Mix roundup - end of summer 2011

As posts here have once again gotten scarce, here is a short selection of dj mixes and podcasts I've particularly enjoyed during the last few months

Futexture - Energetic Substrate Mix Fall 2011
A short but wonderful mix of Philip Glass, glitchy idm tracks and a well-placed Alan Watts sample

Rox - Plant Chants
A multi-cultural mix of shamanic music to expand your awareness (lots of other great psychill & trance mixes on his site too)

Radio BSOTS #116
thoughtful spoken word about the spiritual walk and eclectic soulful music

Pingipung Podcast #12 - Please be quiet I am thinking
Absolutely gorgeous electro-acoustic modern classical/soundtrack music mixed by the owner of the wonderful Aerotone-netlabel

Nova - Mondlicht
any mix featuring Telefon Tel Aviv, HUVA Network and Solar Fields is pretty much guaranteed to be excellent. deep idm/psychill atmospheres..

Expand Your Musical Horizons #78
a fine selection of downtempo and chillout tracks

DF Tram and DJ Rich-Ears present Lunar Fizz
An epic and eclectic mix with lots of interesting and entertaining sound clips thrown in

phalanx live at zajkert - modem debrecen 2011.09.09
another excellent mix by phalanx. as always, expect nothing less than top-notch ambient, chill, and glitchy idm grooves

WOZ – CALL THE AMBIENCE, AGAIN! (OKTOBER 2011)
a very atmospheric blend of chill, ambient, and drum n bass.
~

Makunouchi Bento - Swimé

Romanian producer Makunouchi Bento's newest release Swimé is an ambitious avant garde work containing an exotic blend of organic instrumentation, electronic effects, and a jungle of clicks, buzzes, chirps, screeches, and roars. each movement in the work tumbles through a cavalcade of colorful vignettes. in one passage, an abrasive barrage of chaotic sound design breaks into a soaring string quartet arrangement accompanied by an out of tune toy piano. in another, a wandering accordion is baked by rhythmic splashing water and tropical balinese chimes. Swimé is an album full of surprises and aural curiosities for fans of the cutting edge of sound design and classical composition.

That Black - Timelessness

i frequently throw around words like "epic" "cinematic" and "eclectic" when describing some of my favorite music, but every now and then an album comes along which completely redefines these words. not only is Timelessness by russian producer Vlad Kreymer brilliantly produced and the thrill to listen to, in my opinion it defines a new genre of eclectic ambient music. combining acoustic sounds of accordion, violin, guitar and vocals with tasteful synths, field recording mash-ups and ingenius sound design, this album is an expansive journey through nostalgic dreamscapes not easily forgotten.

hiddenplace music mix 7: Muttley: Stepping Into The Sun

Download mp3 110MB 320kbps

for the next addition to the hiddenplace mix series, a very special guest mix from Muttley of SubVersion. in this mix, as in many of his other mixes, Muttley goes beyond the typical crossfaded playlist and creates what is more of a musical sound collage. ambient, modern classical, electro-acoustic with some unexpected moments.

Muttley writes:
Comfort without coordination levers haphazard states. You can be safe for a short while but then a tornado appears out of nowhere to blow off your roof. Granted, we can have defences to shield us from damage. Nonetheless, ambiguity can fluster. "Stepping Into The Sun" interlocks blind, brazen spurts with the ability to process electronically generated sounds from recognisable phenomena, illuminating some of the capricious invisible forces that impact on it.

To recharge one's batteries, it's advised you listen as if you had a gig buddy, as that's how this came to be. There are lyrics in the tracks - Last Days' "This Is Not An Ending" stops my black clouds descending from the explosive noise of Paul Bradley's "Somatic", and Ulrich Schnauss' "kissing you goodbye" from "Gone Forever" marks a departure from social allegiance.

Walking to and from the city centre, I encounter palpitations which make it hard for me to breathe, whereby when complications pursue my consciousness, I require someone to set me straight when my brain turns inwards on itself. Future outcomes flash across my mind, and certain remove existence, blacking out in image. Rarely are they slowly unfolding, so snap decisions whether not making the moves I envision are right or wrong, causes reservoirs of belittling gesture to flow in multidirectional sprays, culminating with "for no apparent reason" from remembering Busdriver lyrics, or comparable psychoanalytical hinges.

If this summation sounds convoluted, it fits the event scripture of my panic attacks. An online friend from over the Atlantic says she would go out with me if in the area - the nous for this, and the component recontextualised from virtual to physical, moulding my limitations into a dialogue between history and the "now". "Stepping Into The Sun" is just that: a soundtrack I can invest with genuine power and significance, and one I hope buffers your confidence levels in tandem.

tracklist:
01. Craig Armstrong - Delay (from Piano Works)
02. Relmic Statute - A Template For Sand And Forest (from Morning Tapes)
03. Nest - Cad Goddeu (Revised) (from Retold)
04. Bas Van Huizen - Zwembocht (from Ontgalman)
05. Ian Hawgood - Let's Dance Until The Shallows Break (from Wolfskin)
06. Last Days - This Is Not An Ending (from The Safety Of The North)
07. Paul Bradley - Somatic (from Somatic)
08. RST - Tinn Sun II (from Tomorrow's Void)
09. August Stars - Inland Rainfall (from Midwinter)
10. Mister Vapor & Altus - Sparse Reaches (from Falling Out Of Orbit)
11. Bad Company - Bullit Time [stretched] (from Bullit Time)
12. Grouper - Down To The Ocean (from Cover The Windows And The Walls)
13. Relmic Statute - Illustration (from Morning Tapes)
14. P.D Wilder - Purple Brings Out The Green (from F/M)
15. Duncan Ó Ceallaigh - Low Across Dawn Waters (from Distant Voices, Still Lives)
16. Nest - Far From Land (from Retold)
17. Robedoor & Pochaunted - Roman Nose (from Hunted Gathering)
18. Jesu - Storm Comin' On (from Lifeline)
19. Ulrich Schnauss - Gone Forever (from In A Strangely Isolated Place)
20. Tori Amos - Northern Lad (from From The Choirgirl Hotel)
...

