365 photo blog

Pic from my front yard of the solar eclipse on May 20th.

This post is just call your attention to a new blog I started here on blogger.  It's called 365 photobooth.

It's a 365 photo project in which I will post a pic a day.  I'm attempting this project with my daughter, Sydney & my nephew, Nate.  So theoretically there will be three pix posted each day.

Not sure how many folks will be interested in the pix, it's more of an exercise for the photographers that hopefully will make us think differently about taking photos.  And maybe force us into a wider variety of pix.  

We'll see how it goes.  I'm sure there will some days that I have no desire to take an interesting pic & will resort to snapping something on the go with my iPhone.  It will be a fun experiment.

The photo blog can be found here... 365 photobooth.

on the behavior of radio waves

Shortwave radio signals spread across the planet, the signal fades in & out, washes of static mix with music & voice, creating an eerie mashup of music & electronics. 

This is the latest mix in a series, going back years, that utilizes shortwave broadcasts & music that already has a noisy, grainy tone. That combination of sounds creates a strange, other-worldly feel, transporting the listener around the globe and back again. 

As with the other shortwave mixes, this one makes use of source material from Myke Dodge Weiskopf & his website of shortwave recordings found here... http://www.myke.me/wordpress/

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    The Humble Bee - Titles
• 00:46    William Basinski - Particle Showers
• 02:40    BSKSA Saudia Arabia 11785 kHz, 8_14_10 (1610UTC)
• 04:10    Andrew Chalk - Violin by Night
• 07:00    Andrew Pekler - Nocturne 3
• 09:00    Je Suis Le Petit Chevalier - Main Jungle
• 10:50    The Caretaker - The Quilter Standard
• 11:55    Markus Mehr - Komo
• 13:50    Ran Slavin - Wayward Initial
• 14:24    Call to Prayer at Dawn, Sultanahmet Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
•                playing under the Ran Slavin cut
• 16:48    Depatterning - Instow, SK. Bone Creek No. 108
• 18:50    Pawn - untitled(from Islet)
• 24:05    Maps and Diagrams - Looks Simple Enough
• 26:23    unknown time & frequency (2002)
• 27:10    The Humble Bee - The Collecting Plate
• 28:00    WEWN:Radio Catolica Mundial 5810kHz
• 28:40    Mokira - Harold Dubb
• 33:05    Radio Bulgaria 5800kHz
• 34:04    Stephan Mathieu - Gabriel
• 37:55    Gultskra Artikler - Vsegda Krasni Cvetok
• 39:30    Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto - Reverso
• 45:15    Kane Ikin - short wave fade
• 47:12    Quinn Walker - The Quiet Passage
• 50:40    Melton - Northern Fields
• 53:05    I've Lost - A Study in Departure
• 54:27    end

On the behavior of radio waves by Lowlight on Mixcloud

An Evening With Dusty - Kyle Bobby Dunn

This is a very cool video featuring the wonderful music of Kyle Bobby Dunn.  The track is from the soon to be released album, "Bring Me the Head of Kyle Bobby Dunn."  The alum will be released on June 25th.  You can pre-order it at Bandcamp.  I can't wait for this release!

alien architecture

The music in this mix has a strange, sort of alien feel to it.  The pieces are a bit darker, but not creepy or annoying.  But they do all have a weird other-worldly sense to them.

This started with the first track, "We Swallowed the Night" by Anduin.  It just sounded vaguely alien and a bit threatening.  So from there I decided to construct a mix around that feeling.

When I make mixes I collect tracks over time & toss them into a folder to sort through later.  Sometimes I'll bring the folder of music to work with me & make the mix there(shhhh, don't tell anyone).  The problem with doing that is I have to convert the mp3's to wav or aiff files and in the process the tracks can lose the artist identifier.  So I only know the track title but not the artist.  That's how I ended up with 4 tracks from Robert Rich & Ian Boddy in one mix.  I usually don't like to have that much from album or artist.  That's also how the mix ended up with two Pjusk cuts back to back.  Oh well, Guess I'll just have to be more careful next time.

I didn't want to go the Lustmord "where black stars hang" route and have the mix be scary alien.  I just wanted unearthly alien.  Hopefully I hit that tone pretty well.



