Low Light Mixes: 2025

Wednesday, February 05, 2025

Quiet Fusion

Back in the 70s I was a huge prog rock fan and an offshoot of that fandom was discovering jazz fusion. I think Jean-Luc Ponty was the first proper fusion record I ever owned. I believe I was a fusion fan before getting into jazz in general.

I've been planning on creating a fusion mix for months but just haven't gotten around to it. Then last month I was sipping coffee on a cold morning, listening to a fusion playlist, when a couple of laid back tunes came up. I immediately started a new playlist for quiet fusion tracks. And this mix is the result.

It's got some of my all time favorite jazz fusion artists - Alan Holdsworth, Brand X, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock & Miles Davis. But surprisingly, not my fav fusion artist - Bill Bruford. He just didn't have anything quiet enough that worked with the mix. But at least his guitarist, Alan Holdsworth made the cut.

I hope you enjoy listening to this little diversion as much as I did creating it.

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 Herbie Hancock - Vein Melter (Head Hunters 1973)
08:50 Allan Holdsworth - Distance vs Desire (Sand 1987)
13:56 John Abercrombie - Timeless (Timeless 1974)
21:38 Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays - September Fifteenth
(As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls 1981)
29:06 Jaco Pastorius - Continuum (Jaco Pastorius 1976)
33:30 Soft Machine - Between (Six 1973)
35:33 Joe Zawinul - In A Silent Way (Zawinul 1971)
40:11 Gong Emotions (Downwind 1979)
44:50 Jean-Luc Ponty - I Only Feel Good With You
(Cosmic Messenger 1978)
47:38 Brand X - Black Moon (Masques 1978)
51:55 Miles Davis - It's About Time
(The Complete In a Silent Way Sessions 2001)
60:49 e n d

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

THE BOTTNA MIX by Dött ljus

We have a special treat for this mix - an upbeat collection with an ambient house music vibe. I have a folder on my hard drive that is labeled "gentle house music." It contains tracks that have a definite 4-on-the-floor style but aren't hardcore, fill-the-dance-floor tunes. Something like Kiasmos. I have avoided making a mix of these tune because, truthfully, I suck at beat matching. I don't use professional software that would do it for me and I don't have quite the musical ear to pull it off on my own, at least for an entire mix.

That's where Johan Kisro and Petter Lindhagen come to the rescue. Johan and Peter record as Dött ljus and they have a new EP coming out on February 5th called Bottna. You can find it here - https://slowcraft.bandcamp.com/album/bottna The EP is on Slowcraft Records which says "the irrepressible energy of their hybrid electronica finds itself subtly grounded in a tenderly ambient melancholy."

I was immediately taken by the vibe of the new EP so I was over the moon when Johan suggested doing a mix for LLM. Perfect! I've always wanted a mix that sounds like this.

Here's what Johan says about this collection of tracks:

"This mix is a collection of songs we love—some of which may have influenced our upcoming EP, Bottna (out February 5th via Slowcraft Records). Bottna is a refuge, a place where anything can become something, where color breaks through the cracks in the pavement, hidden from the intensifying hum of a world unraveling. The songs exist at the intersection of rhythm and droning textures, and we wanted this mix to follow that same path—from fragments to flourish."

Thanks to Johan and Peter for curating this excellent mix.

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 Kejser audiovisual - EMO TREE 3.0, pt.1 (EMO TREE 3.0 2024)
00:46 Bonnie Beecher - Come Wander with me (1964)
02:21 Dött ljus - Förr (Bottna 2025)
07:06 The XX - VCR (Four Tet Remix) (2010)
15:22 Sofia Kourtesis - Vajkoczy (Madres 2023)
19:14 Radiohead - Everything in its Right Place (Gigamesh Remix 3.0) (2024)
23:40 Menke - Nattskärran (Christian Löffler Remix) (2018)
26:56 Kelly Lee Owens - Dreamstate (Dreamstate 2024)
32:16 Colin Stetson - All the days I’ve missed you (ILAIJ I)
(New History Warfare Vol 2: Judges 2011)
33:09 Brian McBride - Prelude (When the Detail Lost its Freedom 2005)
34:46 Fred again…, Delilah Montegun - Delilah (pull me out of this)
(Actual Life 3 [January 1 - September 9 2022] 2022)
38:50 Caribou - Honey (Honey 2024)
43:13 Abul Mogard - Half Light of Dawn (Circular Forms 2015)
49:20 Donnie & Joe Emerson - Baby (Dreamin’ Wild 1979)
52:48 Dött ljus - Bottna (Bottna 2025)

