Forbidden Colours - A Tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto

 

Another musical great has left this world. Ryuichi Sakamoto was a founding member of Yellow Magic Orchestra. He became well known for his neo-classical work, his collaborations, and of course his film scores, from Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence to The Revenant to the Oscar-winning score for The Last Emperor. The solo piano version of Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence is one of my favorite piano pieces ever written.

In January of this year he released an album of piano tracks, called 12, that is hauntingly simple and beautiful.

In 2017 he recorded a track called "Life, Life", from the album Async, that is one of my favorite pieces of all time. I'd like to finish this post with the spoken word poem that appears in that track...

And this I dreamt, and this I dream

And some time this I will dream again

And all will be repeated, all be re-embodied

You will dream everything I have seen in dream

To one side from ourselves, to one side from the world

Wave follows wave to break on the shore

On each wave is a star, a person, a bird

Dreams, reality, death - on wave after wave

No need for a date; I was, I am, and I will be

Life is a wonder of wonders, and to wonder

I dedicate myself, on my knees, like an orphan

Alone - among mirrors - fenced in by reflections

Cities and seas, iridescent, intensified

A mother in tears takes a child on her lap

Thank you for your 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 :

• 00:00    Ryuichi Sakamoto - Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence(solo piano version)
• 04:40    Ryuichi Sakamoto - life, life
• 08:45    Ryuichi Sakamoto - Mountains
• 09:37    Ryuichi Sakamoto - 20220123
• 17:37    Ryuichi Sakamoto - In The Red
• 22:35    Ryuichi Sakamoto - The Revenant Main Theme Atmospheric
• 25:10    Ryuichi Sakamoto & Christian Fennez - oto
• 28:35    Ryuichi Sakamoto - Railroad Man
• 33:07    Ryuichi Sakamoto - The Sheltering Sky(piano version)
• 39:20    Ryuichi Sakamoto - The Sheltering Sky(continues as orchestral version)
• 38:25    Ryuichi Sakamoto - Elephantism 2
• 42:50    Ryuichi Sakamoto & Alva Noto - Trioon I
• 47:38    Ryuichi Sakamoto - Aqua
• 51:58    Ryuichi Sakamoto - Rain(I want a Divorce)
• 53:22    Ryuichi Sakamoto - The End
• 55:36    end
• 
  

Strange Dream - The Curious World of the Ondes Martenot

Maurice Martenot with his invention

Last year in my Halloween mix I included a track that used an instrument called the Ondes Martenot. I knew a little bit about it - that it was an old instrument played with a ring on a wire. But that was all I really knew. Then a listener pointed me in the direction of a piece for the Ondes Martenot written in 1937. Yikes, 1937?! I had no idea that "Oraison" by Olivier Messiaen was one of the first electronic pieces of music ever written. Of course, this lead me down a Ondes Martenot rabbit hole and this mix is the result.

The Ondes Martenot was invented in 1928 by the French inventor Maurice Martenot. It sounds very much like a Theremin with it's wavering tones produced by oscillators. The Ondes Martenot can be played with a metal ring worn on the right index finger. Sliding the ring along a wire produces "theremin-like" tones. The music definitely can have a spooky, other-worldly sound. But it can also be quite expressive in the right hands.

Current players of the Ondes Martenot include Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead. He uses it on "Kid A" and it appears in Radiohead songs including "The National Anthem", "How to Disappear Completely" and "Where I End and You Begin".

The other artist that is most well known for her use of the unusual instrument is Christine Ott, both in her solo work and with the band Snowdrops. The mix uses four of her tracks and two from Snowdrops. All of her work is excellent and worth checking out.

https://christineott.bandcamp.com/

Here are a few videos for those interested in more Ondes Martenot info:

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    Olivier Messiaen - Oraison (1937)

02:50    Tomas Bloch - Mare Teno(Michel Redolfi) (Music for Ondes Martenot 2004)

07:31    Christine Ott - Burning (Chimères (pour Ondes Martenot) 2020)

13:44    Snowdrops - Ultraviolet (Volutes 2020)

