Showing posts with label train. Show all posts
Showing posts with label train. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Train to Redemption by Paul Asbury Seaman


Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Some Good Train Songs by Paul Asbury Seaman

 


More than 8 years ago, Paul Asbury Seaman came to me with an idea for a mix. He would provide the theme and tracklist, and I would man the faders and knobs to create his first guest mix. Of course that first mix was a train-themed set.

Now, after 9 railway mixes & many hours traveling on the audio tracks, Paul brings us his tenth train-themed mix. This one is a bit different than the others so I'll let Paul tell you about it:

"To celebrate my tenth train mix for Low Light Mixes I’m doing a collection of vocal tracks. There are way too many great train songs to call this set a “Best Of,” thus the qualified title. (I have five CD-length train song mixes for my own use.) These are some of my favorites. And here’s several more to start your own playlists, that didn’t make the cut only because of time limitations: “People Get Ready” (several good versions), “City of New Orleans” (Arlo Guthrie), “Locomotive Breath” (Jethro Tull), “Long Train Runnin’” (Doobie Brothers), “The Midnight Special” (CCR), “Downtown Lights” (Annie Lennox version) and of course “Hear My Train a Comin’” by Jimi Hendrix (from the Winterland LIVE box set)."

LINKS TO PAUL'S OTHER TRAIN MIXES:

Thanks, Paul, for another thoughtful collection of songs. Here's to 10 more excursions on the rails.

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   Gary Clark Jr. - When My Train Pulls In (Gary Clark Jr. Live 2014 )
  • 07:07   Bruce Cockburn - Night Train (The Charity of Night 1997)
  • 13:10   The Hooters - 500 Miles (Zig Zag 1989 )
  • 17:23   Leonard Cohen - The Stranger Song  (The Essential Leonard Cohen 2002)
  • 22:15   Gladys Knight & the Pips - Midnight Train to Georgia (The Best... 1990)
  • 26:44   The Neville Brothers - Mystery Train (Brother's Keeper 1990)
  • 31:02   Cat Stevens - Peace Train (Teaser and The Firecat 1971) 
  • 34:56   Neil Young & The International Havesters - Southern Pacific (A Treasure 2011)
  • 42:39   Soul Asylum - Runaway Train (Grave Dancers Union 1992)
  • 46:54   Bruce Springsteen - Downbound Train (Born in the U.S.A. 1984)
  • 50:19   Patty Smyth - Downtown Train (It's About Time 2020)
  • 55:00   Tab Benoit - Night Train (Night Train to Nashville 2008)
  • 59:45   Bob Dylan - Slow Train (Slow Train Coming 1979)
  • 65:32   Peter, Paul & Mary - Freight Train (In The Wind 1963)
  • 68:12   Paul Simon - Train in the Distance (Hearts & Bones 1983)
  • 72:19   Arlo Guthrie - Last Train (The Best Of Arlo Guthrie 1977)
  • 75:25   end


Wednesday, July 12, 2023

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


Sunday, August 07, 2022

Train Six-56 by Paul Asbury Seaman

 


Yes, another train mix. They are just too intriguing and cinematic to pass up. This one come from friend of the blog, Paul Asbury Seaman. Paul has given us some excellent train mixes in the past and this one continues that tradition. This one clocks in at just a bit under 100 minutes! So much great music in one mix.

Here's what Paul says about this set:

“A special summertime extended-play mix… nearly 100 minutes of long-distance bliss. This is my sixth train-themed production for Low Light Mixes. (The #‘56’ is just for alliteration.) The Zen concept of “stillness within motion” has long been one of my guiding principles and it struck me recently that train travel is a great illustration of this: You can sit quietly while the world literally rushes by.
     Trains are a central part of modern history and continue to be woven into the cultural landscape, whether in the movement of consumer goods or the daily commute of suburban workers to desperate families displaced by war. There are many kinds of associations with trains—all vivid, some very dark—and now with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, trains have become not just a symbol of nostalgia, romance and travel, but literally instruments of salvation for millions of people. I have no such pretensions here, but as always, I hope it will sooth and refresh. Once again, sequencers dominate this mix, with their obvious match with the fast clickity-clack of train tracks.”

Thanks again to Paul for this wonderful trip.

Here are links to all the albums used in this mix in the order in which they appear:

Cheers!




