I will not be sad in this world - a tribute to Djivan Gasparyan

The track, "I Will Not Be Sad In This World", is one of the most beautiful recordings ever made. It is hard not to be sad, however, upon hearing the news of the passing of Djivan Gasparyan. 

I will forever be grateful to him for introducing me to the wonderful sounds of the duduk, an Armenian double reed woodwind instrument made of apricot wood. Despite it's single-octave range, Gasparyan was able to coax a wide range of emotion from the duduk.

This mix is a tribute to Djivan's wonderful music. It is by no means comprehensive, it's a collection of excellent tracks that I already had in my library. Most are solo tracks with a few collabs with Michael Brook. And one stunning cover - Maya Beiser performing "Memories" on the cello.

Thanks again, Djivan Gasparyan, for your legacy of great music.

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T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Djivan Gasparyan - I will not be sad in this world
• 06:10    Djivan Gasparyan & Michael Brook- Immigrant Song 
• 12:17    Djivan Gasparyan - Holy Holy Armenian Orthodox
• 16:22    Erkan Ogur & Djivan Gasparyan - Fuad
• 22:41    Maya Beiser - Memories
• 29:20    Djivan Gasparyan - Nazeli
• 33:48    Djivan Gasparyan & Michael Brook- Chiarescuroed
• 36:45    Djivan Gasparyan - Male Folk Dance
• 42:33    Djivan Gasparyan & Michael Brook - Fallen Star
• 47:15    Djivan Gasparyan - In Foreign Lands
• 52:08    Djivan Gasparyan - A Cool Wind is Blowing
• 55:47    end

Aromas from the East - by Paul Asbury Seaman

 

I've had a good run lately, posting a lot of mixes. But due to busy schedules and a bit of laziness, I've run out of fresh mixes ready to upload. Then comes Paul to the rescue!

This mix is a breath of fresh air, going in a different direction than any of my recent mixes. Here's what Paul has to say about this excellent set:

“This mix features oud, sitar and koto, moving from the Near/Middle East, across South Asia to the Far East. This is not a Folkways sampler, but focuses on the rich tapestries created when Eastern and Western musical styles and instruments are blended together, with both traditions being equal participants, rather than one used merely as “exotic” embellishments for the other. Such cross-cultural musical experiments go back to the mid-20th century’s jazz /rock fusion groups (e.g., Oregon); early EM pioneers like Kitaro, Osamu Kitajima, Popul Vuh and David Parsons; and visionary new record labels like ECM. Here, I’ve highlighted more recent work, and while the options are much more plentiful now, the Low Lights leitmotif of gentle atmospheres has guided my selection. Even so, a couple of mid-tempo gems—essential to this kind of survey—have snuck into the mix."

Thanks, Paul, for another great contribution to the Low Light Mixes canon.

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T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Dhafer Youssef - Shaanti 'Atihi Devo Bhava' Suite (Sounds of Mirrors 2018)
• 04:10    Rahim AlHaj - Letter 1 Eastern Love Sinan (Letters from Iraq: Oud and String Quintet 2017)
• 10:41    Sachal Studios Orchestra - Take Five (Interpretations of Jazz Standards & Bossa Nova 2010)
• 16:20    Prem Joshua - Night Rain (Sky Kisses Earth 2001)
• 22:45    Anoushka Shankar - Prayer in Passing (Rise 2005)
• 28:52    Hans Christian - First Light (Nanda Devi 2015)
• 35:20    Al Gromer Khan - I Got Vilayat Khan's Blessing (Sitar Secrets 2014)
• 39:14    Hiroshima - Kototsu-Han (Pbon 2005)
• 44:04    Luna - Tubular Bells (Luna 2013)
• 48:09    Gates of Morheim - Omagatoki (Omagatoki EP 2020)
• 53:15    Kitaro - Shining Spirit of Water (Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai, Vol 2 2005)
• 57:33    Rabih Abou Khalil - Bukra (Bukra 1989)
• 65:25    end

distant crossroads

As I have said many times before on this blog, a new mix is very often born when a track or two inspires me to create something new.  In this case it was the new album by Esmerine called "Dalmak."

The group recorded the new tracks in Instanbul and the whole album definitely has the texture and feel that one would associate with Turkish music.  The Constellation Records website describes it perfectly... 

