Took me a while this one.

Sadly, as many of you may know, I lost my Dad.

It was a very long time coming and I was "prepared" but of course death has a power that yields a unique power and the grief has hit in waves. The first week was a kind of exhaustion, then I got to feel the sadness and the reality hit me in a new and more profound way. I talk about it here in the pod so I'll not linger too long in text form. Needless to say, it's been an intensely emotional time.

Shortly after this news I was thrown into full preparation for the first live show for the LP that is going to be announced (finally!) next month.

I was grateful to have my passions engaged in deep musical focus. Thanks to my wife and the amazing players that can to support me, the show was a truly beautiful event. Not one I'll forget.

So with all that going on, the pod has taken the back burner.

I had been meaning to air this Bibio episode for a long time.

A whole other perspective on the man compared to the first encounter. 

I hope you enjoy the west country rambles!

Thanks to all of you that shared your kind words with me about my Dad

love you guys

x

I met Matt Ross-Spang thanks to Mark Rubel.

Mark was an amazing knowledge and super generous chap who sadly died not so long ago. RIP to that legend.

I'll never forget that trip to visit some of America's most amazing studios.

We toured most of the iconic rooms in Memphis which is the city where Matt Ross-Spang has always resided.

We went to Sun where Elvis, Johnny Cash, Howlin’ Wolf all recorded and then on to Sam Philips recording service which Matt helped restore to its former glory. What a place! Just full of history and so beautiful both aesthetically and sonically.

Matt has had quite the journey.

He started interning at Sun Studios as a teen and now he has been awarded the key to the city of Memphis! 

Somewhere in the middle of this wild ride is what we spend of our time chatting about in this pod.

From humble beginnings to mixing Elvis, getting those Grammy’s and the key to the city of Memphis, Matt has seen and heard an awful lot of good stuff!

________________________

Music for this episode comes courtesy of Indy500 check it here:

https://indy500.bandcamp.com/ 

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This episode is sponsored by the MLC or The Mechanical Licensing Collective.

They’re a nonprofit organization that’s revolutionizing how creators get paid their mechanical streaming royalties from platforms like Spotify and Apple Music in the U.S.

Every month, The MLC collects the streaming data and royalties from those platforms, matches the money to the creator who has earned it, and then pays out the royalties due.

With over $2.5 billion in royalties distributed and more than 50,000 Members worldwide, The MLC is already making a huge impact. And the best part? Membership is completely free!

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What a treat it was to speak with the absolutely wonderful Suzanne Ciani who’s really a unique and outstanding woman in the world of electronic music.

We get into her early use of psychedelics and chat about spirituality and the inner “little voice” which is her guide in all things. We discuss eternal sounds, how her LP “Seven Waves” was constructed from a huge manuscript.

We listen to her snoring cat and chat tennis.

In fact there’s a lot of tennis talk here which is definitely a first and an area Suzanne is very passionate about.

Of course we talk about the exceptional Don Buchla and some of the excentric ways in which his modules behave even from one unit to the next. We also explore his attire.

It’s amazing to think of the time she came up in time when synthesizers were first emerging and nobody had heard these vast, pure and electric vibrations that were really unlike anything that had come before.

In this day and age so much it’s taken for granted and yet it all returns in the end to the sea.

To the ocean waves which of course she’s so known for coaxing in synthetic form so deftly.

Im so glad I got to spend a little time with the brilliant Suzanne Ciani.

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Thanks to Ableton for their kind support.

They are the show sponsors and I do a little nitty ad slot showing off the excellent MPE control possibilities of the Push3 when paired with a compact 7U modular rig via the expert sleepers ES10 ADAT to Euro 8 in 8 out module.

Check the push at

ableton.com

And in fact they are offer a healthy discount to HOWA listeners.

It’s a coupon code VALID TIL THE END OF FEB 2025

Use code

HOWAP320

At checkout for 20% off the Push3

!!!

YO ho ho

ah.. it's a bit late for that. Sorry this WAS supposed to be a Christmas pod. The so called "escape pod" but I got struck with a brutal illness that is only just waning. I shan't linger on it as it's dull but I was down. Down, down, down like the pointer sisters are clearly singing about in "automatic".

This pod is brought to you remotely from Sedona Arizona. It might sound a bit less polished as a result but it's the content that matters :)

Welcome to this humble whee ramble with Roger Eno, who's had a long and successful career in the olde music game. He's left behind some mellow corkers.

If you've never heard “An Ending (Ascent)”  from the album "Apollo: Atmospheres and soundtracks" for example... you simply must.

