solipsistic NATION: Live Electronica

Today on solipsistic NATION we'll hear a live set from Giulia Loli from Mutamassik, which was originally recorded for Fari Bradley's Six Pillars radio show on Resonance FM to promote Giulia's 2012 release, Rekkez, out on Ini.itu Records. In fact, there are quite a few tracks from Rekkez on today's live set.

We'll also talk to Giulia about balancing artistry with industry, and her growth as an artist, musician and as a DJ.

Today's show is eight years in the making.

When I launched solipsistic NATION podcasts were a new thing and most people didn't know what a podcast actually was, which made it difficult when I would email labels and ask for them to send me promotional CDs for the show. And even if a label knew what a podcast was I didn't have the audience that I do now, so why mail out music to show that only had a few hundred listeners? I can't blame them, really.

But one label I did approach was generous enough to send a CD. I had read a review about Mutamassik's album, Masri Mokkassar: Definitive Works in XLR8R, back when it was still a print magazine. Definitive Works had been released by Sound-Ink Records and they sent me Mutamassik's LP without questions or hassle.

Like I said, podcasts were an unknown quantity back then, so it meant a lot to me that Sound-Ink took me seriously enough to send me Mutamassik's album. And it was a great album! I played it on the show and I played it on my iPod constantly. Someday, I told myself, I'm going to have Mutamassik on the show as a guest so I could get to know the person behind all this fantastic music!

That day is today. It took months of planning and aligning our schedules but it finally happened.

Join us again next week. I'm still getting my ducks in a row but I think our guests will be Known Rebel's Germán Escandell and Jaime Irles.

See you then!

01. Mutamassik "Babomb"

02. Interview with Giulia Loli of Mutamassik

03. Mutamassik "Live"

Great show for you today! We're going to hear a live, in-studio performance from Khafru. But first, I've got some sad news to announce.

Cheb i Sabbah died last week of stomach cancer.

For those of you who didn't know him, Chebi was a musician and composer from San Francisco. If there's a genre that would describe his music I guess it would be worldbeat, but that doesn't adequately describe the richness, complexity and the beauty of Chebi's artistry.

I first discovered Chebi late last century in 1995 when I purchased Sub Rosa's Ancient Light and the Blackcore at Newbury Comics in Boston. The album featured field recordings of Yanomami shamans, Seefeel, Scorn and Timothy Leary remixed by some guy called Cheb i Sabbah.

The track by Chebi was called "Why Are You Here?" Timothy Leary waxed psychedelic on the meaning of our existence and was supported by Chebi's timeless, cosmic music. It was mind blowing stuff.

From that point on, Cheb i Sabbah was on my radar so when Sub Rosa released an album of poetry by Ira Cohen with music from Chebi, I purchased it without question and I was not disappointed. Chebi's music was still psychedelic but it now incorporated sounds from Morocco. Combined with Ira Cohen's words, I felt like I was living in one of William Burroughs' fevered dreams.

Chebi then released a series of albums: Shri Durga, Maha Maya and Krishna Lila, each one exploring music from North and South India. In 2005 Chebi veered off into an entirely different direction and released La Kahena, which featured music from North Africa.

When I launched solipsistic NATION I had a list of artists I wanted to have on the show to talk about their music. Chebi was one of those artists and it was a pleasure to talk to him about his craft and each of his albums after listening to his music for so many years.

At the time, that show was supposed to be a retrospective of Chebi's musical journey so far. Like everybody else, I assumed that Chebi would release album after wonderful album. Sadly, Chebi only released two more albums: La Ghriba: La Kahena Remixed in 2006 and Devotion in 2008.

Chebi had been diagnosed with stomach cancer. Chebi didn't have health insurance so an online fundraiser campaign was launched to cover Chebi's medical fees. Six Degrees Records, who had put out nearly every album during Chebi's musical career, also released a benefit album called Samaya in 2012.

And now Chebi's gone. His music is still with us, but the man is gone. He will be missed.

As I mentioned earlier, I had a list of artists I wanted to feature on solipsistic NATION and Cheb i Sabbah was one of them. Over the years I've got to talk to a lot of people on that list. There are still quite few names on that list like Kraftwerk and Crystal Method I'd like to have on the show but these days I'm more about finding new voices in electronic music. Which brings us to today's show featuring Khafru.

Producing solipsistic NATION means listening to a lot of music. One might even go as so far as to say that I listen to an unhealthy amount of music. And most of it is either awful or forgettable. Statistically that's just the way it is. 99% of everything is crap. But when Khafru's music came over my headphones I got goosebumps! Who was this guy?! I knew I had to have him on the show.

