the long version a lot this year and using it as a sleep soundtrack quite a bit as well. So I knew I had to use more of the 39 minute track in this mix. That album will make my best of the year list for sure.

Speaking of best of the year lists - head over to Mixcloud Posts to see my favorite albums of 2023, so far - MIXCLOUD Best of 2023(so far)

Links to all the music used in this mix:

• https://loscil.bandcamp.com/album/alta
• https://altusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/willoweald
• https://crowslabyrinth.bandcamp.com/album/neon-scenes-i-granular-dreams
• https://milieumusic.bandcamp.com/album/beside-a-green-window
• https://slaapwel.bandcamp.com/album/particles
• https://perceptualtapes.bandcamp.com/album/fleeting-visions-into-sleep - active on 7/14/23
• https://cryochamber.bandcamp.com/album/lost-loops-collection
• https://dataobscura.bandcamp.com/album/delicate-terrain
• https://cv313.bandcamp.com/album/plays-sequential-space

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    Loscil - Alta (Alta 2023)
• 10:20    Loneward - Light Blossom (Willoweald 2023)
• 18:00    Crows Labyrinth - Neon Scenes I (Neon Scenes I: Granular Dreams 2023)
• 27:45    Milieu - Beside a Green Window (Beside a Green Window 2023)
• 37:07    Katharina Schmidt - Particles (Particles 2022)
• 46:44    Spectrical - Distant Rain (Fleeting visions into sleep 2023)
• 55:10    Mount Shrine - Foghorn (Lost Loops Collection 2023)
• 1:12:25    Robert Davies - Diffused Meadow (Delicate Terrain 2022)
• 1:26:30    cv313 - Star Alignments (Plays Sequential Space 2023)
• 2:00:00    end

Aquadream by Fragile X

 

I love getting guest mixes from creative artists. I love hearing excellent segues as the music flows seamlessly across the set. And I love discovering new music. So, of course, I'm excited about this latest offering from Fragile X.

https://soundcloud.com/fragilex
https://fragilex.bandcamp.com/

https://www.mixcloud.com/lowlight/being-human-by-fragile-x/

There so much good stuff in this mix, like one of my favorite tracks of all time - Submarine Poetry, I could go on and on but I'll let John say a few things about it:

"I've been inspired by my recent trip to Croatia and have made a water themed mix. I've called it "Aquadream". I wanted the mix to be able to act as a soundtrack to all kinda things. From casual swimming, deep sea diving, floating, boating or even just watching from the shoreline. It's pretty much all ambient material. It's got that hazy and submerged feel about it and is a wee bit disorientating at times but is ultimately a calm and hopefully refreshing mix!"

Thanks, John, for this awesome collection of music!

[ 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 :

ARTIST - TITLE / LABEL / YEAR

• 00:00    Sample of the World's Loneliest Whale, 52 Hertz
• 00:44    Rennie Foster - Devil's Water (Devil's Reprise) / Rebirth / 2009 
• 04:48    Fragile X - The Descent / Gorecki Productions / 2015
• 07:11    Krill.minima - Submarine Poetry / Native State Records / 2007
• 12:23    Daar - Sea Wind / Silent Season / 2021
• 18:35    The Persuader - Pressure Relief / Stockholm LTD / 2015
• 21:51    Michael FK - Black Whale / Ambient / 2014
• 26:48    Newworldaquarium - Thousand Oaks / Ostgut Ton / 2014
• 29:56    Karen Vogt - Searching For Shoals (Karen Vogt remix) / Self Released / 2023
• 31:45    Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - Wetlands / Western Vinyl / 2016
• 33:03    This Mortal Coil - Song To The Siren / 4AD / 1983
• 36:47    Inhmost - Waters Edge / Huinali Recordings / 2021
• 41:11    Tom Leclerc - Postcard From The Sea / Giraffe Tapes / 2022
• 43:50    Leafcutter John - Music Under The Water / Desire Path / 2015
• 48:04    Chromasy - Naoshima /Self Released / 2020
• 52:32    Copula - North Sea Dream / Traumgarten / 2020
• 54:48    Balsam - Water Conception / Neotantra / 2019
• 56:21    Julianna Barwick - One Half / Dead Oceans / 2012
• 59:13    Circular - Calm / Beatservice Records/ 1999
• 65:19    Asura - Ascension In Blue / Ultimae Records / 2014
• 72:30    Fragile X - Mvto More / Unreleased / 2023
• 78:48    Picnic - Drops in The Water (DJ Paradise remix) / Daisart / 2021
• 80:45    Saphileaum - Freshwater Body / Nyame Records / 2020
• 85:35    Yosi Horikawa - Fluid / Borrowed Scenery / 2019