It's a true timeless beauty. The kind of track that if you were to have made it, you'd be chilling for the rest of your days. Quite literally. There's something utterly magical about that one and it really feels like a unique sound only possible thanks to Roger's sensibility. Of course it was a collaboration with Daniel Lanois and his rather famous sibling.

It must be strange to have a brother like Brian. As Roger mentions in this pod, if he's ever getting full of himself he reflects on Brian being Bowie's producer and it's all put into stark perspective. A silly thing to linger on of course and we dont get too into that for long but it's there.

This pod chat is mostly about him waking up and getting into music and literally how to get out ones way to let that inner music rush forth. Damn good advice nestled in this one I reckon.

Happy listening and see you in 2025!

x

Id often hear about this man during my stint in Berlin in the mid 2000s.

Mostly that he had an amazing live show... who was this man?

There was a sense in my mind that he was a gothic mystery, a dark figure that coaxed mystical melodies from the tarot and such but it seems like he’s a sensitive and passionate follower of his own North Star.

 His upbringing in Denmark really captured my imagination.

Partly just reflecting on the simpler times and remembering my own childhood in the sticks and how music was such an elixir to a world with a lot less demands on the modern, dwindling attention. T

he power of radio to educate and mix it up, when things were all jumbled together a little would be one example of the way it was different then.

We get into that and I think it’s actually a huge deal. I would argue it’s the reason we have the music of Trentemøller at all.

 Anyway I’m running into a pool of the past here. I suppose sometimes that’s what a chat will do. Funnily enough I find his music to be exploring contrasts, paradoxes, and themes of reminiscence without nostalgia. Quite a challenge! There’s something familiar to the tones (especially the chorus which is a major sonic stamp on this music. It turns out Anders owns over 50 chorus pedals!!! I mean WHAT?) but the drums are fresh and the sound is vital in a refreshing way. Dare I say it almost feels light. Much lighter than I’d imagined it being.

Also he’s a song writer first and foremost and although the tone palette is crucial, the song always ends up being the main event and I tip my hat to the man for this. It’s not easy!

Lovely stuff. Hope you enjoy our rambles.

____ Music for EP133 comes from Clocks and Barometers.

The music you hear peppered through the episode is from a record called “learning through investigation”

Clocks and Barometers is a collaborative project between Dive Reflex Service and Lupo which began in the summer of 2023.

Excellent stuff which I shall not try to describe seeing as they kindly provided me with a link so you can jolly well go and have a listen!!

HERE is the link

**** There is a wild 50% off strore wide sale for all my vinyl and merch until the end of the year!

https://shorturl.at/FXgkf

This was one of the most entertaining chats Ive had in ages tbh.

I had no real idea who or what Eric was about before this and it turns out we would get along famously. Plus he lives here. Wild. 

What a fun hang this was. I tell you what, a huge part of it was that it was in my studio and thus NOT on zoom and guess what? the human connection is WAY better without digital mitigation. Who would have thought?

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. 

He's a really badass musician and started very very young. His first main gig was with Adrian Belew !! I mean WHAT? I trust you know Adrian who plays in King Crimson and Talking Heads (Remain in Light anyone?? ooof!!!)

He's the drummer of the excellent Dr Dog and he's worked with so many cool folks like Daniel Rossen, Nels Cline oh and you know Taylor Swift.... to name but a few.

Wild knowledge of music and a bright mind. 

Enjoy

I chat with six missing aka TJ Dumser who’s a man of many talents

Known for award-winning sound design, mix for web, film + surround ,

remote voice-over recording and of course his music which is waht we chat about most of time.

His soothing sounds reached me over the interwebs and I was lucky enough to get the chance to remix a number of his called “sitting beachside”

Which you can find here 

https://sixmissing.bandcamp.com/track/sitting-beachside-feat-clariloops-jamie-lidell-remix

After this experience I was keen to know more about what made him tick so we got on a call and it was recorded, edited, mixed and such and now it jolly well exists as a sonic companion for your walking, train riding, horse riding activities.

Perhaps you’re even sitting beachside, in which case you win!

Here’s a link to TJ :)

https://www.sixmissing.com

Michael Zähl, former engineer and designer of the main custom made mixing console at the legendary Studio of Conny Plank and Mark Ernestus, long time producer known from projects like Basic Channel and Rhythm & Sound had a special encounter which led to the collaborative development of AM1 - the state-of-the-art pure analog mixing console.

