Wednesday, May 17, 2023

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



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