Electronic Music 1971

 

The Electronic Music of the 1970s series continues with a trip back to 1971. This year was a bit easier to curate than '70 because we have a few more good uses of electronic instruments featured prominently.

For me, the best electronic album of 1971 is "Zero Time" by Tonto's Expanding Head Band. It's very synthetic sounding without being too cheesy. I enjoyed discovering new music for this mix like "The Andromeda Strain" soundtrack and a Tangerine Dream soundtrack for an unreleased movie. I hope you too discover something new in this journey back to 1971.

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    Moog - Moog demonstration record
• 00:36    Tonto's Expanding Head Band - Tama (Zero Time)
• 05:48    Beaver & Krause - Nine Moons In Alaska (Gandharva)
• 07:30    Tangerine Dream - Sunrise In The Third System (Alpha Centauri)
• 11:07    Achim Reichel - Einleitung(Invitation) (Echo)
• 16:00    Deuter - Babylon (D)
• 19:49    Pat Prilly - Aerolithe Alpha (Moog Sensations)
• 21:15    Harold Budd - Pastoral Symphony (The Oak Of The Golden Dreams)
• 22:00    Popol Vuh - Aguirre (In the Gardens of the Pharao | Aguirre)
• 27:00    Ash Ra Tempel - Traummaschine (Ash Ra Tempel)
• 33:18    Pat Prilly - Coeur Synthetique (Moog Sensations)
• 34:12    Tonto's Expanding Head Band - Cybernaut (Zero Time)
• 38:30    Doug McKechnie - Moving (San Francisco Moog: 1968-72 Vol. 2)
• 41:10    Jean Michel Jarre - La Cage (La Cage)
• 44:25    Morton Subotnick - Sidewinder (Sidewinder)
• 46:15    Gil Mellé - Andromeda (The Andromeda Strain)
• 47:47    Tangerine Dream - Vampira VI (Vampira)
• 50:53    W. Merrick Farran & E. Vetter - Sea of Storms (KPM Electronic Music)
• 52:42    Tonto's Expanding Head Band - Aurora (Zero Time)
• 59:10    end

Fresh Ambient June 2023

 

The theme for this mix is simple - a collection of new ambient tracks, most released within the last couple of months. Sometimes after posting a lot of theme mixes or guest mixes I need to crank out a set that is just straightforward ambient. Nothing fancy, just beautiful, drifting music to ease the mind.

Here are some links to the music used in this mix:

• https://kramer.bandcamp.com/album/baptismal
• https://12kmusic.bandcamp.com/album/low-flying-owls
• https://williamselman.bandcamp.com/album/the-weather-indoors
• https://losttribesound.bandcamp.com/album/maps-to-where-the-poison-grows-subscription-series
• https://atlantearecords.bandcamp.com/album/there-is-light
• https://michaelscottdawson.bandcamp.com/album/find-yourself-lost
• https://bleep.com/release/380644-alva-noto-kinder-der-sonne-from-komplizen
• https://sachikobayashi.bandcamp.com/album/melodies-in-the-garden
• https://davidcordero.bandcamp.com/album/spring-memories
• https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/sen
• https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/below-the-noise
• https://chitrarecords.bandcamp.com/album/sonoris
• https://aispatial.bandcamp.com/album/above-the-sky
• https://handstitched.bandcamp.com/album/a-study-of-ends-or-purpose