It took a few months but Khafru found a window to talk about his music and send me a recording of him performing live, in studio.

Before I go, I'll spend the rest of the month catching up on loose ends and next week we'll listen to a live set from Mutamassik.

See you then!

Khafru "Mirrors Become Doors At Night"

Interview with Abhimanyu Malhotra of Khafru

Khafru "Live"

Finegan Finch "Thousand Eyes Towards The Skies [Khafru Remix]"

Khafru "Mon Petit Fleur"

Khafru "Coasts Of Khayyam"

Khafru "Venn Diagram"

Khafru "Industry Of Man"

Khafru "Sentinel"

Arms of Oblivion "Sleep [Khafru Remix]"

Khafru "Mirrors Become Doors At Night"

Khafru "When The Morning Comes"

Khafru "Delicate Dawn"

Today on solipsistic NATION DJ Food's Strictly Kev returns with a live set that was performed in a... really unexpected place. In a planetarium. The FullDome UK, to be exact.

Before we get to DJ Food, a couple of things.

First, I want to thank everyone for sticking around and coming back to solipsistic NATION during my absence. It really means a lot to me. I know, you're busy, you could be listening to another podcast, or watching a movie or playing a video game or reading a book... but you're here, right now with me. Thanks.

And thanks for listening to the last edition of solipsistic NATION that featured Grouse, The Other Guy, and today's guest, DJ Food.

I'm really proud of that show. It was firing all cylinders. The music was unquestionably great, and the interviews were great, too. A lot of heart. I don't know about you, but I got inspired when Grouse talked about chucking out all his old sounds and starting fresh for his new album. Sometimes you gotta destroy before you create. And it was adorable when DJ Food's Strictly Kev's son crashed our interview. And I got a lump in my throat when The Other Guy talked about his mom passing. Just a great show. If you missed it, go listen to it now.

Okay, today's show.

I originally planned to release a mega show featuring interviews with Propellerheads' Kalle Paulsson, ScatterRadio's Dae Choi, and music recommendations from Alan Ranta and Macedonia, and a show idea from Edward Stumpp that I was really excited to talk about. And I was also planning to celebrate 300+ editions of solipsistic NATION to boot. But I just didn't have time to put it together. And now it's the first weekend of the month, and that's live music time, so I had to push that show back.

On today's show we're going to hear a live set from DJ Food's Strictly Kev.

Well, kind of live. It's music Kev put together for people to experience at a planetarium in the UK.

When I first heard the idea I kind of rolled my eyes, thinking it was going to be like the cheesy laser shows I saw back when I was a kid. But once Kev described the whole thing on the last show I was totally enchanted with the idea. Check out the YouTube video below.

I'm listening to Kev's set as I write this and even without the visuals it's still an amazing. Totally trippy You're in a for a great time! And just think, if there's a planetarium in your area you just might get to experience it for yourself.

Before I get out of Dodge, I've got a backlog of shows to catch up on so the next few weeks expect to hear live set from Khafru and Mutamassik. And then we'll get to that mega show I mentioned and then we'll take off from there.

Great to be in the saddle again. Now go enjoy today's show and kiss the sky!

01. DJ Food "Discovery Workshop"

02. DJ Food "A Trick of the Ear (Album Edit)"

03. Interview with Strictly Kev of DJ Food

04. DJ Food "The Search Engine, FullDome UK"

Summer vacation is over and I'm back!

I've been away for the last few months recharging my batteries. It takes a lot of work producing a show like solipsistic NATION and, quite frankly, I had hit the wall. Constantly listening to new music, reading music blogs, posting on social media—I just don't think it was healthy for me to be doing that nearly every free moment of each and every day.

Let me expand on that a little bit. It's not just that I was listening to too much music, I was listening to too much bad music. People send me a lot of free music to review for the show and because people were kind enough to send me their music I felt obligated to listen to it. All of it. Unfortunately, statistically speaking, a lot of it is terrible. It's just the way it is. And I have to listen to a lot of it to find the good stuff, the stuff I feature on solipsistic NATION.

I don't mind mediocre music because at least with mediocre music is not terrible, it's just mediocre. But bad music wounds me. And it makes me angry. You might be thinking to yourself, hey, it's just music—get a grip. That's true, but music, good music, is important to me. You don't produce over 300 shows of electronic music unless it is important to you. And so bad music infuriates me because not only is it wasting my time but it feels like a physical assault. Presumably the people who make bad music have heard good music. Why not emulate the good rather than subject us with their shit?