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T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Anduin - We Swallowed the Night
• 01:56    Harold Budd - Dark Star
• 04:16    Hecq - aback
• 06:23    Pjusk - Kram
• 11:44    Robert Rich & Ian Boddy - Threshold
• 12:28    nebulo & druc drac - rive nord - rive sud
• 14:30    EU - 60 Planets
• 16:37    Monolake - phenomenon
• 19:10    Robert Rich & Ian Boddy - Methane
• 22:10    Anduin - The Voyeurs Wall of Glass
• 25:25    Lights Out Asia - All These Worlds Are Yours
• 27:15    Jon Hopkins - Cold Out There
• 30:16    Pjusk - Granitt
• 33:33    Pjusk - Flint
• 37:15    Loscil - Pressure
• 39:55    Roly Porter - Arrakis
• 42:05    Loren Connors - Red Mars
• 43:15    Robert Rich & Ian Boddy - Ice Fields
• 48:05    Saul Stokes - We Resolve
• 53:10    Robert Rich & Ian Boddy - Last Outpost
• 55:04    end

Alien architecture by Lowlight on Mixcloud

Sunday Morning Music Vol.2

On Sundays I don't do anything useful until noon.  I read the paper, listen to music, read a book, sort & catalog my mp3's, sit out on the deck, etc.

This mix is a soundtrack for Sunday mornings.  Some instrumental tunes, some vocal tracks.  All of it mellow & laid back.  Perfect for a lazy Sunday morning.

When I did my first Sunday morning mix I wasn't really sure if I even liked it.  Then it turned out to be the most listened to mix I've ever had at Mixcloud.  Go figure.

Vol. 2 starts with one of my favorite songs of all time, John Martyn's "Small Hours".  I think that was the tune that got me into John Martyn in the first place.  There are several covers in the mix.  The most unusual being Evan Chapman's percussion cover of Bon Iver's Holocene.  Evan has a bunch of videos up on his youtube channel that are worth watching.  One of my favorites is "Opening" by Philip Glass.  I'll definitely have to work some more Evan's covers into other mixes.

Speaking of Bon Iver, there's another cover in the mix with Peter Gabriel doing "Flume" and then Gabriel gets covered by Twin Shadows doing "Here Comes the Flood."  And we have another Bon Iver tune, this time done live by Justin Vernon & Sean Carey for 4AD sessions.

There are two other tracks also taken from live sessions, Daughter - In The Shallows from a Daytrotter session and Iron & Wine - Tree by the River from a 4AD session.  All three live tunes are cool because they are so organic & intimate.

Enjoy volume 2 in the Sunday morning music series.

 [ 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    John Martyn - Small Hours 
• 08:25    Brian Eno - and then so clear 
• 13:55    Evan Chapman - Holocene (Bon Iver cover) 
• 17:40    Iron & Wine - Tree by the River (4AD session) 
• 21:05    Bill Frisell - Arkansas (part 1) 
• 22:52    Sun Ra - Yesterdays 
• 26:48    Twin Shadows - Here Comes the Flood (Peter Gabriel cover) 
• 30:36    Vieo Abiungo - Drowsy Salted Mornings (Tokyo Bloodworm Remix) 
• 34:33    Daughter - In The Shallows (Daytotter session) 
• 40:10    JBM - Sunset Rocks 
• 42:00    David Holmes - The Ballad of Sarah & Jack 
• 46:18    Peter Gabriel - Flume (Bon Iver cover) 
• 49:05    Nils Frahm - For 
• 52:35    Bon Iver - Hinnom, TX(4AD/Jagjaguwar session) 
• 55:35    Vijay Iyer Trio - The Village of Virgins 
• 1:00:44    end

Sunday morning music vol. 2 by Lowlight on Mixcloud

a further sea

This is my 5th "sea" mix.  I guess ambient artists really like the imagery & sounds of the sea.  Me too.

This one is very similar to the other "sea" mixes.  A lot of white noise accompanies you as you drift on the swells of "a further sea."

Most of the music is fairly new, especially nice is the new release from 36 - "Lithea".  It's another excellent recording from Dennis Huddleston.  Definitely check out all the releases by 36!

Also playing a prominent role in this mix is music from Maps & Diagrams - "Get Lost".  I love this album from Time Released Sound.  The whole recording is like an ambient sea voyage.

The "sea" mixes are some of my favorites and I hope you enjoy this addition to the series.