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    Laraaji & Kramer - Immersion (Baptismal 2023)
• 06:00    Between - Back (Low Flying Owls 2023)
• 11:10    William Selman - Leaky Paradise (The Weather Indoors 2023)
• 14:28    Civic Hall aka Euan McMeeken & Craig Tattersall - Excerpt I (Maps To Where The Poison Grows 2023)
• 19:15    Sebby Kowal - Sakura Schoolyard (There Is Light 2023)
• 22:36    Michael Scott Dawson - Notes On Longing (Find Yourself Lost 2023)
• 25:50    Alva Noto - Die Undergründigen - Redux (Kinder der Sonne(From "Komplizen") 2023)
• 29:55    Sachi Kobayashi - Morning Dew (Melodies in the Garden 2023)
• 33:40    David Cordero - Middle Distance (Spring Memories 2023)
• 39:20    blochemy - lane (sen 2023)
• 44:11    Andy Cartwright - Mended Environment (Below the Noise 2023)
• 48:05    Kenji Katayose - Aika (Sonoris 2023)
• 54:18    Inhmost - Eternal (Above The Sky 2023)
• 58:52    Maps and Diagrams - Brume (A Study of Ends or Purpose 2023)
• 64:16    end

The Lonely Orbit

 

A few months ago I stumbled across two tunes called "Lonely Satellite" & "The Lonely Orbit." Those titles intrigued me and I thought they would make a great theme for a mix. I started collecting tracks, not knowing when the mix would come to fruition. 

Then this past week I heard the new album from Alva Noto called "Kinder der Sonne (From "Komplizen")" and I knew immediately that I had to make this mix. I could have included 4 or 5 tracks from the Alva Noto album but Mixcloud only allows a maximum of 3 songs from one album. I ended up using two cuts.

As usual the mix leans heavily on new tunes, with 11 of 18 tracks from 2020 - 2023. That includes the two "lonely" cuts that started this whole thing.

Funny side note - there has been a lot construction in my neighborhood lately and as I was putting the mix together I would hear the beeping of a backhoe reversing or some other truck backing up. It got to be annoying because sometimes I couldn't tell if the beeping sounds were from the music or the construction outside. Haha!

Links to all the music used in this mix:

• https://letna.bandcamp.com/album/redfish
• https://bleep.com/release/380644-alva-noto-kinder-der-sonne-from-komplizen
• https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/slicing-space-time-into-objects
• https://scanner.bandcamp.com/album/wing-pinger
• https://loscil.bandcamp.com/album/endless-falls
• https://lunartestinglab.bandcamp.com/album/space-debris-space-transmission
• https://hainbach.bandcamp.com/album/voice-magnetic
• https://brianenoallsaints.bandcamp.com/album/the-shutov-assembly-expanded-edition
• https://sarossky.bandcamp.com/track/lonely-satellite
• https://loscil.bandcamp.com/album/lifelike
• https://www.amazon.com/Interstellar-Original-Picture-Soundtrack-Expanded/dp/B08KGT79SD/ref=tmm_acd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1685223095&sr=1-1
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GDZBUZA/ref=dm_rwp_pur_lnd_albm_fr
• https://bleep.com/release/380644-alva-noto-kinder-der-sonne-from-komplizen
• https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/verism
• https://stateazure.bandcamp.com/album/as-the-dawn-fades
• https://shimmeringmoodsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/exile
• https://arovane.bandcamp.com/album/gestalt