Sunday, January 26, 2025

Sunday Morning Music Vol. 24 - Dream State

I did not do a Sunday Morning Music mix at all last year 😮 That's probably the first year since the series started in 2011 that I didn't post a Sunday mix. The Sunday Morning series is one of the reasons that Low Light Mixes blew up on Mixcloud. So you'd think I would be posting more of these mixes to feed the algorithm. But, no, there is no plan for curating these mixes, they just happen when they happen.

With all that preamble, I'm excited to finally get a Sunday mix up & running. This follows the classic format of some laid back jazz, some ambient & some quiet vocal tunes. My favorite track in the mix is "Amber Waves" by Ethel Cain. It's from her new album, "Perverts", which is an interesting collection of tunes that range from noisy, dark ambient to beautiful vocal tracks like "Amber Waves."

LINKS TO ALL THE MUSIC USED IN THIS MIX:

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 Andert Tysma - Dalmally (Hana 2024)
05:35 Earthen Sea - Present Day (Recollection 2024)
09:35 Alister Fawnwoda, Suzanne Ciani, Greg Leisz - Night Bunny (Milan 2021)
15:48 Oliver Patrice Weder - Breathe In (The Shoe Factory 2024)
19:03 Sam Wilkes - Descending(Frue) (iiyo iiyo iiyo 2024)
23:19 Arooj Aftab - Raat Ki Rani (Night Reign 2024)
28:22 Faye Webster - Wanna Quit All the Time (Underdressed at the Symphony 2024)
31:27 G.S. Schray - Another Haunted Mirror (Whispered Something Good 2024)
35:25 Ethel Cain - Amber Waves (Perverts 2025)
42:40 Kamasi Washington - Dream State (Fearless Movement 2024)
50:45 This Is The Kit - Careful of Your Keepers (Live at The Minack Theatre 2024)
53:45 Von Spar & Eiko Ishibashi - I (Album I 2024)
60:00 end

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Gossamer by Robert Farrugia

Photograph by Saviour Bonnici

I've said many times that I love guest mixes. And I especially love getting mixes from artists that I've been listening to for years. Such is the case with this new set from Robert Farrugia.

I have several of Robert's albums and I always look forward to checking out his new material. Well, now he's got some new material definitely worth checking out. His new album is called "Natura Maltija - Official Soundtrack" and it just came out last week. You can find it here - https://robertfarrugia.bandcamp.com/album/natura-maltija-official-soundtrack

Check out the series that the album is a soundtrack for - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWFDoYR4wMu-atJE_CSuRa2v88kZHp09k

To celebrate the release of this new album Robert put together a wonderful ambient mix for us. Here is what he says about it:

"This mix features a selection of tracks from recent Ambient, Neoclassical, and Electronica releases, curated by Robert Farrugia. Centered around my latest album, 'Natura Maltija - Official Soundtrack,' the mix also includes tracks from friends and collaborators."

Links to all the music used in this mix:

Thanks to Robert for curating this excellent collection of tunes that fits perfectly into the Low Light Mixes vibe.

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 Benoît Pioulard - Op. 448, Adagio (Hallucination Archive 2024)
06:34 Joachim Spieth & Warmth - Spectral (Fragments 2025)
11:03 zakè, From Overseas, City of Dawn - Certain Path (Certain Path 2024)
14:41 Robert Farrugia - Bufula (Natura Maltija 2025)
16:50 A Lily - Kemn Nixtieq Li Qed (Saru l-Qamar 2024)
20:29 Robert Farrugia - Qabru (Natura Maltija 2025)
26:39 Robert Farrugia - Qarnita (Natura Maltija 2025)
31:38 Jogging House - State (Softie 2024)
37:57 A Lily - Solar Systems (Virgin Stoner: Works 2001-2004 2024)
44:12 The Green Kingdom - Sunsetgradient (Ether Hymns 2024)
48:05 rhubiqs - Hope’s Canvas (Aegis of Silence 2024)

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Morning Sun in Winter

This is one of those mixes where there's not much to say about it because there is no theme. It's just a nice collection of wonderful ambient tunes. Most of the tracks are fairly slow and drifty. A few of these I just discovered at the end of 2024 by browsing end-of-the-year lists.

