radio: Sunday Brunch: Ambient Drift

Lost
Residing in the rear of an infinite cave, this two-hour episode of Sunday Brunch dives into the trenches, broadcasting from the depths of the Earth's core (or, the outer-reaches of the atmosphere.) Whichever one you prefer. Take a nap.

Download Sunday Brunch: Ambient Drift
Klaus Schultz- Mirage (excerpt)
Cetacean Nation- the Kealakua Bay
MM- FM Static
Gas- Pop 5
Ten Thousand Foot Whaleclaw- Slobos
Roberto Detree- Architectura Celestis
Harold Budd- Madrigals of Rose/Crystal
Roberto Detree-Die Frau
Dolphins Into the Future (excerpt)
Peter Mergener- Michael Wiesser- Rainbow
Stars of the Lid- Dont Bother Theyre Here
Stellar Om Source (random excerpt)
Keith Fullerton Whitman- Lisbon (excerpt)
Tangerine Dream- Rubycon Pt. 1 excerpt
Imaginary Softwoods (excerpt)
Outer Space (excerpt)
Emeralds- Access Granted
Free Spirit- Researching the Bermuda Triangle
Lil B- Letter to Family
MM- Muted Wave
OPN- Pelham Island Road
Software- Self Similarity Life
High Wolf- Boneless
Software- Pyschomellow Planet
Harmonia & Eno- Weird Dream
Double Fantasy- Endless Running
Free Spirit- Hov Lane

Download Sunday Brunch: Ambient Drift

mp3: Kevin Greenspon "Softened"

"Sundowner Lane"

As November drifts away, the days get shorter, the nights longer and the streets more barren every night. It's funny how once the temperature chills out, and the sun starts going to bed after the early bird buffet, everyone retreats to home base preferring the comforts of the couch to the park or the roof or some quaint garden. My guess is that Kevin Greenspon, ambient auteur, is a couch dweller, however, rather than plant himself in front of the boob tube with a few seasons worth of M*A*S*H*, Greenspon sits lotus position on his bed, peering out the window on the shadowy streets below. There is probably a tree in his backyard that rustles against his window when the wind picks up. Often its howl billows through, as if a ghost crept out of the radiator. It's at once warm and comforting, yet, bleak and atmospheric, sort of like Christina's World. Either way, its ripe for days like today. Thanks to the folks at Rose Quartz for the heads up.

Greenspon will release Bracing on CD-R in a DVD package on Family Time (same label as Norse Horse) shortly, with a cassette tape on Obeast Tapes, as well. Be sure to check out Family Time's releases, as they've got some great packaging.

Kevin Greenspon- Softened

ambient: Pauline Oliveros Deep Listening

"The Space Is Real"

Pauline Oliveros, known for her role in the post-war electronic music scene, specifically as a member of the San Francisco Music Tape Center in the '60s, is a true innovator. Long before acts like Stars of the Lid and Windy & Carl were making lush waves of manipulated sound, Oliveros was composing lavish instrumental drone pieces and revolutionizing the concept of "sound." While her long and prolific career would be near impossible to summarize in a single post, one of her most notable pieces, Deep Listening, a suite composed with Stuart Dumpster and Panaiotis, has been on heavy late-night, early-morning rotation in my bedroom. Deep Listening, which finds the trio of collaborators composing lush ambiance with "accordion, voice, conch shell, metal pieces, trombone, didjeridu, garden hose, whistling and metal pipes," was recorded "14 feet down into a 186 foot diameter cistern that once held over 2 million gallons of water." If you have even the slightest interest in sound-tracking your dreams, the mystical quality of deep-sea drone, or an affinity for sound-scapes, I HIGHLY recommend you find yourself a copy of Deep Listening.

Purchase Deep Listening

Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dumpster, Panaiotis- Suiren

new: Jon Hassell

The Fourth World
If you're looking for music to accompany you on a late night train ride through a desolate rain soaked city then search no further. Last Night the Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes in the Street, the latest from pioneer ambient trumpet and electronic soundcscapist Jon Hassell (who turned 72! yesterday), is a gift that keeps on giving. The album is drenched in Hassell's signature "fourth world" sound which Hassell describes as "a unified primitive/futuristic sound combining features of world ethnic styles with advanced electronic techniques." Hassell, who in the past has collaborated with Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel and Martin Scorsese, has been pushing the limits of ambient jazz for decades.

Last Night the Moon... succeeds in that even when Hassell seems to be steering off the road into the horizon, subtle themes and melodies are constantly clawing for our attention. Influenced strongly by Eastern culture as well as the later work of Miles Davis, Last Night the Moon... should really be experienced as a whole album when you have no particular place to go, or at least no desire to get their quickly.

Jon Hassell - Time and Place [from 2009's Last Night the Moon Came Dropping Its Cothes in the Street]

sunday morning music: Renfro

"Sky Talks To You, Crowd Walks With You"

This weeks Sunday morning music comes to us via UK ambient pop duo Renfro. While the name conjures visions of former Hollywood bad boy and The Client, the music couldn't be further from Hollywood, instead choosing to come from a pre-historic ice cave or a foggy, post-apocalyptic wasteland. Mort said that Renfro "makes me want to eat pills and cover myself with blankets." He's right, their glitchy, found-sound, downtempo beats are wrapped in smooth vocal melodies that feel like they would feel at home in a post-surgery pill coma, or one of those weekends where your buddy comes over with a 'script of PK's and you can't muster the nerve to say no. Renfro will release Mathematics on June 16th, a must for anyone taking a mental trip to the Himalayan Mountains in the coming weeks. Give it a whirl.

Renfro- Capture
Renfro- Invite The Bullets In

new mix: Ambient Sleep

"It's our last night together"

A long time ago we posted a sleep mix from the now deceased Knuckles McGregor. Apparently it knocked y'all right into a coma, however, immune systems adapt and that old mix just wasn't doing the trick anymore. Luckily, we're back with a fresh set of new agey dream music, the type of stuff DMT-heads listen to for fun.

Ambient Sleep is almost entirely instrumental, the exception being Vera November's rendition of the late Arthur Russell's "Our Last Night Together". (Although Grizzly Bear's "Granny Diner" does include the absurdist "Why don't you do any dishes? Why?/ I always clean up the kitchen" at the very end of the song.) Also included are some ambient classics by Tangerine Dream and Johan Johannson, a few soon to be classics by Stars of the Lid and Deerhunter, a totally wunderstruck cover of the Loveless jam "What You Want" and some of that eerie magic from There Will Be Blood. If you're having trouble sleeping, or you're simply looking to transcend space and time, this is your soundtrack. Guaranteed sweet dreams.

WARNING: NSFW (You Will Pass Out)

Ambient Sleep Mix
1.Vera November- Our Last Night Together (Arthur Russell Cover)
2. Stars of the Lid- Even if You're Never Awake (Deuxieme)
3. Deerhunter- Red Ink
4. Grizzly Bear- Granny Dinner
5. Japancakes- What You Want (My Bloody Valentine Cover)
6. Taylor Deupree- Untitled 1231
7. Tangerine Dream- Sequent c'
8. Efterklang- Illuminant
9. Johan Johannson- Bao
10. Jonny Greenwood- Prospectors Arrive
11. Klimex- The Ice Storm
12. White Rainbow- Awakening

Ambient Sleep Mix (sendspace link)