I can't do it any more. It's just exhausting. So I'm changing my policy. I'll give the bad music 30 or 60 seconds of my time but if it's clearly not getting any better I'm just going to skip past that track like everyone else in the world does.

I've spent the last few months actively not listening to music and slowly letting my soul heal. I've kept my social media and blog reading to a bare minimum, gathering my strength. But now I'm tanned, I'm rested, and I'm ready to take on the world!

I want to thank you for listening and your continued support. I've got a lot of big plans for solipsistic NATION and I'll need your help. We'll talk about that more on next week's show but in the meantime, if you'd like to help support solipsistic NATION, tell a friend about the show. Tweet about solipsistic NATION on Twitter. Flatter us of Flattr or purchase a solipsistic NATION t-shirt.

Now let's get to what's important—great electronic music!

Today on solipsistic NATION we'll also hear a special live in-studio performance by wAgAwAgA. We also talk to wAgAwAgA about launching his own record label, Cooking Up Records; his growth as an artist from album to album; and traveling the world for the field recordings he features on those albums.

Robbie Martin from Record Label Records first turned me onto wAgAwAgA with the release of wAgAwAgA's Midnight Sampler album on Robbie's label (check out our showcase of Record Label Records here). wAgAwAgA's album was lush, dub-heavy and dense with the sounds of nature and world music. In fact, Midnight Sampler made my list of one of the top 10 albums for 2012. wAgAwAgA has since moved in new directions and his music has become more restrained, kind of minimal, really. But all those elements that I love in his music is still there, which you'll hear on today's live set. I think you're really going to dig it!

Join us again next week when we'll showcase Tripswitch's label, Section Records (check out Tripswitch's live set here). I think. I'm still getting my ducks in a row.

See you then!

01. wAgAwAgA "flagnag dub"

02. wAgAwAgA "floaty edit"

03. Interview with wAgAwAgA

04. wAgAwAgA "Live"

What makes today's such a special show—aside from the music, which is great, by the way—is that today's show comes to you from Ty, who is both a listener and a friend of solipsistic NATION.

Ty emailed me a few months ago and suggested that I might consider doing shows featuring Calima Shatiday and Elastic Bond. After checking out their music on iTunes I knew Ty was absolutely right, I had to have them on the show. Calima will appear on solipsistic NATION in the next few months, but today we're going to hear Elastic Bond's live DJ Mix!

Andres and Sofy join me from their studio in Miami. We're actually did today's interview by video, which seems to be happening more and more on solipsistic NATION. Too bad you can't see it, Miami looks lovely. Elastic Bond's live DJ mix is fantastic and is chock full of their music and various remixes. Elastic Bond is a band and and electronic music is just one element they weave into their music. They're currently hard at work on their forthcoming album and you can bet I'm going to have them back on the show when their new LP drops.

The other thing that makes today's show so special is Ty himself.

solipsistic NATION has always been a communal effort. I may be at the helm of the show but a lot of people behind the scenes make the show happen. There's the bands and musicians, the music labels and promoters, the people who provide the artwork for the website and the album artwork you're looking at right now, as a matter of fact. And then there's you. None of this would be possible without you, all of you.

I've wanted more listener involvement in the show for a long time and I've decided that 2013 is the year to push and really make that happen. It helps that solipsistic NATION has more listeners then ever before, so if you have an idea like Ty for future shows on solipsistic NATION, email me and let's see if we can make it happen. I'm at [email protected]. Or you can reach me on Twitter at solipsistic.

There are a lot of exciting changes in store for solipsistic NATION this year and I'd really like you to be a part of it.

Join us again next week when we'll showcase Naboa Music. We'll listen to select tracks from Naboa Music and talk with the label's founder, Laskfar Vortok.

01. Elastic Bond "You ...Ay! (feat. Locos por Juana)"

02. Elastic Bond "Pierdo el Control"

03. Interview with Andres Ponce and Sofy Encanto of Elastic Bond

04. Elastic Bond "Live DJ Mix"

Welcome to the 300th edition of solipsistic NATION!

Today on solipsistic NATION we'll hear a special live in-studio performance from CRL Studios recording artists, Psykkle. Evan Collingwood is Psykkle and we'll talk about his upcoming album and what his live shows are like.

Before we talk with Evan, I want to welcome all of you who are new to the show. solipsistic NATION got well over a million downloads last month so I know there are a lot of you who are just tuning in for the first time. Let me give you the lay of the land.