T R A C K L I S T :
  • 00:00    SiJ - Inkerman - Sevastopol #1 (From Inkerman To Sevastopol)
  • 00:46    Trevor Jones - Runaway Train (Runaway Train 1985)
  • 03:00    Paul Speer - Tornado Warning (Ax Inferno 2013)
  • 07:30    Gert Emmens - At the end of the track (On the Edge of Nowhere 2022)
  • 12:50    David Parsons - Perhatian (Atmanaut 2018)
  • 19:38    Mercan Dede - Kapadokya
  • 26:25    Manuel Göttsching - And Sovereignty (E2-E4 1984)
  • 29:12    Andrew Lahiff - Scalar Fields (Outward Currents 2021)
  • 37:05    SiJ - Inkerman - Sevastopol #2 (From Inkerman To Sevastopol)
  • 37:50    Solar Fields - Mountain King (Ourdom 2018)
  • 46:25    Shamans Dream - The Way Through (Prana Pulse 2012)
  • 52:40    Redshift - Vampyre (Life to Come 2015)
  • 58:00    Tangerine Dream - Dreaming In A Kyoto Train (Summer In Nagasaki 2007)
  • 60:45    Johan Tronestam - Deep Field (Space Collection 2017)
  • 67:20    Erik Wøllo - Viewpoint (North Star 2021)
  • 73:00    Thom Brennan - Eventide Pt.3 (Eventide 2022)
  • 77:50    Lars Leonhard - Physical Objects (GRAVITY 2022)
  • 83:50    LAD - Spectral Lines (Quasar 2022)
  • 88:20    Cheryl B. Engelhardt - The Zephyr Remembers (The Passenger 2022)
  • 91:15    Divine Matrix - Journey's End (Journeys 2022)
  • 97:18    end

Sunday, November 07, 2021

The Restless Thrum

 

I have done several train mixes over the years. They basically come about because I hear a tune and think - Hey, that would be great in a train mix. So it was with this one. I heard the track "A.O.E." by Portico Quartet and I knew immediately that I need to build a mix around it.

This mix differs from most of my other train mixes(except one) because it's mostly a jazz influenced mix. Berlin-school sequencers have been replaced by a drum kit and synth washes are now horns. I folded in some recordings of trains and subways but I didn't want to over do it so I kept it to 3 spots in the mix.

Links to all the albums used in order of how they appear in this mix:


The mix has some good energy and I could see it being a great companion for bike riding.

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    Portico Quartet - A.O.E. (Monument 2021)
  • 05:30    Nick Garbett & Mike Majkowski - Aerial (The Glider 2021)
  • 11:35    Snow Palms - Kojo Yakei (Land Waves 2020)
  • 15:08    Tangents - Terracotta (New Bodies 2018)
  • 21:20    Elskavon & John Hayes - Vermilion (Du Nord 2020)
  • 23:23    Nala Sinephro - Space 6 (Space 1.8 2021)
  • 26:50    Portico Quartet - Terrain: III (Terrain 2021)
  • 36:30    Olafur Arnalds - Undir (re:member 2018)
  • 39:27    Bell Orchestra - Movement (House Music 2021)
  • 45:00    Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society - Shadow Conductor (Mandatory Reality 2019)
  • 52:42    Daniel Brandt - Eternal Something (Eternal Something 2017)
  • 58:45    Alapastel - Transmission (Ceremony 2021)
  • 64:16    end


Sunday, November 22, 2020

Keeping Time in the Golden Hour

 


I'm in the process of making lists of my top 5 instrumental albums for each year from 1970 to the present. Yeah, it's going take a while. So I was digging around in my music hard drive looking for music that would fit those lists and I stumbled upon the track Tulpa Ovi by Robag Wruhme. I immediately loved the feel of tune and knew I needed it in a mix.

The cut has a feeling of motion similar to others I've used in train themed mixes. But it was more gentle, almost wistful. It made me think of traveling during sunset or the golden hour. Hence the title "Keeping Time in the Golden Hour."

From there I collected tracks, new and old, with a similar vibe. In addition to the cut by Robag Wruhme my other favorites in this mix are "St. Catherine and the Calm" by Francis Harris and "Ankeney, Iowa" by Tiki Obmar. I like all the tracks in this mix but those two really get me.

Normally I'd say this would be a perfect mix for traveling during the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday but it's 2020 so stay home. Put this mix on and do some virtual traveling. Here's a little video promo I made to put in that frame of mind.


Cheers!