"As a title for Esmerine's new album, "dalmak" refers in a literal sense to immersion in the culture and music of Istanbul but also appropriately evokes the range of music that emerged from this immersion: a collection of songs that shift between meditative pulsing and enveloping restraint to headlong flights into rhythm and groove."

With Esmerine as I starting point I went to some familiar sources.  One being the wonderful recordings of Myke Dodge Weiskopf. I excerpted part of his Field Recordings & Global Ambience mix and also used a cut from his latest release - "The Muezzins of Mali."

I also worked in some Byrne & Eno early mixes from the "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" sessions.  As well as some early mixes and extracts from Peter Gabriel's "Passion."

I enjoy these musical treks, I hope you do too.



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 T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Esmerine - Lost River Blues I
• 07:30    Isnaj Dui - Quarter Wave
• 11:55    David Byrne & Brian Eno - Breathing Once a Minute
• 15:00    Myke Dodge Weiskopf - Evening Call to Prayer 11 August 2010 - Draginovo, Bulgaria
• 15:25    Peter Gabriel - Passion extras #3
• 17:15    Saltland - But It Was All of Us
• 21:30    Penjaga Insaf - Keinsafan
• 24:20    The Guo Brothers & Shung Tıan - Soldiers of the Long March
• 26:15    Rapoon - Dream Dance
• 28:55    Huren - The Shroud
• 30:30    Chronomad - se
• 34:00    Bielka Nemirovski - Akh Ti Notchenka
• 39:00    The Rustavi Choir - Orovela(with Peter Gabriel mixed under)
• 43:55    Rapoon - Hey...Drifting
• 48:30    David Bryne & Brian Eno - Shaking With My Voice
• 50:50    Jon Hassel - Map of Dusk
• 52:30    Myke Dodge Weiskopf - The Muezzins of Mali - San - Adhan al-Fajr
• 55:25    Ry Cooder & Ronu Majumbar - Hollow Bamboo
• 1:00:20    Peter Gabriel - Unlocking the Door
• 1:02:22    end

Distant crossroads by Lowlight on Mixcloud

in foreign lands

I have always loved the sound of Djivan Gasparyan's music. He plays the duduk, a double reed instrument related to the oboe. It's got a great melancholy, other-worldy feel to it.
I took the "other-wordly" idea to make a mix of music that is vaguely foreign sounding, at least foreign to my American ears. The music is Middle Eastern, Asian, African, Eastern European and Indian.

I go back to a familiar source for some of the sounds, the Shortwave Music blog of Myke Weiskopf. Whether it's the night call to prayer in Bulgaria or Qur’an recitation from BSKSA Saudi Arabia, Myke has great recordings that everyone should take the time to investigate.

The times in the tracklist are rough. Sometimes there are two or three tracks playing at once & not all are listed in the tracklist. I also messed with a few tracks, adding stretched audio as a backing track or adding reverb.

At various times haunting, beautiful, calming or hypnotic, the music in this mix will hopefully stir your imagination.

Download (right click/save as) : 51:14, 74mb
in foreign lands


T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00 Djivan Gasparyan - You have to come back to me
• 02:22 Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Michael Brook - Night Song
• 06:20 Hildegard Westerkamp - Gently Penetrating
• 07:00 Night call to prayer in Draginovo, Bulgaria
• 09:20 Peter Nooten & Michael Brook - Suddenly II
• 10:25 Maya Beiser - I was there
• 15:00 harmonic fx
• 15:50 Gamelan Madu Sari - thinly roundly
• 18:15 Ayub Ogada - Kothbiro
• 22:00 Jon Hassell - Frontiera
• 22:30 Hildegard Westerkamp - Into the labyrinth
• 22:55 Geir Jenssen - Camp 2, world music on the radio
• 23:30 Gamelan Madu Sari - Dreams he is a ball of fire or a hummingbird
• 26:30 Peter Gabriel - Wall of Breath
• 28:15 Galata Mevlevi - Nay Taksim
• 29:40 Hildegard Westerkamp - Soundscape of cities, Delhi
• 30:10 Forrest Fang - Garuda
• 31:15 Jon Hassell - Tramonto
• 33:00 Qur’an recitation from BSKSA Saudi Arabia
• 34:20 Lamp of the Universe - Heru, part 1
• 36:55 U Srinivas & Michael Brook - Think
• 41:30 Anouar Brahem - L'oiseau
• 45:45 Djivan Gasparyan - dle vaman
• 49:30 Peter Gabriel - A sense of home
• 51:14 end