20:00    Sylvette Allart - Elegie(Darius Milhaud ) (Magie Des Ondes Martenot 1970)

22:46    Tindersticks - Percy's Theme (Minute Bodies: The Intimate World of F. Percy Smith 2017)

24:40    Peter Kohlmetz Moller - Song for AJ

26:08    Christine Ott - Comma (Chimères (pour Ondes Martenot) 2020)

31:42    Thomas Bloch - Sweet Suite 1 (Music for Ondes Martenot 2004)

36:00    Snowdrops - Firebirds (Missing Island 2022)

41:18    Jeanne Loriod & S. Laurent & P. Duclos - Ondes Spatiales (Ondes Martenot)

42:40    Christine Ott - Sexy Moon (Only Silence Remains 2016)

47:25    Christine Ott - Tempête / the Tabu (Tabu 2016)

53:30    Sylvette Allart ­- Nana(Falla) (Magie Des Ondes Martenot 1970)

55:22    Olivier Messiaen - Oraison (1937)

57:22    end

Deutsche Grammophon

 

I've been a fan of the Deutsche Grammophon label for a long time, ever since I got this Steve Reich box set back in the early 80s in college.

I've collected quite a few DG recordings over the years. Over the last 5 years or so I've noticed them branching out and releasing music by a wider variety of artists and music that isn't strictly classical. From Moby to Christian Löffler to Olafur Arnalds to Brian Eno to Clark, the music is surprising for DG but also seems to fit well. After a lot of listening to Parallels by Christian Löffler, I decided to do a mix of recent DG favs. I hope you enjoy it.

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 Peter Gregson - Opening (Blackbird 2020)
• 02:34 Johann Johannsson - Divine Objects pt. 1 (Drone Mass 2022)
• 05:00 Agnes Obel - Can’t Be(Instrumental (Myopia 2020)
• 08:20 Christian Löffler - Dir Jehova (Parallels 2021)
• 12:25 Signum Saxophone Quartet- 1957 award montage (Quartet Echoes 2021)
• 15:41 Tale Of Us - definizione dell impossibile (Endless 2017)
• 19:46 Joep Beving - Morpheus' Dream (Henosis 2019)
• 21:36 Olafur Arnalds - Still _ Sound (Some Kind of Peace 2020)
• 25:45 Alex Baranowski - Constellations (Project 12 2019)
• 28:13 Benjamin Gustafsson - Silent In A World Of Talking (Project 12 2019)
• 31:02 Clark - Citrus (Playground in a Lake 2021)
• 33:20 Max Richter - War Anthem (Three Worlds Music From Woolf Works 2017)
• 40:05 Moby - God Moving Over the Face of The Waters (2021)
• 43:17 Peter Gregson Gifts at Dinner (Blackbird 2020)
• 47:23 Roger Eno & Brian Eno - Marble (Mixing Colours 2020)
• 53:20 Johann Johannsson & Yair Elazar Glotman - Slow Destruction Of Neptune (Last And First Men 2020)
• 56:58 Hildur Guðnadóttir - 12 Hours Before (Chernobyl 2019)
• 59:19 end

Hymns & Voices

This is a great way to start off 2022. We have an excellent guest mix from Kevin, the man responsible for "Cello Mood Swings" and "Not Seeing a Flower" which you can find here...

https://www.mixcloud.com/lowlight/cello-mood-swings/

http://lowlightmixes.blogspot.com/2021/07/cello-mood-swings.html

https://www.mixcloud.com/lowlight/not-seeing-is-a-flower/

http://lowlightmixes.blogspot.com/2020/07/not-seeing-is-flower.html

For this mix Kevin collected a bunch of vocal and choral tracks & I mixed them together. Here's what he has to say about the mix:

"The idea came from listening to Jonsi and Alex - Boy 1904, I realized that quite a few ambient artists used the voice to create a type of auditory ambience. A few hymns have been added and a couple of more classical based choral works. These songs are not about words but the sounds of the voices and the emotions they provoke. They have been chosen for their haunting mournful beauty. I hope you enjoy them."

