Mix

Just Breathe: a deep dive back into 2000s chillout music

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A flashback to one of the most evocative sounds in pop and electronic music; from the haunting, therapeutic classic ‘Breathe’ to lost gems like Gaelle’s ‘Rain’. The sound of skyscrapers blurring together into endless bokeh lights; all the wooshing synths, e-pianos and warm basslines that made this music mesmerizing. Originally a list on RYM.

‘DISC 1’

white flag – dido / halo – kate havnevik / let go – frou frou (imogen heap w/ guy sigsworth) / o papierkach – nosowska / midnight lounge + love hangover – jody watley / loving you – lemongrass / rain – gaelle / ho humm – moloko / take control – t-love / sublime – supreme beings of leisure / everybody changes underwater – dannii minogue / juz za kilka lat – iza lach

‘DISC 2’

slow down – morcheeba / you won’t forget about me (lounge mix) – dannii minogue / metro (from nancy drew: danger by design) – kevin manthei / a day in the park – ryuichi sakamoto / volunteer – grace jones / memory without consequence – takahashi & jansen / me odio cuando miento – fangoria / breathe – télépopmusik / fragile – kylie minogue / dizzy – siouxsie and the banshees / black cherry – goldfrapp / say – the creatures / goldfish – siobhan donaghy / conversation’s over – sugababes / have you never ever – margaret berger

Further Listening:
– My own Curios From The Background mixes, particularly #4 and #5
– The Hedkandi Winter Chill compilations
– Mono’s “Life In Mono”
– Margaret Berger’s “Mind Game” and “Naive (16)”
– Moloko’s “Day For Night”
– Royksopp with Anneli Drecker – “Sparks” and “You Don’t Have A Clue”
– Royksopp’s “Forsaken Cowboy”


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Mix

Castles In The Sky (I Heart Noise Guest Mix)

ORIG BRIGHT

IHN Mixcloud + 8Tracks + Youtube

My guest mix for I Heart Noise highlights the surprising darker and sadder corners of new age music. Despite common aims to soothe and uplift, these songs dive into downbeat and/or ambiguous feelings: vulnerable, longing, bittersweet, haunting. The bright synths of a meditation cassette meet the murky lows and fragile heart of your favorite oddly-sinister children’s VHS.

Made from selections off my eponymous Rateyourmusic list: plenty more in this vein over there!

Track listing

  1. Suzanne Ciani – The Eighth Wave
  2. Hiroshi Yoshimura – Singing Stream (Spring Mix)
  3. Bob Foster – The Water Garden
  4. Hiroyuki Onogawa – August In The Water 1
  5. Michel Genest – Reflections On A Moonlit Stream
  6. Medwyn Goodall – Dolphin Dreams
  7. Spencer Nilsen – Title Theme
  8. Peter Seiler – Reef Moods
  9. Milan Pilar – Way To The South
  10. Simon Benson & Mike Tauben – Dreamworld
  11. Graham De Wilde – Underwater World (a)
  12. Milan Pilar – Nocturne
  13. Sumio Shiratori – Winter In Moominvalley
  14. Toshifumi Hirata – Fire And Forever
  15. Joe Hisaishi – The Huge Tree In The Tsukamori Forest [8Tracks & Mixcloud] / The Path of the Wind (Instrumental) [Youtube]
  16. Warren Bennett – A Time To Remember
  17. Bel Canto – Unicorn
  18. Spencer Nilsen – Skylands
  19. Happy Rhodes – Ra Is A Busy God
  20. Miami Vice – Tokyo Negative
  21. Delicate Features – Taurus Moon
  22. Mychael Danna – Sky 2
  23. Áine Minogue – The Grove
  24. John Hall – Illusen’s Glade [Youtube Only]
  25. Emerald Web – The Red Vapour of Still Lakes
  26. Kirsty Hawkshaw – Modern Mermaid
  27. Milan Pilar – Green Velvet
  28. David Rogers & Paul Shaw – Ice Kingdom [8Tracks Only]
  29. Emerald Web – Soft Silence The City
  30. Patrick O’Hearn – España

Background

Like it’s animation, the new age boom of the 80’s had an odd and not-so-discussed taste for darkness. Let’s consider the common Yamaha synth bells and rhodes, which became THE sound of VHS credit rolls. You hear these in happy love ballads one minute and Twin Peaks the next. It’s a sound that melts in your memory over the years as VHS quality melts itself, that can take on a ghostly new life. It’s no shock lots of new age has this effect, whether light or dark. It’s something about how the comfort and ‘fluff’ mingles with the darkness.