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    Alexandre Navarro + Letna - Psamathe (Redfish 2013)
• 03:15    Alva Noto - Kinder der Sonne(Intro)  (Kinder der Sonne (From "Komplizen") 2023)
• 06:15    xu - this illusory continuity (slicing space-time into objects 2022)
• 07:55    Scanner - Wing Pinger 02 (Wing Pinger 2021)
• 09:14    Loscil - Estuarine (Endless Fall 2010)
• 17:10    Lunar Testing Lab - Lunar Radio Control (Space Debris - Space Transmission 2008)
• 18:17    Hainbach - Izmir (Voice Magnetic 2023)
• 19:40    Brian Eno - Cavallino (The Shutov Assembly 1992)
• 22:20    Saros Sky - Lonely Satellite (Ambient Oceania 2021)
• 25:47    Loscil - Bipolar, Pt. 2 (Lifelike 2019)
• 28:57    Hans Zimmer - Atmospheric Entry (Interstellar 2014)
• 30:17    Steven Price - Aurora Borealis (Gravity 2013)
• 31:22    Alva Noto - Die Untergründigen (Kinder der Sonne (From "Komplizen") 2023)
• 39:18    Peter Kvidera - Popping (Verism 2022)
• 44:30    State Azure - Prism (As The Dawn Fades 2023)
• 50:23    Brian Eno - Kazakhstan 4 (Kazakhstan 2023)
• 55:12    Aethernal - The Lonely Orbit (Exile 2022)
• 58:49    arovane - laap (gestalt 2020)
• 60:30    end

Between Interval: Instrumental gems (mostly) from 70s rock - by Paul Asbury Seaman

 

Two guest mixes in a row - I am a lucky guy! This one comes to us from LLM regular contributor, Paul Asbury Seaman. It's a great collection of instrumental tracks that, as the title says, leans heavily on music from the 1970s.

My brain has been stuck in the 70s for a while as I collect tunes for the Electronic Music of the 1970s series(1971 is coming soon). So I was excited about the coincidence of Paul coming up with a 70s(mostly) mix. Some tracks I was familiar and others I was hearing for the first time, which is the wonderful thing about these guest mixes - they go in directions that I would not have taken them. This one turns into a great journey of nostalgia and discovery.

Here's what Paul has to say about this mix:

“Something old, something new. Something cheerful, something blue. Some great instrumental tracks that might have slipped between the cracks. So, no “Colour My World.” Yes to Black Sabbath. Plus a couple of mellow vocal numbers, chosen for their melodies that were just too pretty to leave out. The selections here span more than fifty years, though most are from the 1970s.

The title of this mix comes from the working name (one of my all-time favorites) of Swedish ambient electronic artist Stefan Jonsson.”

Thanks, Paul, for another excellent set. 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    Agitation Free - First Communication (2nd 1973)
• 05:57    Jeff Greinke - Losing Time (A Thousand Year Flood 2023)
• 11:23    Between Interval - Portals in Time (The Edge of a Fairytale 2009)
• 14:38    Vangelis - Love Theme, Blade Runner (Nocturne: The Piano Album 2019)
• 20:35    Mike Oldfield - Incantations - part four(excerpt) (Incantations 1978)
• 24:50    Pierre Moerlen's Gong - Faerie Steps (Time is the Key 1979)
• 30:10    Moody Blues - Visions of Paradise (In Search Of The Lost Chord 1968))
• 34:15    Genesis - Horizons (Foxtrot 1972)
• 35:50    Rick Wakeman - Summertime (Rhapsodies 1979)
• 40:08    Neal Schon - Midnight Express (Electric World 1997)
• 45:15    Iron Butterfly - Slower Than Guns (Metamorphosis 1970)
• 48:53    Black Sabbath - Laguna Sunrise (Vol. 4 1972)
• 51:37    Ian Anderson - Boris Dancing (The Secret Language Of Birds 2000)
• 54:40    Pink Floyd - It's What We Do (The Endless River 2014)
• 59:50    Bill Frisell - Bird On A Wire (Here It Is: A Tribute To Leonard Cohen 2022)
• 63:35    end

In Praise of the Saddest Chord

 

What is the saddest in chord in music? I didn't know there was such a thing until Peter van Cooten, of Ambientblog fame, told me about his new guest mix. He searched his collection for tracks that are all in the key of D minor and put them together is this amazing mix.

