[ Hypnos Forum ]

I haven't read it yet, cuz I'm at work & theoretically I should be working not posting on Hypnos  ;) , but this looks like it will be an interesting read.

http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/9738-songs-in-the-key-of-zzz-the-history-of-sleep-music/

I discovered this wonderful site recently  -  https://mynoise.net/noiseMachines.php

The site has several different categories of "noises" to choose from such as Tonal Drones(Indian, Northern Lights, Singing Bowls, Tibetan Choir, etc.), Natural Noises(Rain, Wind, Distant Thunder,Waves, etc.), Industrial Noises(Railroad, Laundromat, Traffic, Fireworks, Aircraft Cabin, etc.), Atmospheres(Subaquatic Dreams, Church, Sailboat, Spring Walk, Fairy Pond, Tibetan Spirit, etc.).  And many, many more.

The best part is the player has faders which allow you to control the mix or you can animate the faders and have the mix change over time.  I've tried having more than one tab open with different sounds playing simultaneously, such as Tibetan Choir playing with Singing Bowls.  Pretty cool.

The startup sounds from Windows 95 to Windows Vista, played back at 4000% of their original duration.

Published to mark the occasion of the 20th birthday of Windows 95. Happy birthday, Windows 95.

https://soundcloud.com/ideoforms/windows-95-startup-sound?in=ideoforms/sets/windows-startup-sounds-slowed-4000

So sad to hear of the passing of Chris Squire of Yes.  He was the heart & soul of the band throughout the many lineup changes over the years.  I have always loved his playing.

Here's a cut from his excellent solo album released in 1975.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS29bnX45H0

8-hour single piece of neo-classical music from Max Richter coming in September...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6aFKng8-sc

Great 24 hour streaming audio of field recordings brought to you by Janek Schaefer.

http://www.foundsoundscape.com/

"Using over 1000 calm & curious location recordings captured by 100 recordists, the sounds were simply edited, and then played back three at a time at various volumes in shuffle mode, and the result is never the same twice."

One of my favorite albums so far this year is The Race For Space by Public Service Broadcasting.  And the best cut on it is Go!  Take a listen...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHIo6qwJarI

PSB is a duo that combines electronic-ish music with spoken-word passages from old public-service messages, filmstrips, newscasts, etc.  On The Race For Space, they also incorporate NASA communications with the astronauts & mission control.  For a geek like me who loves music and anything NASA it's a perfect marriage.  I really enjoyed their first album but this one is on another level.

I can't recommend this one enough.  Here's a few more links...

http://open.spotify.com/album/65KwtzkJXw7oT819NFWmEP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY-kAnvOY80

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLN4mC26KDk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjUpxRaNi5k

This clip brings back memories of seeing Fripp play at a Peaches record store in 1979...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2wGj73hjTc

Fripp - "Thank you very much Rick James." 

[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/low-light-mixes/dishwasher-drone[/soundcloud]

This is as close as I will come to making ambient music(or any music for that matter). 

My dishwasher was making weird noises the other day, kind of sounded like some alien playing a didgeridoo was trapped inside.  So I recorded it and then processed it using Paul's Extreme Sound Stretch.  And whaddya know it actually sounds pretty good.

The only other ambient track I ever made was about 30 years ago so I guess that means my next track will be released when I'm in my 80s.

Strangely beautiful...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvvFdhNiMwM#t=24

2014 was another year where I continued to listen to more "normal" music than ambient or electronic music.  I'll just repost here much of what I said on my low light mixes blog.

Part of the shift in my tastes can be directly attributed to Spotify.  I listen to Spotify at work a lot and I have used it more and more to discover new music.  I keep a playlist called "2014 albums worth listening to" that now has 4113 tracks in it.  Not all the albums in there are great or even good, necessarily.  The playlist is just a collection of things in my musical wheelhouse that are worth exploring.  I'm constantly on the prowl for new things to add to it.