T R A C K L I S T I N G :

  • 00:00    Francis Harris - St. Catherine and the Calm (Trivial Occupations 2018)
  • 08:25    Robag Wruhme - Tulpa Ovi (Thora Vukk 2011)
  • 10:42    Night Sea - Cherry (Still 2020)
  • 16:18    Tiki Obmar - Ankeney, Iowa (High School Confidential 2003)
  • 28:18    Ghosting Season - Through Your Teeth ( The Very Last Of The Saints 2012)
  • 32:43    Saphileaum - Soft Warming (In Distant Terra 2020)
  • 37:37    Sven Laux - Grass-Covered Plain (We Were Here 2013)
  • 46:08    Halftribe & Spinnet - Mr & Mrs Everywhere (Patterns of Sync 2020)
  • 53:14    Robag Wruhme - Prognosen Bomm (Thora Vukk 2011)
  • 56:25    vau - Nightfall (ways of stillness 2018)
  • 63:43    end



Sunday, March 24, 2019

Places I've Never Been(Ode to High-Speed Rail)



Everything about trains is evocative. The sound of the whistle, the rhythm of the tracks, the sounds of the station, etc. Trains make for a perfect theme in electronic music mixes. Which is why you're bound to hear several of them this year from Low Light mixes.

This first one comes to us from my frequent collaborator, Paul Asbury Seaman. Not only has Paul done previous excellent mixes for me, he's also done a couple train mixes. Here's what he has to say about his latest creation...

“In my last mix I celebrated “liminal space,” the long in-betweens of life. Travel by train is both metaphor and literally that. Beyond the excitement of the busy station and going someplace new, for many of us the journey is the destination: the experience as both overview and connectedness, not felt from an airplane. The impetus for this mix was the just-released debut album of d’Voxx, on Ian Boddy’s UK label, DiN. And I dedicate it to the EuroPass, which ever since the 1960s has enabled vacationers and tourists from around the world to travel at highly-discounted rates—including by high-speed rail—anywhere in the 30 countries that are part of the system. Something that in the United States is, for now, only an ambient dream.”

The mix changes gears for the last tune, using sax, acoustics instruments and vocals but Paul thought it would fit well because A) it's called Train and B) it has "the dead-tired but satisfied feeling you have when you get home to your own bed after a long trip."

Cheers and safe travels!






T R A C K L I S T :


  • 00:00    d'Voxx - Akalla Söder(2019 Télégraphe)
  • 08:44    Rival Consoles - Persona(2018 Persona)
  • 15:06    Stimulus Timbre - We Reached for the Sky(2017 A Place We Never Been)
  • 21:40    Steve Roach - Core Meditation 1(2017 CORE - Legacy Edition)
  • 30:05    Evan Marc & Steve Hillage - Alpha Phase(2008 Dreamtime Submersible)
  • 37:45    Aepiel - Aves(2012 Painting The Sky)
  • 46:20    Stimulus Timbre - Look at the Stars & Think of Us(2017 A Place We Never Been)
  • 51:54    His Name Is Alive - Train(2002 Last Night)
  • 59:10    end










Sunday, July 23, 2017

Rhythm of the Rails




This mix is a sort of follow up to the train mix of a couple of months ago.  I had a song or two that I hadn't used and then I stumbled upon the album "Simultonality" by Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society. The track, Sideways Fall, has this great repetitive train-like feel to it.  I knew immediately that I needed to make another train mix to fit with that tune.

That Joshua Abrams track is more jazz than ambient so I decided to keep that vibe throughout the mix. A few cuts, Steve Reich, Dan Deacon & Fieldhead, wander off the jazz track a bit but they keep the sense of forward motion.

The three 2017 releases in this mix are a few of my favorite discoveries this year.  Check them out.

Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society - Simultonality
Daniel Brandt - Eternal Something
Quatuor Ebene & Michel Portal - Eternal Stories


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    Chris Watson - Veracruz(El Tren Fantasma 2011)
  • 00:35    Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society - Sideways Fall(Simultonality 2017)
  • 08:00    Daniel Brandt - FSG(Eternal Something 2017)
  • 11:30    The Winter Consort - The Little Train of Caipira(The Winter Consort 1968)
  • 13:54    Ludovico Einaudi - Elements(Elements 2015)
  • 19:35    Steve Reich - Different Trains-America Before the War(Works 1997)
  • 25:30    Chris Watson - El Divisadero(El Tren Fantasma 2011)
  • 27:35    Daniel Brandt - Kale Me(Eternal Something 2017)
  • 32:35    Quatuor Ebene & Michel Portal - City Birds(Eternal Stories 2017)
  • 38:25    Fieldhead - This Train is a Rainbow(They Shook Hands For Hours 2009)
  • 41:42    Gerry Mulligan - K4 Pacific(The Age Of Steam 1971)
  • 46:45    Alexandre Desplat - Night Train to Nebelsbad(Grand Budapest Hotel 2014)
  • 48:25    Dan Deacon - USA Suite(America 2012)
  • 58:23    end





Monday, May 01, 2017

The Memory of Trains

I wonder why the sound of trains is so evocative.  Even for folks who have never been on a train there is something about the sound of a train on the tracks that stirs the imagination.  This mix will hopefully have the same effect.