[ 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    Vieo Abiungo - A Sad Swell (Humble Remix)
• 03:15    Maps & Diagrams - Floating Sculptures
• 07:45    M. Ostermeier - Underwater Drifting
• 10:20    Jeff Greinke & Rob Angus - harbor island
• 15:30    36 - Lithea
• 19:00    the humble bee/e and i - Pearls for Alma
• 25:35    Willamette - un court thme pour lyla
• 26:55    Maps & Diagrams - Timelines
• 29:30    Radere - Lost at Sea
• 36:33    Vieo Abiungo - Feast Before Havest (Green Kingdom - greenfeast Remix)
• 38:38    36 - Susurrus
• 44:44    Willamette - portrait of a sleeping girl with radio
• 47:45    Maps & Diagrams - Unordinary People
• 49:30    Marcus Fischer - Span
• 53:25    Loscil - Fromme
• 1:00:04    end

A further sea by Lowlight on Mixcloud

1969 - trans lunar injection

I've been on kind of a moon binge lately.  It started with watching HBO's excellent series, "From the Earth to the Moon."  Then I read "We Reach the Moon," a book written in 1969 by John Noble Wilford, the NYT science reporter.

Next I moved on to the wonderful film, "For All Mankind."  It's the story of the men who went to the moon, told in their own words.  Beautiful images and of course Eno's remarkable soundtrack, "Apollo : Atmospheres & Soundtracks".

So my head has been stuck on the moon in 1969.  And that is the genesis of this mix, 1969.  All the music used in this mix is either from 1969, related to the moon or both.

I know it may a bit of a cliche to start with Kennedy's moon speech at Rice University but I love that speech & that part still gives me chills.  11 of the tunes are actually from 1969 :

1.        Bowie - Space Oddity
2.       King Crimson - Moonchild
3.       Miles Davis - Sanctuary
4.       Pink Floyd - Sysyphus
5.       Terry Riley - Poppy Noggod
6.       Genesis - In the Beginning
7.       Soft Machine - Spaced
8.       Don Cherry - Man on the Moon
9.       Philip Glass - Music in Contrary Motion
10.       Mort Garson - Walking in Space
11.       Beatles - Across the Universe (covered by Phosphorescent)

It's interesting how many of them had moon or space themes.  I guess that is where everyone's mind was at the time.

 I just had to include a couple of cuts from Eno's "Apollo:Atmospheres & Soundtracks" and from the new Air release, "Le Voyage Dans La Lune."  It's a soundtrack Georges Méliès’ short classic, "A Trip to the Moon."  It was originally released in 1902 & has been restored in color with Air's new soundtrack.

Also included in the mix are three tunes from a netlabel album by Re-Drum called "1969".  All the tracks on the album were made by using sampled music from the year 1969.  These are the cuts that I used & the source material used to make those cuts...

1.  Time :
    King Crimson - Moonchild Including The Dream And The Illusion
     Herbie Hancock - The Prisoner (Alternate Take)
     Sly & The Family Stone - You Can Make It If You Try
     Quincy Jones & Bill Cosby - Hikky-Burr
     Frank Zappa - The Gumbo Variation
     Booker T & The MG's - Michelle
     Zephyr - Hard Chargin' Woman
     Lou Donaldson - Donkey Walk
     John MacLaughlin - Pete The Poet
     Herbie Hancock - The Prisoner
     The Doors - The Soft Parade
 
2. The Last Breath :
    The Moody Blues - Eyes Of A Child, Part 1
     Zephyr - Somebody Listen
     Isaac Hayes - By The Time I Get To Phoenix
     (voice) Internet Anticipation 1969
 
3. Armstrong :
    Lonnie Smith - Eleanor Rigby
     Kool And The Gang - Give It Up
     Pink Floyd - The Narrow Way (Part 3)
     The Rolling Stones - Live With Me
     Voice: First Moon Landing


This was another fun mix to put together, I hope it's a fun listen as well.

[ 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    John Kennedy - "We choose to go to the moon" speech
• 00:00    Apollo 11 l- anding on the moon
• 00:58    Boards of Canada - 1969
• 04:47    David Bowie - Space Oddity (Sébastien Bédé Remix)
• 07:20    David Bowie - Space Oddity continues (demo version)
• 09:50    King Crimson - Moonchild
• 13:25    Miles Davis - Sanctuary
• 18:00    Air - Moon fever
• 21:12    Pink Floyd - Sysyphus part 4
• 23:20    Terry Riley - Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band
• 28:25    Genesis - In The Beginning
• 31:55    Soft Machine - Spaced Seven
• 33:10    Re-Drum - Time
• 36:45    Don Cherry - Man on the Moon
•  39:10    Air - Seven Stars
• 42:50    Re-Drum - The Last Breath
• 46:15    Philip Glass - Music in Contrary Motion
• 48:10    Mort Garson - Walking in Space
• 50:10    Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois - Silver Morning
• 52:26    Phosphorescent - Across the Universe(Beatles cover)
• 57:21    Re-Drum - Armstrong
• 1:00:03    Eno - Always Returning
• 1:03:46    end

1969 - trans lunar injection by Lowlight on Mixcloud

 

imaginary soundtracks

I guess you could say that all the music I listen to is a soundtrack of one sort or another.  Soundtrack for cleaning the house, soundtrack for sleeping, for biking, for reading, for living.  Most of my mixes could be considered to be mini soundtracks.  