On Tuesdays, when new music is released, I go here... http://www.allmusic.com/newreleases  to find out what's new and if it looks interesting I sample it on Spotify & maybe add it to a playlist.  Finding new music has become close to an obsession over the past couple of years and with so much stuff out there coupled with ease of access, it's a great time for music lovers.

Most of the albums on this list you can probably find on lots of other indie lists like NPR, Consequence of Sound, Pitchfork, etc.  A couple records not on the national lists are from Wisconsin bands, Phox & Field Report.  Both record for the fine label, Partisan Records, as does Sylvan Esso which came in at #9 on my list.  Another album with a Wisconsin tie is Paradise Outlaw by Pieta Brown.  A beautiful, ethereal album recorded at Justin Vernon's studio in Wisconsin.

Another odd ball selection is the awesome album by Dylan Howe - Subterranean - New Designs on Bowie's Berlin.  It is a collection of jazz versions of Bowie instrumentals from his Berlin period.  I love this record!  Find it & buy it here... http://dylanhowe.bandcamp.com/album/subterranean-new-designs-on-bowies-berlin

I included Loscil - Sea Island on this list, even though it's electronic not indie, because it's very, very good and deserved to be on both lists.

The only other album that doesn't fit under the indie umbrella is Piers Faccini & Vincent Segal - Songs of Time Lost.  It's a subtle record of soft vocals, guitar and cello.  If you like Nick Drake you will love this record.

The rest of the list is all variations of indie music, some loud, some soft, some electric, some acoustic, some straight forward and some a bit more odd - all of it good stuff worth the effort of seeking out.

What were your most played albums this year?

BEST OF 2014:

  1. The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream
  2. Damien Jurado - Brothers & Sisters of the Eternal Son
  3. Field Report - Marigolden
  4. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Mended with Gold
  5. Phox - Phox
  6. Strand of Oaks - HEAL
  7. Dylan Howe - Subterranean - New Designs on Bowie's Berlin
  8. Pieta Brown - Paradise Outlaw
  9. Sylvan Esso - Sylvan Esso
10. Phantogram - Voices
11. The Antlers - Familiars
12. Saintseneca - Dark Arc
13. Damien Rice - My Favourite Faded Fantasy
14. The Barr Brothers - Sleeping Operator
15. Real Estate - Atlas
16. St. Vincent - St. Vincent
17. Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots
18. Eno & Hyde - Someday World
19. Blaudzun - Promises of No Man's Land
20. Bill Callahan - Have Fun With God
21. Loscil - Sea Island
22. Warpaint - Warpaint
23. Piers Faccini & Vincent Segal - Songs of Time Lost
24. Gem Club - In Roses
25. alt-J - This Is All Yours

Hypnos forum folks, we all must listen to some stuff that's not ambient.  What are a few of your favorites from this year?

Here's my list of my favorite ambient/instrumental albums of 2014:

1. Loscil - Sea Island
2. Dylan Howe - Subterranean - New Designs on Bowie's Berlin
3. Janek Schaefer - Lay-by Lullaby
4. tonepoet - Headspace
5. A Winged Victory For The Sullen - Atomos
6. Dirk Serries - The Origin Reversal
7. The Circular Ruins - Full Circle
8. Kyle Bobby Dunn - Kyle Bobby Dunn and the Infinite Sadness
9. Jordan De La Sierra - Gymnosphere: Song of the Rose
10. Benoît Pioulard - Hymnal Remixes
11. 36 - Dream Tempest
12. Locust - After the Rain
13. Thomas Koner - LA BARCA complete edition
14. Steve Roach - The Delicate Forever
15. ASC - Truth Be Told
16. eternell - Kalimba Ambience
17. John Luther Adams - Become Ocean
18. Brian Reitzell - Auto Music
19. Dirty Beaches - Stateless
20. Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer(Cinematographic Score)

Most of the selections are ambient/electronic with a few excepts like Become Ocean by John Luther Adams and the fantastic album, Subterranean - New Designs on Bowie's Berlin by Dylan Howe.  I've linked to the Dylan Howe album on the forum before & I'll link to it again, cuz it's awesome... http://dylanhowe.bandcamp.com/album/subterranean-new-designs-on-bowies-berlin

Any other forumites with year end lists?