Thanks Kevin for an excellent collection of tracks! 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    Russian Cathedral Bells
• 00:23    The Russian State Symphony Cappella - Rachmaninov Liturgy Of St. John Chrysostom Great Ektenia
• 04:00    Olafur Arnalds - Raddir ft South Iceland Chamber Choir (Island Songs 2016)
• 07:55    Inca - Solo Soprano(for meditation) (Gregorian Chants: Chants of Monks for Meditation, Monk Chants for Quiet Time & Prayer 2013)
• 10:20    Ulf Söderberg - Tidvatten Part 1 (Tidvatten 1998)
• 14:40    St. Petersburg Chamber Choir - Chorale (Sacred Treasures III 2000)
• 17:00    Julianna Barwick - Healing Is A Miracle (Healing Is A Miracle  2020)
• 21:00    Voces8 & Olafur Aenalds - Nyepi(Choral Version) (re:member(choir versions) 2019)
• 24:53    Samuel Barber - Agnus Dei
• 28:28    Arvo Part - Da Pacem Domine (2004)
• 33:55    Peter Gabriel - With This Love(Choir) (Passion 1989)
• 37:10    Hans Zimmer - Aurora (2012)
• 45:20    The Russian State Symphony Cappella - Hymn of the Cherubim(Excerpt 1)
• 49:50    Jónsi & Alex - Boy 1904 (Riceboy Sleeps 2009)
• 54:30    Anna Roxanne - Nocturne (~~~ 2019)
• 59:36    Voces8 - A Pile of Dust by Johann Johannsson (Infinity 2021)
• 64:38    end

minimal tendencies

On my list of the greatest recordings ever made you'll find the 1978 ECM records release of Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians. It blew me away when I heard it for the first time.  I've been a fan of minimal classical music ever since.

I have a ton of Steve Reich and Philip Glass music in my collection.  Recently I discovered a 2010 recording of Philip Glass music by the Delta Saxophone Quartet called Minimal Tendencies.  It's an excellent album and it got me thinking about a minimal mix.  So I stole the title of their album and started the mix with one of their tracks.

Enjoy



[ 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    Delta Saxophone Quartet - Philip Glass Mishima I
• 03:50    Colin Stetson - Clothed in the skin of the dead
• 06:20    Pat Metheny - Steve Reich Electric Counterpoint 1 Fast
• 13:06    Philip Glass - Closing
• 18:52    Alexandre Desplat - Alan
• 21:39    Max Richter - Shadow Journal
• 26:50    Steve Reich - Six Marimbas
• 32:00    John Adams - The Death of Klinghoffer Chorus of Exiled Palestinians
• 37:55    Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians Pulses
• 43:20    John Luther Adams - The Farthest Place
• 50:11    Julia Rovinsky - Philip Glass Metamorphosis II
• 53:20    Clint Mansell - Ghosts of Things To Be
• 54:30    John Adams - Fog Tropes
• 57:15    Kronos Quartet - Glass String Quartet No. 2 Company IV
• 59:05    The Dublin Guitar Quartet - Philip Glass Mishima V
• 62:32    Steve Reich - Mallet Quartet II Slow
• 65:40    Evan Chapman - Philip Glass Opening
• 71:49    end

The moon plays the ocean like a violin

As with all mixes this one had a specific starting point or inspiration - the incredible new album from Max Richter - Sleep.  It's 8 hours long!  8 hours!  Here's a link to purchase the full version...

http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/us/cat/4795267

I'm a sucker for high concept projects so I was interested from the start.  Add that to the fact that I am a fan of Richter's music and I knew I'd probably love it.  And yup, I do.  It's the perfect combination of Richter's classical style with an ambient sensibility.  

I knew I had to make a mix with tracks from the Sleep album.  I decided to keep the whole mix in the classical realm.  A lot of the tunes are new like the Besarin Quartet stuff.  Some cuts I've been waiting to use for awhile now, like the John Luther Adams cut.