Here is what Peter says about the mix:

"Could this be ‘the saddest mix of all time’? I don’t think so myself, I would rather call it melancholic – in a pleasant way. But it’s a fact that all of these tracks are in D minor (Dm), which is said to be ‘the saddest chord.’

“The D minor chord (often written as Dm) is a chord that evokes a sense of melancholy and contemplation on the negative side of situations. Like many other minor chords, Dm can create a heavy, serious atmosphere — and sometimes even creates an almost otherworldly sense of drama.”

There are many ambient moments, but (like most Ambientblog mixes) this is not a pure ‘ambient’ mix, since it includes many ‘post-classical’ strings and piano moments.

 One advantage of selecting fragments based on the chord is that the tracks are selected regardless of the release year. Which feels like ‘as if time were the easiest thing to walk’ (The Dwindlers)."

In typical Peter van Cooten fashion, there are a lot of tracks squeezed into this hour-long mix - 33 of them. And because they all revolve around Dm, they flow together perfectly. 

To  download the mix go to https://www.ambientblog.net/ or better yet check out the mix on Mixcloud  -  STREAM ON MIXCLOUD

T R A C K L I S T :

Start time - Sample length - Artist - Title - Album Title - Year - Label

00:00 0:38 Erik K Skodvin & Rauelsson - The Return

A Score For Darling, 2018,Sonic Pieces

00:30 4:47 Erik Wøllo & Michael Stearns - Ruins Of The Past

Convergence, 2020, Projekt

03:49 2:19 Zoviet France - Amber Rose Hand

The Tables Are Turning, 2013, Soleilmoon Recordings

04:40 2:28 Monolake - Allure Publison

Archaeopteryx, 2020, Imbalance Computer Music

05:56 2:42 Mark Tamea - Tower Ch1 Rearranged

Five Augmented Locations (Vol. 1), 2014, EQ:RA

06:51 3:52 Trans Alp - Gymnopédies No.1

Après Quatre Pièces D'Erik Satie, 2013, Camomille Music

09:32 1:59 Luc Ferrari - Presque Rien No. 2 Ou Ainsi Continue La Nuit Dans Ma Tête Multiple

L'Oeuvre Électronique, 2009, INA-GRM

10:14 2:15 Madeleine Cocolas - And Then I Watch It Fall Apart

Spectral, 2022, Room40

10:40 03:53 Chihei Hatakeyama & Good Weather For An Airstike - Lost In The City

Falling Sun, 2014, Rural Colours

12:42 3:26 Luke Howard - The Closing Of The Gates (with Budapest Art Orchestra)

All Of Us, 2022, Mercury KX

15:01 3:55 Jacob Kirkegaard - Chasm Chant

Pod Tune, 2018, Not On Label

16:20 5:19 Mendel Kaelen - Light Of Nature

Remembering What Was Forgotten, 2010, Self-released

20:12 4:33 Jon Hopkins - How I Live Now

How I Live Now OST, 2013, Just Music 

24:02 2:37 The Dwindlers - Dekuji Praha

Beautiful Unfamiliar, 2019, self-released

26:04 2:13 Simon Fisher Turner - Nanda Devi

The Epic Of Everest, 2013, Mute

27:26 1:51 Jeremiah Cymerman - From The Metaphysical To The Trancendental (for Bill Smith)

Citadels & Sanctuaries, 2021, 5049 Records

 

28:52 1:40 Don Hill (with Blast Theory) - WRGO (Lunar Lander)

WRGO (What's Really Going On), 2019, self-released

29:48 4:54 Roger Eno & Brian Eno - Obsidian

Mixing colours, 2020, Deutsche Grammophon 

34:09 3:17 Mike Lazarev - When You Are

When You Are, 2022, Slowcraft Records

36:37 4:11 London Docks - Violin Improvisation - La Lluvia

Tangaróa, 2014, self-released

38:47 3:43 Agate Rollings - 1.12 AM - On The Fingers Of A Heat Which Is Burning Out