Here's a link to an online interactive installation.  The music comes from Marconi Union and the site allows you to create your own unique version of their song "Weightless" with a few clicks.

http://www.immaterial.org/

This is similar to other endless ambient generators I've tried but I like this one because I love Marconi Union's music.

Oh my this is funny...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FODvjYoVEi8#t=167

Need I say more?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4dT8FJ2GE0&feature=share

PS - How do I make the video show up in this post, rather than just the link?

(APK ... below)
Árstíðir - Heyr himna smiður (Icelandic hymn) in train station

Every year I come up with two lists of favorites, one of ambient/electronic music & one of "normal" music.  By normal I mean music that may actually be played on the radio.   Indie, alternative, rock, Americana, whatever you want to call it, most of my list would be played only on college or indie stations, not regular commercial radio.

So here are my personal favorites from 2013...

Favorite albums of 2013:

1. Blaudzun - Heavy Flowers
2. John Vanderslice- Dagger Beach
3. Volcano Choir - Repave
4. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
5. Phosphorescent - Muchacho
6. Kacey Musgraves - Same Trailer Different Park
7. The National - Trouble Will Find Me
8. John Vanderslice - Diamond Dogs
9. Mikal Cronin - MCII
10. Darkside - Psychic
11. Jon Hopkins - Immunity
12. Vic & Gab - Love of Mine
13. Elvis Costello & The Roots - Wise Up Ghost
14. Boards of Canada - tomorrow's harvest
15. The Flaming Lips - Peace Sword ep
16. Wavves - Afraid of Heights
17. Rhye - Woman
18. Daughter - If You Leave
19. Public Service Broadcasting - inform - educate - entertain
20. San Fermin - San Fermin

The songs of 2013:

1. Phosphorescent - Song for Zula
2. Mother Falcon - Dirty Summer
3. Kacey Musgraves - Merry Go Round
4. Vampire Weekend - Unbelievers
5. Moby - The Perfect Life (with wayne coyne)
6. The National - I Need My Girl
7. Jose Gonzalez - Step Out
8. Jonathan Boulet - You're a Animal
9. Volcano Choir - Bygone
10. Nonono - Pumpin Blood
11. Postino - I Love It(Mo Funk Mix)
12. Mikal Cronin - Weight
13. Bonobo - Cirrus
14. MIA - Bring the Noize
15. Laura Mvula - Like the Morning Dew
16. Daniel and the Lion - The Dark Red Waltz
17. Hardwell - Spaceman
18. Jon Hopkins - Open Eye Signal
18. Night Beds - Ramona
19. Oscar Isaac & Marcus Mumford - Fare Thee Well
20. Andrew Bird - Pulaski at Night


You can find audio samples to the best album list here... http://lowlightmixes.blogspot.com/2013/12/best-of-2013.html

I'm thinking of doing a mix of ambient covers, but I'm not sure how much is out there.

Right off the top of my head there is Bang On A Can's version of Music for Airports and Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto did a couple of versions of By This River which were very good.

I guess suggestions could include ambient covers of other ambient tunes and ambient cover versions of tunes that weren't originally ambient(wow that sounded confusing).

Any ideas? 

Guitar & vocals recorded on the international space station by astronaut Chris Hadfield, who comes home tomorrow. Awesome!


Space Oddity

Really nice video for new Bonobo tune...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF34N4gJAKE&feature=player_embedded

Today at work I was listening to the latest release from Loscil, Sketches from New Brighton, on Spotify.  And every song is listed as "Explicit"!!   ???   There must be some subliminal f-bombs hiding under the synths.

I posted my favorite ambient releases in the Other Ambient Music thread so I figured here I'd post my favorite "normal" music of the year.  I probably listened to more "normal" music than ambient this year.

