Low Light Mixes: 4th world

Showing posts with label 4th world. Show all posts

Thursday, December 11, 2025

Dreaming In Gamelan by Andy McNeill

I have a special treat for everyone with this new mix. It's a guest mix from friend of Low Light Mixes, Andy McNeill. Andy records as Maple Mountain Sunburst and has created two previous mixes for LLM and they are both excellent. You can find them here:

http://lowlightmixes.blogspot.com/2024/10/a-moon-full-of-stars-and-astral-cars-by.html

https://lowlightmixes.blogspot.com/2025/01/we-did-it-again-by-andy-mcneillmaple.html

Andy has a new album out, under his own name, that is a little different from his other recordings. That new album is the inspiration for this new mix which is really something special. I'll let Andy tell you about it:

"Mallets, gongs, tintinnabulations, things that go ping. Here we have a mix of percolating exotica to float away on for an hour. I’ve included three tracks from a recent collaboration with percussionist and fellow composer Bill Brennan. Our album Dreaming In Gamelan blends West Javanese gamelan traditions with contemporary ambient electronics. Recorded with traditional hand-forged bronze instruments, the tracks were then augmented and treated in the studio. Also joining us was the brilliant electric violinist and sonic explorer Hugh Marsh. The album was mixed for immersive Dolby Atmos by Ron Searles (Atmos version available on Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon)."

https://lnk.to/dreamingingamelan

https://brennanmcneill.bandcamp.com/album/dreaming-in-gamelan

Thanks to Andy for curating and mixing this great collection tracks. And thanks for the excellent new album.

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 Bill Brennan and Andy McNeill - Tunnels of Light (Dreaming In Gamelan 2025)

02:35 another fine day - Child’s Play (a good place to be 2015)

07:03 Peter Gabriel - Slow Marimbas (Birdy soundtrack 1985)

10:01 Thomas Newman - Bullet (White Oleander soundtrack 2002)

10:31 Genesis - The Waiting Room excerpt (The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway 1974)

11:15 Wanderwelle - Her Name is Vairumati (Gathering of the Ancient Spirits 2018)

16:13 Bill Brennan and Andy McNeill - Morning Beams (Dreaming In Gamelan 2025)

19:07 Thomas Stronen - Confronting Silence (Relations 2024)

19:23 Michael Brook - Distant Village (Hybrid 1985)

23:15 Connecta Quartet - Madeira River (P. Glass) (Pulse And Echoes 2024)

28:10 another fine day - green thought (in green shade) (life before land 1994)

34:18 Bartosz Kruczyński - Dream 1 (Dreams & Whispers 2024)

37:20 Shuta Yasukochi - Sakura (Harmonies of Flowers 2024)

39:47 Marilyn Masur - Bell-Painting (Elixir 2008)

40:19 Four Tet - Lush (New Energy 2017)

43:40 Jon Hassell - Time and Place (Last Night The Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes In The Street

2009)

47:17 Boston Modern Orchestra Project - Suite for Violin with American Gamelan - III. Air (Lou Harrison) (La Koro Sutro 2014)

50:37 Pierre Favre Ensemble - Frog Songs excerpt (Singing Drums 1984) overlayed with Marilyn Masur - Spirit Of Air excerpt (Elixir 2008)

52:02 Four Tet - You Were There With Me excerpt (Everything Ecstatic 2005)

55:22 Bill Brennan and Andy McNeill - Reverie (Dreaming in Gamelan 2025)

1:05:29 end

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Invisible Topologies

This mix started with the latest album by Eivind Aarset & Jan Bang - Last Two Inches of Sky. It has this great late night vibe that I immediately latched onto. From there I went back to The Rain Dogs, an artist I had used in an earlier mix called Summoning the Spirits. And then one thing led to another and I ended up with an ambient mix with a fair amount of organic percussion.

The final mix has a bit of Jon Hassell 4th world feel, some of that late night vibe I mentioned and a dash of Lost Tribe Sound strangeness. I think it all comes together rather well.

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 Eivind Aarset & Jan Bang - City Never Sleeps (Last Two Inches of Sky 2023)
03:27 The Rain Dogs - From Abydos To Dendera (From Abydos To Dendera 2021)
10:35 anthéne & simon mccorry - unreflecting pool (florescence 2023)
14:06 Robbie Robertson - Too Much Dynamite (Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
16:54 Toki Fuko - Spirit Medicine Pt. 1 (Spirit Medicine 2023)
19:12 Jarvus - Noisetones (Farasan 2023)
23:02 M. Sage - Evenin' Out (Paradise Crick 2023)
25:48 William Ryan Fritch - Timescale (Cohesion 2023)
28:50 From the Mouth of the Sun - The Herd(Murmuration) (Valley of the Hummingbirds 2023)
32:44 The Rain Dogs - Wassu (From Abydos To Dendera 2021)
37:41 ARROWOUNDS - Phosphene Silver Abyss (In The Octopus Pond 2023)
42:20 Friðþjófur Johnson - Images in Ice Land
47:45 Darkroom - Water like mbira (Water like mbira 2023)
52:20 Eivind Aarset & Jan Bang - Hush Now (Last Two Inches of Sky 2023)
57:40 arovane - Clavnt (Seismograf 2023)
62:13 end

Sunday, September 11, 2022

4th World Excursions - Slow Water

I love the strange exotic sounds of artists such as Jon Hassell, Andrew Pekler, and William Selman. Their music can take you on an audio journey to imaginary places all around the globe. My first 4th World Excursion mix was 4 years ago and I've only done one follow up, which is weird considering how much I enjoy this style.