As much as I like the Max Richter tracks I think my favorite track in the mix is Pie Jesu.  The cut is from The Wine of Silence by Andrew Keeling, David Singleton and Robert Fripp.  The music is based on Fripp's soundscape series, guitar improvisations that use tape loops and echo and reverb.  From there Keeling and Singleton scored the soundscapes for orchestra.  They finally subjected the orchestral recording to further electronic manipulation.  The result is transcendent.  It's a beautiful, beautiful album.

The title of the mix comes from a favorite Andrew Bird song, Night Sky, and I thought it fit somehow.  I really like the way each piece dissolves into the next on this mix.  I hope you like it too.

Enjoy


[ 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 Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - Farwell at Tinguit
• 02:15 Max Richter - Patterns(cypher)
• 05:55 David Wingo - Opening(Take Shelter ost)
• 06:55 John Luther Adams - The Light that Fills the World
• 11:20 Bersarin Quartet - die nachte sind erfullt...
• 15:50 Brambles - Such Owls as You
• 20:25 Metropole Orkest - An Ending
• 24:30 Fripp, Keeling, Singleton - Pie Jesu
• 31:35 Max Richter - Nor Earth, Nor Boundless Sea
• 39:05 Olan Mill - Tallole
• 42:30 Aphex Twin - Rhubarb orc. 19.53 rev
• 48:35 Keaton Henson - Elevator Song
• 51:40 Bersarin Quartet - verflossen ist das gold der tage
• 54:55 Islands of Light - Gypta

The moon plays the ocean like a violin by Low Light Mixes on Mixcloud

Overtones & Nocturnes

I've mentioned many times that a mix often starts with a single track that interests me and takes off from there.  In the case of this classical mix, the track is "In Spe" by Arvo Part.

I first heard the piece via YouTube & loved it right from the start.  As far as I can tell it has not been recorded for official release so the version in this mix is the performance I heard on YouTube.  You can find the original ten minute track here... In Spe, Arvo Pärt, Georgian Sinfonietta

Creating a classical mix right now works nicely because I just bought the excellent new piece by John Luther Adams - Become Ocean.  It's basically an orchestral drone piece & it's beautiful.

One of my favorite recordings of 2014, Atmos by A Winged Victory for the Sullen, makes two appearances in the mix.  It's a gorgeous record that fits perfectly in this mix.

A couple of other tracks that I was happy to squeeze into the mix are "Odi Et Amo" by Jóhann Jóhannsson and The Dublin Guitar Quartet's version of Philip Glass' "String Quartet No. 3 Mishima V."  I've always loved the Philip Glass soundtrack "Mishima" and this guitar quartet version is sublime.

I guess this will be my last mix for 2014.  I'll start a new mix right off the bat in 2015.  

I'd like to thank everyone who has been following this blog for almost 9 years now.  I've always said that I'd make mixes just for my own amusement, even if nobody else ever heard them.  But when other folks get some enjoyment out of them it makes it more fun and meaningful.  Plus it's just plain cool to have connected to people all over the world through these mixes.  Thanks!

Enjoy & Happy New Year!

[ 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    Jonny Greenwood - Overtones(The Master OST)
• 02:00    Arvo Part - In Spe(Georgian Sinfonietta recording)
• 07:20    A Winged Victory for the Sullen - Atmos XII
• 10:45    Valentin Silvestrov - Symphony No. 5(excerpt)
• 14:18    Christina Vantzou - vhs
• 18:46    Islands of Light - Goerde
• 21:55    Ólafur Arnalds - Highway
• 24:10    Jóhann Jóhannsson - Odi Et Amo
• 27:10    Hildur Gudnadottir - Unveiled
• 30:33    Vieo Abiungo - Insincerity Peeked Through Cloudlessly(Upward Arrows Remix)
• 33:55    John Luther Adams - Become Ocean(excerpt)
• 44:00    Nest - Far From Land
• 48:40    A Winged Victory for the Sullen - Atmos VIII
• 52:10    Dublin Guitar Quartet - String Quartet No. 3 Mishima V
• 55:30    Steve Reich - Electric Counterpoint I Fast
• 1:02:30    John Luther Adams - Become Ocean(end)
• 1:07:09    end

Overtones & Nocturnes by Low Light Mixes on Mixcloud

things left unsaid

Most regular visitors to this blog are aware that I also post these mixes over at Mixcloud.  I love Mixcloud.  I got in very early on and so have developed quite a few followers.  It's been fun watching it grow.  