It’s only natural for these themes to mix with nostalgia and give us mixed and/or complex feelings. These feelings can haunt us the same way that one ‘scary’ scene in your old favorite children’s VHS does for years. Fleeting joy feels crucial here. After all, so much new age regards fragile things: crystals, gifts, nature, loved ones. New age is for cherishing and protecting. I’d think meditation makes way for some vulnerability itself.

Likewise, fantasy is inspiring and unleashes real-world limits. It can represent ideals and romance. So often this romance can lead to wishing. For things to be real, for dreams to come true, to go back in time.

It’s the tenderness in how these songs approach such emotions that gives them their grip. When gentle fantasy music ponders, it’s like a deer lost in a forest or a child finding haunted halls in their room. It’s not hard to sympathize.

What makes ‘dark’ new age so odd is how it ‘disobeys’ the genre’s core themes. When we hear ‘new age’, we expect serene sounds fit for a spa. It’s crossover icon Enya has 2-3 songs I could call ‘dark’, after all. If ‘true’ new age is music for happy daydreams, dark new age depicts our questions and fears. Despite this, some songs keep the calming effect.

Of course, I’m not aiming for an edgy substitute here. We hold up ambient as this intellectual counterpart already. I love lighter new age too; I’m just highlighting a deserving sub-niche. This strikes me as a relevant theme with new age’s recent spike in popularity. I intend this more to gather lost gems and challenge cliches, ‘soullessness’ to name one.

I chose this Unico shot because, like this music, it paints a sad, uncertain scene in bright colors. You have a unicorn, the trademark ‘pure fantasy’ creature, with a wind fairy, but both are forlorn. While the Unico film has a warm heart, it follows this unicorn getting stolen from his family and losing his memories. It probably represents this theme better than any other movie.

 

Mix

MIX: Sophisti-Pop Summer

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YOUTUBE / 8TRACKS

It was way past midnight
and she still couldn’t fall asleep.
This night the dream was leaving
she tried so hard to keep.
And with the new day’s morning
she felt it drift away.
Not only for a cruise, not only for a day.

– Double, “The Captain Of Her Heart”

A summer mix invoking the romance, mystery, scenery and varying emotions of a lavish cruise as it begins a long journey overseas. Think sipping a cocktail as you watch the sunset, a romantic embrace by the docks or a suited pianist enchanting the crowd during their buffet.

This naturally doubles as a spotlight for the sophisti-pop genre best known for Sade and Prefab Sprout. Its cross of slick production and synths with elegant piano, strings, clean guitars, sax and/or brass has close ties to this imagery. Many songs take influence from lounge and jazz; others are simply eighties pop with a swanky attitude.

Track listing

  1. DOUBLE – the captain of her heart
  2. VIKTOR LAZLO – balade de lisa
  3. JEANNE MAS – lisa
  4. GAZEBO – lunatic
  5. ABC – confessions of a fool
  6. MURIEL DACQ – tropique
  7. STYLE COUNCIL – the boy who cried wolf
  8. ALASKA Y DINARAMA – un hombre de verdad
  9. LUXURY ELITE – blush
  10. A.V. WALKER – night silk
  11. MOODOID – kasbah
  12. KIM WILDE deep in the european soul
  13. MIAMI SOUND MACHINE – surrender paradise
  14. PRESUNTOS IMPLICADOS – no hay palabras
  15. YUKIHIRO TAKAHASHI – brand new day
  16. SERI ISHIKAWA – quantity of love
  17. ANNA DOMINO – bonds of love
  18. GEORGE MICHAELthe strangest thing
  19. BRYAN FERRY – windswept
  20. DEBBIE HARRY – strike me pink
  21. BEATA KOZIDRAKzal my tamtych noci i dni
  22. THE PAINTED WORD  night after night
  23. ENZO ENZO – pacifico
Mix