Meantime/Elsewhere, 2021, Midira Records

41:31 3:52 Gareth Davis - Stone

Souvenirs Van De Woeste Grond, 2014, Esc.Rec

41:38 2:11 Endless Melancholy - Broken

An Introduction To Soft, 2014, Soft Recordings

 

44:21 1:57 Arve Henriksen - First Life

Chron, 2012, Rune Grammofon

46:12 5:01 Ketil Bjørnstadt & Svante Henryson - Reticence

Night Song, 2011, ECM Records

48:09 1:26 Loscil - Ma.Org (Seque) Re.Mx

Ma.Org Pa.Git.Re.Mx, 2015 Crónica

48:11 2:36 Ben Lukas Boysen & Sebastian Plano - Glacial Sunbeam

Everything, 2017, Erased Tapes Records

50:38 2:54 Anne Chris Bakker - Droesem

Reminiscences, 2014, Dronarivm

52:51 01:23 Greg Haines - Birthday Scene

Touched 3, 2016, Touched

53:26 1:01 Clara Engel & Bradley Sean Alexander - Sleeps Again

Ghost Bird, 2021, Polar Seas Recording

54:26 1:42 Eleni Karaindrou - Adagio

Concert in Athens, 2013, ECM Records

55:59 1:49 Hans Zimmer - The One

Dune OST, 2021, WaterTower Music

57:31 4:00 Voces8 - Ola Gjeillo Still (Arr. Lawson)

Infinity, 2021, Decca Classics

Remember Tomorrow V.2

This is a repost of an old mix from 2009. The is a retro synth mix with a sort of old space program vibe. I realized that I'd never posted it to Mixcloud so I thought I would haul it out of space dock and update it with a few more cuts added to the end. It's great to hear tracks from Freescha, Lunar Testing Lab, Bochum Welt and others for the first time in a long time.

Enjoy this trip backward and forward in time.

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     Countdown from "Lunar Adventure in 1985"
• 00:13     Belbury Poly - Adventures in a Miniature Landscape
• 02:00     The Units - Cowboy
• 06:05     Harmonic 33 - Departure Lounge
• 10:30     Lunar Testing Lab - Lunar Radio control
• 11:30     EU - New Osc's
• 13:00     Boards of Canada - Wildlife Analysis
• 13:50     Freescha - The Sun is Still
• 16:00     Lunar Testing Lab - Orbiting Lunar Observatory
• 16:40     TRS-80 - moon Patrol
• 22:30     David Bowie - V2 Schneider
• 25:10     Bochum Welt - interlude
• 28:25     Lunar Testing Lab - Phantom Cosmonaut
• 30:50     Signaldrift - Children of the 70's
• 32:20     Harmonic 33 - Planet 54
• 35:50     Frank Comstock - Music from Outer Space(when you wish upon a star)
• 37:50     Boards of Canada - Nova Scotia Robots
• 38:50     Bernard Szajner - A Kind of Freedom
• 41:30     Talvihorros - A Rural Place
• 43:35     David Bowie - Weeping Wall
• 46:20     Michael Garrison - Escape (Music From The 21st Century 1986)
• 48:42    Iguana Moonlight - V (WIld Palms 2017)
• 53:06    Stratis - By Water (Soul Jazz Records presents Space, Energy & Light 2017)
• 58:27    Chris Carter - Moon Two (Chemistry Lessons Volume 1 2018)
• 60:47     end

The Undersea World of Low Light Mixes

 

I've done a couple mixes featuring library music from the 70s & 80s that have the vibe of a cheesy deep sea exploration documentary. I've always wanted to do a follow up and here it is.

One problem is that I didn't check the tracklist from the last mix and so a handful of tracks from that set made it into this one. When I figured out what had happened, it was too late to change. Well, actually, I was just too lazy to change it. I think about 9 of the 23 tracks in this mix appeared in the last one. 