One thing that has helped in growing that following is being one of the featured cloudcasts in the Ambient/Chillout category.  Well, apparently now Low Light Mixes is also one of the featured cloudcasts in the Classical category.  Some of my mixes my have some classical related tunes but I definitely wouldn't characterize these mixes as "classical."  But, what the heck, I'll take the extra exposure.

Being featured in the classical category was the genesis for this new mix, "things left unsaid."  It's an all classical mix.  Maybe it would be better to call it an orchestral mix because about half of the tracks are from film soundtracks, so not classical in the purest sense.

Most of the music is fairly new.  The oldest cut being the Jonnie Greenwood piece from 2007.  There a few tracks from Caleb Burhans and David Lang that are from 2013 releases that didn't make it onto my year in review lists because I didn't find them until 2014.  I found them on someone else's best of list.  They are both excellent recordings.  And of course I had to include some Johann Johannsson because I pretty much like everything he does.

I hope you enjoy this classical diversion.


[ 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 Max Richter - Spring 0(Recomposed By Max Richter: Vivaldi, The Four Seasons)
• 00:40 Johann Johannsson - By the River
• 01:10 Caleb Burhans - The Things Left Unsaid
• 05:00 Jonnie Greenwood - Open Spaces
• 08:38 Alexandre Desplat - L'hôpital
• 11:56 Jon Hopkins - How I Live Now
• 16:15 Johann Johannsson - The Jewish Cemetery on Moellegade
• 18:20 Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, Reinhold Heil - Prelude, The Atlas March
• 19:31 Maya Beiser - Spiegel im Spiegel
• 28:58 David Lang - no. 5. i am walking
• 33:10 Colin Stetson - All the Days I've Missed
• 34:10 Caleb Burhans - nunc dimittis
• 38:25 Alexandre Desplat - Skies
• 43:30 Max Richter - Winter 3(Recomposed By Max Richter: Vivaldi, The Four Seasons)
• 47:33 Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, Reinhold Heil - The Cloud Atlas Sextet
• 51:26 Johann Johannsson - The Rocket Builder
• 57:39 Caleb Burhans - The Things Left Unsaid(end)
• 58:55 Alexandre Desplat - De rouille et d'os
• 1:00:51    end

Things left unsaid by Low Light Mixes on Mixcloud

a vibration of strings

I ran into the track "The Last Message" by John Murphy on a mix at A Strangely Isolated Place, and it got me thingking about doing another classical-ish mix.

The Murphy track is in there, along with new tunes(Maya Beiser, Max Richter, Nils Frahm, etc) and old tunes(Steve Reich, Peter Gabriel, Gavin Bryars, etc).

There's really not much more to say except that I hope you enjoy this collection of ambient, soundtrack, minimal & neo-classical tunes.


Download (right click/save as) : 54:55, 75mb
a vibration of strings

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T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00 David Byrne - The Lodger
• 04:15 Maya Beiser - Memories
• 08:45 Max Richter - The Haunted Ocean 2
• 09:05 Nils Frahm & Anne Müller - Reminds to Teeth
• 13:15 Olan Mill - Country
• 16:30 John Murphy - The Last Message
• 18:00 Chihei Hatakeyama - Light Drizzle
• 20:30 Hummingbird - Starfish Seastar
• 22:30 Tarwater - Clock
• 23:30 Terry Riley - is in c in f (r. luke dubois remix)
• 25:30 Steve Reich - Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices & organ
• 34:50 Sufjan Stevens - Movement III - Linear Tableau With Intersecting Surprise
• 39:15 Max Richter - Infra 2
• 40:50 Kyle Bobby Dunn - The Tributary (for voices lost)
• 46:20 P Jorgensen - Palimpsest II
• 48:15 Gavin Bryars - Epilogue from Wonder Lawn
• 52:20 Peter Gabriel - The Nest that Sailed the Sky
• 54:55 end