Best Albums:
1) Andrew Bird - Break It Yourself & Hands of Glory
2) Lord Huron - Lonesome Dreams
3) Neil Young - Psychedelic pill
4) Deep Sea Diver - History Speaks
5) Of Monsters & Men - My Head is an Animal
6) Father John Misty – Fear Fun
7) The Lumineers - The Lumineers
8] Michael Kiwanuka  - Home Again
9) Best Coast - The Only Place
10) The Avett Brothers - The Once and Future Carpenter
11) Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Here
12) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - The Heist
13) Arrange - New Memory
14) Grizzly Bear - Shields
15) The xx - Coexist
16) Elbow - Dead in the Boot
17) Patrick Watson - Adventures in Your Own Backyard
18) DIIV - Oshin
19) Sun Kil Moon - Among the Leaves
20) Tallest Man on Earth - There's No Leaving Now
21) David Byrne & St. Vincent – Love This Giant
22) Vic and Gab - Bridges and Guns
23) Daniel Rossen - Silent Hour/Golden Mile
24) Divine Fits - A Thing Called Divine Fits
25) Alt-J - an awesome wave

Singles:
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Same Love
Icona Pop - I Love It
Tilly And The Wall - Heavy Mood
The Lumineers - Hey Ho
Kishi Bashi  - bright whites
Cloud Nothings - Stay Useless
Best Coast - The Only Place
Gregory Porter - Be Good
Japandroids - The House that Heaven Built
Scarlett Johansson - Before My Time

Soundtracks:
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Cloud Atlas
Chasing Ice
Drive

Not really a best of 2012, more of a list of favorite ambient releases from this year(at least some of the ones I can remember).

1) Kyle Bobby Dunn - Bring Me The Head of Kyle Bobby Dunn
2) Bersarin Quartett - II
3) Mohn - Mohn
4) 36 - Lithea
5) Taylow Deupree - Faint
6) Forrest Fang - Animism
7) Loops of Your Heart - And Never Ending Nights
8] Loscil - Sketches from New Brighton
9) Sonmi451 - four peaks
10) Steve Roach & Dirk Serries -  low volume music
11) Spheruleus - Cyanometry
12) VA - lost in the humming air (music inspired by harold budd)
13) Willamette - always in postscript
14) Marconi Union - Different Colours
15) Eivind Aarset - Dream Logic
16) Nils Frahm - Screws
17) John Adams - Harmonielehre - Short Ride in a Fast Machine
18) VA - Air Texture Volume II
19) Andy Stott - luxury problems
20) Peter James - Landfall

My friends at Headphone Commute have put out a massive compilation of 87 tracks, over 6 hours of music.  It's called "...and darkness came."

I'll quote from their site :
"Headphone Commute is incredibly proud and honored to announce a colossal benefit compilation, with 100% of the proceeds being donated towards two charitable organizations, Doctors Without Borders and The Humane Society, to help all those affected by Hurricane Sandy!"

Artists include Max Richter, Clint Mansell, offthesky, Julien Neto, Ólafur Arnalds, Dakota Suite, Christopher Willits, Loscil, Lawrence English, Maps And Diagrams, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Nils Frahm, Talvihorros, Bersarin Quartett, Antonymes, Simon Scott, Dustin O'Halloran, Machinefabriek, :papercutz, and many, many, more.

Go here to find out more...
http://reviews.headphonecommute.com/2012/11/08/and-darkness-came/

I think we had a thread on this idea in one of the previous incarnations of the forum. 

I'm looking for suggestions of ambient tunes from non-ambient artists.  A perfect example is "Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats" by Genesis, great ambient tune from a band not known for ambient music.

I'd like to eventually do a mix of these kinds of tracks so if you guys have any more ideas or examples please post them here.

I saw this thread at NPR Music & thought we could give it a go here.

Right off the bat I'm going to cheat & say three bands were a big part of my college life...

1. Ultravox
2. Snopek
3. The Police

University of Wisconsin - Madison '78 to '83.

Snopek was a local band that I saw at least a hundred times.  Even though nobody else knows them or cares I had to put them in here.

The Police were ever present during my college years.  They played a small club across the street from my dorm in the spring of '79.  They had to play Roxanne twice because they didn't have enough material for an encore.