Here are the first two in this series:

https://www.mixcloud.com/lowlight/folding-water-fourth-world-excursions/

https://www.mixcloud.com/lowlight/strange-beauty-4th-world-excursions-vol-2/

And here is the new follow up - 4th World Excursions - Slow Water.

This new mix follows a similar pattern and feel as the other two - using a combination of field recordings and the sounds of bells, drums, vibraphone, various mallet instruments, the vibe creates a feeling of floating in a small wooden boat in a lagoon somewhere in Indonesia. As the waves lap against the boat you can hear distant drums, crickets, jungle birds, frogs, and odd instruments lulling you to sleep. Of course there are electronic elements to keep things interesting.

Here 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 Jason Kolàr - Bells (Liquid Rhythm 2022)
04:00 Vague Imaginaries - Montagnes Flottantes (L'île D'or 2020)
07:50 Jarguna - Shuar Tales (Animas-k 2021)
10:20 Thunder & FX
11:40 Ethan Braun & Sam Gendel - 1/2 Sculpture (Rio Nilo 66 2021)
14:40 David de la Haye - The Pond Listener (With Ears Underwater 2022)
15:20 David de la Haye - March Towards the Light (With Ears Underwater 2022)
16:05 Inhmost - Waters Edge (Early Horizons 2021)
20:10 Mark Templeton - Channel Shifting (Ocean Front Property 2020)
22:00 Mike Cooper - Towards Great Piles Of Masonry (Oceans Of Milk & Treacle 2022)
23:45 Andrew Pekler & Giuseppe Ielasi - Baden-Baden (Palimpsests 2021)
26:12 Jason Kolàr - Magic Random Exotism (Liquid Rhythm 2022)
29:15 Vague Imaginaries - Mais (L'île D'or 2020)
34:40 William Selman - Realgar Bay (Naming Before Names 2020)
40:18 Maps and Diagrams - One Day (Teygja Part B 2021)
42:35 Pauline Anna Strom - Tropical Rainforest (Angel Tears in Sunlight 2021)
47:25 Hawsepiper - Air Stones (Red Knot Returns 2021)
51:15 Andrew Pekler - Tuanahe (Sounds From Phantom Islands 2019)
55:15 Felipe Otondo – Mombasa (Mombasa 2022)
56:30 Loren Nerell & Mark Seelig - Kayon (Tree of Life 2014)
58:45 Ultramarine - Signals Into Space (The Sun in the East 2020)
65:00 end

Sunday, September 27, 2020

Strange Beauty - 4th World Excursions Vol. 2

sounds swim all around

drifting in the warm embrace

of this strange beauty

This my second 4th world mix and it's similar to the 2018 version. It still follows the Jon Hassell esthetic of "a unified primitive/futuristic sound combining features of world ethnic styles with advanced electronic techniques."

Most of the tracks are new, 10 of the 17 tracks being from 2019 or 2020. I was almost done with the mix when an excellent new album from Halftribe dropped on the 24th. Listening to the first track I knew I had to buy it and sneak that cut into the mix somewhere. It fits perfectly.

https://shimmeringmoodsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/cloud-dreaming-and-shadows

The two recordings that got me going with this mix are Andrew Pekler - Sounds From Phantom Islands and Romeo Poirier - Hotel Nota.

https://andrewpeklerfaitiche.bandcamp.com/album/sounds-from-phantom-islands

https://sferic.bandcamp.com/album/hotel-nota

One of my favorite parts of this mix comes at the 24:30 mark. There two tracks playing simultaneously. One from Eli Keszler is mostly percussion and the other by Walt Rockman is shimmering electric piano with under water vibe. I didn't intend on those two going together, I just accidentally left one of the tracks on my timeline and when they played together I knew I had to keep it.

I don't know if this type of mix works in the middle of autumn but I just couldn't put it off any longer. I hope you enjoy this Indonesia fever dream.

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 Andrew Pekler - Hy Brasil (Sounds From Phantom Islands 2019)
04:00 Roméo Poirier - Du rocher (Hotel Nota 2020)
07:45 Lemongrass - Bamboo House (Papillon 2012)
10:40 MNO - Souce (Ambient Marimba - MNO Sleeps 2020)
12:35 Wild Card - Under A Steel Gray Sky (Patterns In Cooperative Labor 2017)
15:25 Halftribe - Hiking With Eve (Cloud Dreaming And Shadows 2020)
20:25 Vieo Abiungo - A Branch Gave Way (The Dregs 2019)
22:45 unkown - mbira with drone (2018)
24:30 Eli Keszler - Which Swarms Around It (Stadium 2018)
played simultaneously with Walt Rockman - reflections under water
26:45 Ross Alexander - Albert Plays the Flute (Memorias, Vol. 1 - Bugandan Sacred Places 2017)
31:12 Wu Cloud - Weh Island (Pulsa Rimba 2020)
34:42 Luis Miehlich - Klock (Currents 2020)
38:10 Meitei - Utano (Komachi 2019)
41:50 the volume settings folder - i will not go now on the pastures to walk (Home Diaries 017 2020)
46:15 Terje Isungset - Float (Floating Rhythms 2000)
47:50 Forrest Fang - Water Village ambient remix (Letters To The Farthest Star 2015)
55:00 Aglaia - Offline views (Offline views 2019)
60:54 end