Heath Yonaites - Clouds of Six Directions

imagine if some artists from Windham Hill got together and formed an Explosions in the Sky cover band. it probably wouldnt sound much like Clouds of Six Directions, but for this fantastic album, audio and visual artist, multi-instrumentalist, writer, and New Mexico resident Heath Yonaites creates epic, emotional and brilliantly original acoustic instrumental music which defies genre descriptions. soaring and cinematic as the desert vistas of the american west yet delicate, intimate and lyrical.

Inna Breeze - Stairway to Heaven

i'm always quite pleased to discover a netaudio release that stands out from the usual electronica and experimental music. the ironically named russian netlabel top40 has already set a precedent of releasing live performances of works by modern classical composers such as Steve Reich and George Crumb. yet even among such distinctive releases, Stairway to Heaven stands out as the first symphony in their catalogue (and most likely the first new symphony to be released on a netlabel).
this amazing work, performed live by a full orchestra with organ, is a melodic and lyrical symphonic tone poem stylistically rooted in the program music of the romantic era, the americana jazz influences of the early 20th century and even modern film scores. brilliantly composed, performed and recorded, Stairway to Heaven is a must-hear for fans of classical music and film soundtracks (btw- the piece certainly has nothing musically to do with the Led Zepplin song of the same name! in the words of the composer, "In my youth I, of course, heard the beautiful Led Zeppelin's song of the same name. But «Stairway to Heaven» is dedicated not to this song nor my youth. I'm implying the different, almost literal meaning to this words nowadays: it's an ascension. The ascension of a whole life. We are all moving «there», one way or another...")

Beyond Absence - Complacency

released on the netlabel Webbed Hand records, Complacency is a collection of quiet, contemplative acoustic jazz pieces by Beyond Absence. the duo takes a very peaceful, thoughtful and simplistic approach to their music- slow, minimal improvisations for acoustic guitar and piano, with some occasional subtle percussion and keyboards. perfectly warm music to shelter from the darkening cold outside.

The Silent Ballet IX

i wrote about The Silent Ballet compilation series in an early entry on this blog. since that writing, a few new volumes have appeared, and i wanted to take a moment to spotlight the latest addition to the series, which really caught my ear recently. The Silent Ballet series (in collaboration with the Lost Children netlabel) has featured a lot of excellent artists, but in the past the series has suffered from some inconsistency in both musical style and quality. not so with this edition-- there is not one misplaced track on this compilation. The Silent Ballet IX is an absolutely beautiful collection of tracks which delicately combine strings and orchestral sounds with minimal electronics in a quiet post-rock sensibility. the compilation maintains a very cohesive, classical-inspired sound; each carefully selected track is an exquisite composition on its own, which also perfectly compliments the others. from the repressed intensity of the Bersarin Quartett, to the plaintive strains of Redhooker, to the soaring violins and piano arpeggios of Bosques de mi Mente, this is dream music for your nights and days.

Prologue - Prologue

i have to admit that lately, i had begun to get the impression lately that netaudio is burning out. several of my favorite labels have closed or simply fallen silent, and it seems that its becoming more difficult to find the good quality musical art that we expect here at hiddenplace music. it was just at the right time, then, that a release came on the scene with such stunning originality and inspiration that i can once again say that netaudio is most definitely alive and well.
netaudio.ru is one netaudio collective working hard to keep the scene fresh and interesting. operating with a podcast and three separate netlabels with a balanced mixture of accessible and experimental sounds, along with high quality artwork and sound fidelity, netaudio.ru is becoming one of my favorite destinations for intelligent music. and they have outdone themselves with an absolutely brilliant album by the moscow collective Prologue.
upon listening to the first two minutes of Proluge's self-titled release, my sometimes stormy love affair with russian music was instantly renewed. delicate yet expressive female vocals floating over gentle piano, strings (yes, real live strings!), flute and muted trumpet, peppered with gritty downtempo beats and melancholy yet passionate russian language(?) raps. there are many diverse influences here; naturally trip-hop and downtempo music are the dominant flavors, but theres also touches of film music, debussy, berlin-stlye rap, russian folk, jazz, and drum n bass-- all perfectly melded into a cohesive whole. obviously a huge amount of talent and work has gone into this incredible release; there is simply nothing else quiet like it in the netaudio world.
im tempted to give a run-down of every track because each is so remarkable and has its own unique qualities, but the best way to enjoy this album is to find a quiet place, listen to it all the way through and discover every nuance for yourself. and when its over, sit for some minutes in stunned amazement, then press repeat and dive once again into the beautiful melancholic world of Prologue.

Bosques de mi Mente - Trenes de Juguete

the experimental/noise netlabel Clinical Archives surprised me recently which a beautiful minimal ambient piano release entitled Trenes de Juguete (Toy Trains).
fans of the wistful melancholy piano of Yann Tiersen's Amélie film soundtrack will certainly enjoy this release, which combines simple lilting piano compositions with occasional gently strummed guitars and mysterious radio samples and other found sounds. it becomes a little repetitive at times, but makes for a perfectly relaxing accompaniment to light morning work or an afternoon tea break.
as the dark winter clouds begin to occasionally break with patches of sunlight, we are reminded that spring is approaching..