But I'd say the first band that comes to mind when I think of college is Ultravox. I remember falling in love with new wave synth & playing the crap out of "Vienna".  We played "Sleepwalk" & "All Stood Still" at every party we had and if you stood in the middle of the living room during those songs, you didn't need to dance because the floor shook & waved & bounced so much.  I still make party mixes but I miss the dancing.

Myke Weiskopf runs an excellent site devoted to  to preserving and disseminating indigenous sound and music as heard via international radio.  I've downloaded & listened to some wonderful recordings over the years.

In honor of World Radio Day, Myke is making a 5 cd set of recordings available for free download!  But it's only for one day.

Here's the link to his post...
http://www.myke.me/wordpress/?p=1872

A great opportunity to grab some fascinating, sometimes spooky, always cool recordings.

I started a topic in Everything & Nothing for year-end lists of favorite "normal" music.  Adn this is the companion topic for year-end electronic/ambient lists.

What music did you love this year?  There was so much music it gets difficult to keep track of everything.  I know I probably forgot some notables but here's my top 20 list(in alphabetical order)...

1. A Winged Victory for the Sullen - s/t [Kranky}
2. A Produce & Loren Nerell - Intangible [hypnos]
3. Aglaia - Nights in Nubiland [hic sunt leones]
4. Balam Acab - Wander Wonder [Tri Angle]
5. Chris Watson - El Tren Fantasma [touch]
6. David Tagg - I am the Wolf [second sun recordings]
7. Dustin O'Halloran - Lumiere [fatcat]
8. Grouper - aia - alien observer & dream loss [yellowelectric]
9. Holy Other - With U ep [Tri Angle]
10. Koss, Henriksson & Mullaert - The Mollan Sessions [mule]
11. Kyle Bobby Dunn - Ways of Meaning [desire path recordings]
12. Maps & Diagrams - Lights Will Call On You [Nomadic Kids Republic]
13. Maps & Diagrams - Get Lost [time released sound]
14. Maps & Diagrams - The Town Beneath The Sea [Nomadic Kids Republic]
15. Maps & Diagrams - The Voices of Time [handstitched]
16. Marconi Union - Beautifully Falling Apart (Ambient Transmissions Vol. 1) [just music]
17. Nils Frahm - Felt [erased tapes]
18. Sonmi451 - Star Atlas [time released sound]
19. Steve Reich - WTC 9-11, Mallet Quartet, Dance Patterns [Nonesuch]
20. Willamette - Echo Park [infraction, 2011]

'Tis the time for year-end lists.

In this thread let's post some of our favorite "normal" albums of the year.  I'll start another topic for electronic/ambient favorites.

Here are some of my 2011 favorites...

1. Atlas Sound - Parallax
2. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
3. Boy & Bear - With Emperor Antarctica
4. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
5. Foster the People - Torches
6. Gem Club - Breakers
7. Givers - In Light
8. James Blake - James Blake
9. Kate Bush - 50 words for snow
10. Of Monsters and Men - my head is an animal
11. Paul Simon - So Beautiful or So What
12. Sarah Jarosz - Follow Me Down
13. The Antlers - Burst Apart
14. The Dark Water Hymnal - Collapse the Structure
15. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Departing
16. Yacht - Shangri-La

This evening's bike ride had a sort of ambient feel to it because of the names of some the roads & places I passed.

First was Cedar Creek Road which made me think of field recordings of water or Maps & Diagrams - Get Lost, which has a great aquatic feel to it.  Then I hit Country Aire Drive which has a wide open feel to it like some spacious drones from Paul Bradley's Chroma cd.

Further on, I road past a farm called Whispering Pines, great ambient vibe in that name.

Finally, I came upon a subdivision on Night Pasture Road which congers up images of laying out in the field, gazing up at the stars with Saul Stokes - Outfolding playing in the background.

The entire Pink Floyd classic remade using a Nintendo sound chip.  The results are pretty good and actually very listenable.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2011/03/27/134899880/8-bit-dark-side-of-the-moon-remake