Beautiful Robots / Dancing Alone

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Image credit: Translucent Iridescent #04 by MachineEast

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A fun and melodic dancefloor mix with a focus on vocal trance and trance-inflected pop: high drama, expansive cool-down interludes, ecstatic choruses, and hypnotic synth backdrops.

Track listing

  1. GRACE – not over yet
  2. DANNII MINOGUE – all i wanna do
  3. RENI JUSIS – ocale cie
  4. DOSS – the way i feel
  5. OCEANLAB – lonely girl
  6. ANDAIN – beautiful things
  7. ATB ft. HEATHER NOVA – desperate religion
  8. RENI JUSIS – ostatni raz
  9. CYNDI LAUPER – raging storm
  10. OPUS III – hand in hand
  11. DANNII MINOGUE – who do you love now?
  12. RENI JUSIS – niemy krzyk
  13. KITTY – miss u
  14. GIRLS ALOUD – untouchable

 

Mix

Daydreams In The Garden / A Moomin-inspired playlist

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Original Tumblr post here

A mix inspired by the music & visuals of the Moomin universe with folksy, sweet, calm, pastoral and thoughtful moods. Ranges from misty folk songs to gentle new age; featuring twinkling keyboards and pseudo-classical/chamber elements (woodwinds, harp, strings).

Featuring music from Moomin Voices (a recording of songs written by Moomin creator Tove Jansson), the 90s anime OST, the 1980 puppet show OST, 4AD and more!

Track list

mumintrollet’s visa tove jansson, johanna grussner & mika pohjola / aikea-guinea cocteau twins / antarctica echoes vangelis / bordeaux durrutti column  / rozo, du pecoj world standard / kun ha minami he sumio shiratori / vite, petite fille david snell / parachute area / thibault et l’arbre d’or emmanuelle perranin / silver chord jane weaver / glad glasser / most unusual graeme miller & steve shill / icebow delicate features / open sequences a vision of panorama / i’ll read you a story + push the boat onto the sand colleen / le reflet dans l’eau train fantome / the dancer linda perhacs / lily of the valley brian bennett / february milan pilar / eternal garden ray russell / soft spring paul williams

About this mix:

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Mix

My Other Voice

cropped shusei nagaoka
Image credit: Shusei Nagaoka, 1982.

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This mix explores vocals that blur the lines between human and machine through their use of vocoder, phasing and similar techniques.

Key themes: robots, androids/cyborgs, human-machine, retro-futurism, sci-fi, neon, technology, human/machine, 1980s, neon, unfeeling v.s. feeling

Track listing:

  1. GIORGIO MORODER – faster than the speed of love
  2. MIRAGE – lady operator
  3. PARALLELS – dry blood
  4. NUN – burn
  5. MARSHEAUX – what a lovely surprise
  6. STEVE HAUSCHILDT – constant reminders
  7. SPARKS – my other voice
  8. RENI JUSIS – w zwolnionym tempie
  9. KLAUS NOMI – i.c.u.r.o.k.
  10. D A V I C I I – skruszone serce 
  11. oOoOO ft. LAURA CLOCK – without your love
  12. KAITLYN AURELIA SMITH – to follow and lead
  13. MARGARET BERGER – robot song
  14. SANTIGOLD – walking in a circle
  15. GAZELLE TWIN – i am shell i am bone
  16. LOREEN – ’71 charger (strings version)
  17. JANELLE MONAE – cybertronic purgatory
  18. EYELINER – homo electronicus
  19. CHIKISS – dusha

Continue reading “My Other Voice”