I was surprised to find that I've only done two previous train themed mixes.  It sure seems like I've done more.  Maybe it's the use of train sounds in filed recording mixes that has me confused.  Anyway, here are the two previous mixes...
http://lowlightmixes.blogspot.com/2014/08/leaving-station.html
http://lowlightmixes.blogspot.com/2015/01/points-of-departure.html

This mix began with a recommendation from a follower on Mixcloud, Paul Asbury Seaman. I asked for any other train tunes he could suggest and he came through in a big way.  He did all the hard work and mapped out the whole mix for me.  I had a great time mixing it and discovering new music along the way.

Here's what Paul had to say about the mix...

"Berlin School synth/electronica can be pretty kinetic and thus an obvious source for a train mix, but I was going for a more melancholy sound, the wistful feeling evoked by the sound of Far Away Trains Passing By (the title of the Ulrich Schnauss album represented here). My working title for this mix was "Locomotive Lullaby."

While I was on the subject, I made a list of classic train songs (the sung kind) and came up with more than sixty--about three CDs worth! Here's a great article to start your playlist with: http://harpers.org/blog/2014/06/the-twenty-three-best-train-songs-ever-written-maybe/ Or contact Low Light Mixes for a copy of mine. Thanks, new friend Dave, for putting this together."

Thanks Paul, for all work on this excellent mix!  I still have more tracks to use so the next train mix will be more jazzy.


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    Erik Wollo - Church Mountain(Different Spaces 2017)
  • 04:04    Johan Agebjörn - Sleepless On The Kostomuksha-Petrozavodsk Night Train(We Never Came to the White Sea 2017)
  • 10:20    Between Interval - On Track(Legacy 2017)
  • 13:10    David Parsons - The Himgiri(Yatra 1990)
  • 18:40    Ulrich Schnauss - Nothing Happens in June(Far Away Trains Passing By...2001)
  • 24:25    Ascendant - Ephemeris(Source Transmission 2014)
  • 31:30    Mark Ward - Universal(Universal 2017)
  • 40:15    Hollan Holmes - Enduro(The Spirits of Starlight 2014)
  • 46:25    Erik Wollo - Rundreise(Different Spaces 2017)
  • 51:05    Al Gromer Khan - Stamboul Train(Turya 2006)
  • 62:15    end






Thursday, January 22, 2015

Points of Departure

http://bloknayrb.deviantart.com/

a beginning
an expedition is launched
springs into being
the journey begins


This is a follow up to an earlier mix Leaving the Station, which had a train theme.  I had several people ask if I was planning on a follow up and, well, here it is.

My favorite track in this mix is El Divisadero by Chris Watson from his wonderful field recording album, El Tren Fantasma.  I've used this track before but it's so awesome I just had to use it here.

Another track in this mix that I've used before is Dialing in the Sun by Paul Ellis.  It's an excellent berlin school cut that has this great clicky-clack sound that works perfectly here.

The rest of the mix is a collection of old(Richard Pinhas) and new(Andy Stott) cuts.

On a side note, I don't know if anyone has noticed but embedded in each mp3 for download is the mix tracklist.  So if you're playing it on your phone or on some pc players, you should be able to see the tracklist when the mix is playing.

Other mixes coming soon, or maybe I should say sometime this year, a sort of jazz mix, a new age massage mix, a sci fi mix, a dubby mix, a space rock mix, guest mixes and many more I haven't even thought of yet.

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    Edinburgh - City Streets and Train Station
  • 00:40    The Elf Machine - Asymmetric Transition
  • 03:27    Arovane - Passage to Nagoya
  • 05:15    Locust - I'll Be There
  • 08:57    Forrest Fang - Bothered
  • 12:27    Paul Ellis - Dialing in the Sun
  • 17:45    Chris Watson - El Divisadero
  • 22:00    Circular - Synchronus
  • 29:00    The Black Dog - Exhibit 1.1
  • 33:20    Function and Vatican Shadow - Things Unknown
  • 40:20    Dub Tractor - More or Less Mono
  • 44:08    The Field - Arpeggiated Love
  • 48:55    Richard Pinhas - Melodic Simple Transition
  • 52:15    Andy Stott - Science and Industry
  • 57:57    Torn Hawk - She Happens
  • 1:02:55    Ten and Tracer - Figure and Ground
  • 1:06:05    Deepchord - Day's End
  • 1:08:11    end