One of those is Gems III by Celer which as an absolutely beautiful record. Another one that was new to me is the closing track - "Il Mare Cancella, Di Notte(II)," a long, slow cut that I wish could go on forever.

Here's to the start of 2025 and looking ahead to a year filled with excellent 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 James Murray - Feverfew (Weeds 2024)
06:40 Yoyu - The Indigo Space Around Us (It's All Gonna Be Ok Somehow 2024)
10:33 Lantscap - Fragile Peaks (Fragile Peaks 2025)
15:55 Celer - Gems III.I (Gems III 2024)
20:27 Last Days of Living - Where The Bay Becomes The Sea (. 2024)
25:30 Calm Whale & Mik Kosma - Ocean Calling (TwoGather 2024)
31:15 David Cordero - Alquézar (Postales 2024)
35:03 Andrew Heath & Halftribe (feat. Anne Chris Bakker) - Garden Leave (Illuminations III 2024)
42:06 Alaskan Tapes - Random Sequence (Something Ephemeral 2024)
45:08 Marine Eyes - In The Spaces (To Belong 2024)
48:18 Lamasz & come le onde - Il Mare Cancella, Di Notte(II) (Il Mare Cancella, Di Notte 2024)
66:00 end

Friday, January 03, 2025

We Did It Again by Andy McNeill(Maple Mountain Sunburst)

What a great way to start the new year! Jumping right in with this excellent mix from friend of the show, Andy McNeill. Andy records as Maple Mountain Sunburst and he released a wonderful album last year - https://maplemountainsunburst.bandcamp.com/album/ecstatic He also did a guest mix for us last year which you can find here - Mixcloud & Low Light Mixes Blog.

My favorite discovery in this mix is the third track, "My Dog's Eyes" by Zammuto. I am blown away each time I hear it. One of my favorite track of 2024 is also included in the mix - Andy's own "Pop-a-matic." So good! The rest of the mix a great as well.

Here's what Andy says about his latest creation:

"Cycles, patterns and joy in repetition. I’ll paraphrase redditer Waves_of_awesome who said strongly repetitive music has the ability to transport the listener to a meditative state. “… repeating passages echo like a mantra, almost hypnotizing you”. It’s a fundamental yet unpremeditated element in my musical endeavours.

A lot of different genres represented here — not really intentionally, I just wanted to include some favourites and influential tracks. But wait where’s O Superman? It’s Gonna Rain? I guess we’ll have to do a part two. I hope you all enjoy the journey." - Andy

>>>Links to all the music used in this mix<<<

Thanks Andy, for creating this most excellent mix.

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 Chapterhouse/Global Communication - Gamma Phase edit (Pentamerous Metamorphosis 1993)
05:01 Uakti - Japura River (Philip Glass) (Aguas da Amazonia 1999)
09:51 Zammuto - My Dog’s Eyes (Veryone 2016)
12:50 George Mukabi - Kuoa Utaoa (Furaha Wenye Gita 2017)
15:38 Maple Mountain Sunburst - Pop-a-matic (Ecstatic 2024
19:37 The Books - Cello Song ft. José González (Music For A French Elevator… 2013)
23:28 Sobanza Mimanisa - Kiwembo (edit) (Congotronics 2 2005)
27:15 Juana Molina - Salvese Quien Pueda (Tres Cosas 2004)
32:41 Christina Pluhar and L’Arpeggiata - Ciaconna (Youtube)
36:40 Maple Mountain Sunburst - Age of Steam (MMSTO 2010)
39:52 Faust - Lauft… (aka Giggy Smile) (Faust IV 1973)
43:06 Maple Mountain Sunburst - Without Fear (Ecstatic 2024)
47:51 Seefeel - Climactic Phase 3 (edit) (Quique 1993)
53:38 Soft Machine - We Did It Again (Soft Machine 1968)
55:50 Air - Universal Traveler (Talkie Walkie 2004)
60:09 Maple Mountain Sunburst Triolian Orchestra - The Ruby Yacht (MMSTO 2010)
62:25 Leo Kottke - Doorbell (My Father’s Face 1989)
67:24 end