I speak to these two excellent individuals about how they came to meet and the 9 years journey to make a mixing desk the likes of which we’ve never seen before.

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Kind sponsorship of this pod comes from a lesser known company called Ableton!

Live 12.1 is out and it’s a beauty of an update. I put autoshift through its paces in a mini nitty to kick off the show

Happy to offer a nice juicy discount to listeners 

Use coupon code “HOWA20” at checkout, and get 20% off at Ableton.com. Valid until November 15, 2024

A fascinating and frankly bonkers translation has taken place

Taylor Deupree’s original album Stil., released in 2002 was made with 100% digital techniques with a heavy dose of microsound, layering and looping.

It now exists as something wildly different and yet painstakingly based on that work.

This new iteration is a 100% acoustic version which takes it from Stil. to Sti.ll

This is a rare form of digital to analog conversion and should only be attempted by festidious and slightly insane people!

Sti.ll, released in 2024, is a complete reimagining of Stil., recorded entirely with acoustic instruments, such as clarinets, vibraphones, and cellos, played by live musicians. This new version abandons digital sound manipulation in favor of human performance, where sounds previously made with software are recreated through physical instruments and microphones. The transformations go beyond just switching mediums; the acoustic textures bring warmth and depth, making it an entirely new and distinct experience, while retaining the essence of the original.

Who would attempt such madness?

Taylor Deupree (wiki-ish) is a prolific electronic musician, sound artist, and founder of the record label 12k. Known for his contributions to the microsound and minimalist electronic music movements, Taylor’s work often blends digital and acoustic elements. His music is characterized by its delicate, detailed textures and use of repetition to create slowly evolving soundscapes.

Joe Branciforte (wiki-ish) is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and Grammy award-winning recording engineer and producer based in New York. He is the founder of the record label Greyfade, which focuses on process-based composition, electronic and acoustic minimalism, and alternative tuning systems. Joe’s expertise spans both electronic and acoustic music, making him adept at bridging these worlds in innovative ways. His work often involves live electronic processing of acoustic instruments, and he has collaborated with renowned artists like Kenneth Kirschner and Theo Bleckmann.

His technical mastery and creative vision were key to bringing Taylor Deupree’s acoustic reimagining of Stil. to life in Sti.ll, where he played an integral role in transcribing and arranging the complex digital compositions for live instrumentation.

So good to chat with these masters about a project of such huge scope.

We discuss this album at length and also Taylor’s collaboration with the late, great Ryuichi Sakamoto

links:

https://www.taylordeupree.com

https://josephbranciforte.com

MUSIC from the show:

from the email I received:

Last year Miet Warlop and me (Micha Volders) went to Dhaka, Bangladesh to make a visceral musical performance with young students. It opened the Dhaka Art Summit and we played for a curious Bengali crowd of thousands.

This city is a whole other universe, it’s loud, it’s overcrowded, it’s vibrant. I work on a daily basis with young artists but I rarely experienced this kind of hunger, joy and motivation from these young students.

We rehearsed 3 weeks in a row on this huge ghetto sound system placed middle on the road in the city, to a point where local residents were fed up and sabotaged our (already super shabby) P;A system by cutting all the wires, 

It was challenging, it was exciting and it was touching.

So one year later we made a record out of the recordings of this venture : it’s called ICCHĀ ——> check it out here

I was lucky enough to be introduced to Hauschka a.k.a. Volker Bertelmann thanks to my friend Dana Wachs who was a pod guest on EP71. 

He’s had quite the wonderful and interesting adventure in music. It’s quite rare that you find someone who plays prepared Piano so deftly and was also once known as a rapper. Clearly, this was not going to be your average chat.

If we place ourselves in the present  (which I’m told is always a good place to be !)

Our ears might find the dancing frequencies from his newest album philanthropy which was released in the 2023. It’s a tremendous listen. Dare I say a real headphone listen as there are wonderful, textual details to catch in amongst the kind of more zoomed out satisfaction of the rather accomplished arrangements. Perhaps this ability to both evoke emotion, and to coax huge tonal intrigue placed him in good stead as a composer for film

 He is most certainly made his mark in that area with a wide ranging set of scores and notably an Academy award for his work on all quiet on the Western front in 2022. Badass!

He’s collaborated with another podcast guest Dustin O’Halloran (EP 92) on several works, including their highly acclaimed score for the film Lion. In fact, looking at the credits for his releases over the years it’s quite mind-boggling. Often he will deliver multiple film soundtracks a year alongside his own solo albums. He's like Prince! 

Happy listening :)