I love the retro vibe of these mixes. Take some old vinyl albums with echoing fender rhodes piano, add some scuba sound fx and a few synths and you've got yourself a 70s soundtrack to the Undersea World of Low Light Mixes.

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 Eric Vann - Algues Marines (Water World 1982)
• 01:32 Walt Rockman - Submarine Scenery (Underwater Vol 1 1980)
• 03:45 Stefano Liberati - Tombala la grande corrente (Pericolo negli abissi 1978)
• 04:38 Walt Rockman - gas-bubbles (Biology 1980)
• 05:28 Roger Roger & Nino Nardini - Eery Dream (Informatic 2000 1982)
• 07:21 Joel Vandroogenbroeck & F. Voelxen - Cascades (Contemporary Pastoral and Ethnic Sounds 1979)
• 10:03 John Hyde - Curlews (Red Kite 1982)
• 11:11 John Tender - Underwater Fantasy 1 (Fantasyland Vol. 1 1982)
• 12:50 Walt Rockman - chromosomes (Biology 1980)
• 14:42 Tamponi - acque profonde (Ittiologia 1973)
• 16:07 Amedeo Tommasi - Correnti sottomarine (Biologia marina 1973)
• 19:08 Mikrokristal - Bubbles (Hidden Way Between Some Rains 2013)
• 23:52 Georg Deuter - Deep Sea(mysterious - lost - sunken ship) (Soundtrack 1973)
• 26:15 Atmo - subacquatic (Ittiologia 1973)
• 28:00 Walt Rockman - dark depth 1 (Underwater Vol 1 1980)
• 29:31 Teddy Lasry - moins 8000 (+ ou - 8000 1977)
• 33:33 Franco Tamponi - Profondita (Biologia Marina 1973)
• 35:55 Jim Harbourg - Harbourg Empathy (Sonoton Soundscapes 1985)
• 38:23 John Hyde - Underwater (Red Kite 1982)
• 40:00 Stefano Liberati - La caverna di ghiaccio (Pericolo negli abissi 1978)
• 41:20 Piero Umiliani - musica delle sfere (Omaggio ad Einstein 1973)
• 43:10 Raymond Scott - Sleepy Time (Soothing Sounds for Baby, Volume 1 1997)
• 47:15 Eric Vann - Diving (Water World 1982)
• 50:37    end

Current Ambient Obsessions

 

This mix is pretty straightforward - it's a collection of tracks from some of my favorite ambient albums, so far, of 2023. The first three tracks are probably my top three albums of the year so far and I expect them to be on my year-end list in December.

Links to all the music used in this mix:

• https://www.soundohm.com/product/glow-world
• https://brendaneder.bandcamp.com/album/therapy
• https://arrowounds.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-octopus-pond
• https://dataobscura.bandcamp.com/album/lakeside-haven
• https://foamonawave.bandcamp.com/album/in-daylight-dub
• https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/petrologists-lens
• https://timhecker.bandcamp.com/album/no-highs
• https://3six.net/album/dreamloops-suite

There's not much else to say, just sit back and enjoy some excellent ambient music.

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    Rod Modell & Taka Noda - Untitled 9 (Glow World 2023)
• 07:03    Brendan Eder Ensemble - Ending(feat. Ethan Haman) (Therapy 2023)
• 14:55    ARROWOUNDS - Tree of Disciples (In The Octopus Pond 2023)
• 21:15    Robert Davies - Lakeside Reminiscence (Lakeside Haven 2023)
• 27:50    Pan•American - Renzo (In Daylight Dub 2023)
• 37:30    Harry Towell & Pruski - lacustyna (petrologist's lens 2023)
• 42:30    Tim Hecker - Monotony II (No Highs 2023)
• 44:44    Max Richter - Tranquility VII & VIII (SLEEP: Tranquility Base 2023)
• 49:20    36 - Last Wake Dreamout (Dreamloops Suite 2023)
• 60:00    end