So what makes this one different?  I guess the tracks collected here just sort of had that "soundtrack" feel when I first heard them.  I imagined a scene from a film with the tune as the soundtrack.  The tracklist then becomes a set of "imaginary soundtracks."

Some of the cuts, such as those from Cliff Martinez & Clint Mansell, are from actual soundtracks.  The others just seemed to fit the mood.

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    Cliff Martinez - First Drive Home
• 00:40    James Murray - Greenlands
• 04:25    Vieo Abiungo - Insincerity peeked through Cloudlessly...
• 06:51    Roly Porter - Caladan
• 09:20    Jacaszek - Orszula
• 12:22    Olafur Arnalds - lag fyrir oemmu
• 15:45    Craig Armstrong - Starless
• 20:00    Max Richter - Fictions & Data
• 21:40    Popol Vuh - Grab der Mutter
• 23:55    Jon Hopkins - Opalescent
• 25:10    Emanuele Errante - Memoirs
• 30:25    Ryan Teague - Cell Cycle
• 34:16    Clint Mansell - We're Not Programs Gerty
• 36:55    Peter Broderick - No More Space
• 37:36    Johann Johannsson - They Being Dead yet Speaketh
• 40:35    Biosphere - Iberia
• 44:07    Maya Beiser - Only Breath
• 45:50    Cliff Martinez - See You in Four
• 47:33    Jon Hopkins - Fairytale
• 52:15    end

Imaginary soundtracks by Lowlight on Mixcloud

dubby & dreamy

My son the dubstep DJ(he had nothing to do with the mix, but the pic went with the music).

Ambient dub, minimal dub, ambi-dub, whatever you want to call it, is something that I listen to every now & then.  I like making mixes with this music because the tracks flow so well together.

I've done three previous dub mixes and while they are all laid back, this one may be more so.  It collects some dubby cuts & weaves in some noise & washes of field recordings from the fantastic ambi-dub recording, "DeepChord presents Echospace - Liumin."  The bonus cd for that album is all the field recordings that were the source material for the tracks on the other disc.

Not all the cuts are straight up dub tracks, but they do all fit together nicely.  Almost all the tracks are new with the exception of the krill.minima & Plastikman tunes.

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    Andy Stott - Submission
• 01:10    Sven Schienhammer -  Sound Signals for Other Planets
• 04:15    Bop - My Heart in a Freezer
• 06:10    Demdike Stare - Matilda's Dream
• 09:50    Resoe - Edith's Serenade(r.i.p)
• 13:52    Overcast Sound - Devil's Mountain
• 14:25    Robag Wruhme - Brucke Eins
• 14:25    Deepchord - Untitled #1 (runs concurrently)
• 15:50    Vatican Shadow - missing hmm364 squadron purple foxes assassins
• 18:05    Moritz Von Oswald Trio - Pattern #4
• 20:35    Demdike Stare - Nothing But The Night 2
• 22:50    Marow - Iridescence
• 24:15    Coppice Halifax - Sunken Dancehall
• 29:35    Sven Schienhammer - Being Immersed in Another World
• 35:55    Deepchord - Untitled #7
• 36:40    krill.minima - Princess of the Undersea Gardens
• 40:35    Koss - Monday Conversations
• 42:55    Coppice Halifax - Luxury
• 47:50    Plastikman - cor ten
• 50:10    Sven Schienhammer - Back Into The Here & Now
• 54:30    krill.minima - sommerdellen
• 57:45    end 

 

Dubby and dreamy by Lowlight on Mixcloud

Space Station Time Lapse

This post is a bit different.  No mix this time, instead a video that I edited Saturday afternoon.

I saw a post at Wired about a new time lapse video shot on the International Space Station.  I have always loved those fly over vids so I decided to collect some of the best & edit them to some music.

Actually, picking out the music was the hardest part.  There were a number of directions I could have gone...berlin school space music, drifting ambient,  electronica that builds to an emotional crescendo, a vocal tunes perhaps?  I couldn't decide!  I ended up with this piece by Ryan Teague called "Neo".  It works well because it's easy to edit to.  However, the images are so beautiful that I could have picked just about anything and it would be fun to watch.

Hope you like it.