The first weekend of the month I feature a live performance from an electronic musician. Some of the live sets are recordings from concerts or, like today's show, recorded live in-studio.

Recent live shows have included Dope Records recording artist Tokeee performing live from Moscow, an in-studio performance from Michael Maricle and Ad Noiseam recording artist Raoul Sinier, live from Toulouse.

It's not all live music, though. The second week of each month I showcase a label that's putting out such amazing releases that it's my duty as host of this show to turn you on to those labels.

Recently I've showcased the aforementioned CRL Studio and Dope Records and Elephant Records. Next week I'll showcase Spiritech, which I'm excited about.

The rest of the month is up for grabs. Sometimes I'll have several guests on the show. That include festival organizers, writers, bloggers, movie makers, software developers-anyone who is connected to the electronic music community. Sometimes I'll have guest DJs on the show and sometimes I even get to get behind the virtual wheels of steel and play the best of all genres of electronic music.

I'll release a show later this month celebrating the big Three-Oh-Oh. It would make more sense to do that on today's show but like I said, the first weekend of every month is dedicated to a live performance and I'd hate to break that tradition.

If you enjoy today's show then give us a quick review on iTunes. Every review helps turn someone on to solipsistic NATION and hopefully I can turn them, and you, on to more of the best of electronic music.

Join us again next week when we'll showcase Spiritech Records and talk to the label's founder, Albert Borkent.

See you then!

01. Psykkle "Chemtrail Lullaby [feat. Mechanical Garden]"

02. Interview with Evan Collingwood of Psykkle

03. Psykkle "In The City of Nodes [Uprising Mix by Blast Radius]"

04. Psykkle "Live"

On today's show we're going to hear a recording of Tokee performing live in Moscow. It's bracing stuff and I just know you're gonna love it!

I'm actually new to Tokee's music. I found out about him when I read a blog post about Dope Records. I thought the label's name sounded cool and downloaded a few tracks from their website expecting to hear some hip hop jams. Instead what I got was everything from IDM to dubstep to metal. Tokee is actually one of the founders of Dope Records and his music encompasses all those styles of music and more. I was so impressed and invited Fariz Suleiman, the other founder of Dope Records, to showcase his label on solipsistic NATION back in November.

I kept in touch with Fariz and extended an invitation to the roster of artists on his label to feature their live sets on future shows. I was delighted when Fariz sent me a recording of Tokee performing in Moscow to me earlier this week. I quickly got a hold of Tokee and arranged an interview. Quick note: Tokee used his iPad to speak to me over Skype during the interview and it doesn't sound half bad. Most of the time I'm talking with my guests over their phones or desktops or laptops. This may be a first. Affordable tech continues to create opportunities.

Anyway, you're in good hands with Tokee. He's going to rock your free world, straight from Moscow!

Join us again next week when we'll talk with James Church, and play select tracks from his label, CRL Studios. Speaking of CRL Studios, Tokee released his Feeling Alive album on CRL.

Dope Records, Tokee, CRL Studios... see how it all comes together?

See you then!

01. Tokee "The Edge"

02. Interview with Tokee

03. Tokee "Intro, Live"

04. Tokee "PA, Live"

05. Paindonor "Loneliness of ... (Tokee 2012 Version), Live"

06. Human Error "Satcom (Tokee Remix), Live"

07. Tokee "AM, Live"

08. Tokee "Exodus, Live"

09. Tokee "Coma (Tokee Versus Human Error Remix), Live"

10. Tokee "Conquistador, Live"

11. Tokee "Genesis, Live"

12. Tokee "Ode to Winter, Live"

13. Tokee "BK, Live"

14. Tokee "Pink Bliss, Live"

15. Paindonor "Shell shock (Tokee 2012 Version), Live"

16. Tokee "Leviticus, Live"

17. Tokee "Black Joy, Live"

18. Tokee "CM, Live"

19. Bouquiniste "Stormtrooper Waltz, Live"

Today on solipsistic NATION we're going to listen to live in-studio performance recorded by Michael Maricle!

Michael has been recording and performing his music for a while now but I only just discovered him when a promotional copy of his recently released The Heart Found You album was sent my way for review. Michael's music was instantly familiar and seems to come from the same tradition that The Orb and Tripswitch others do. I don't quite know what that tradition is but I know it has it's roots in Pink Floyd and beyond.

Michael's music may be rooted in that tradition but it's also distinctly his own. In fact, during today's chat I asked Michael how his music lends itself to dub and new age music. I mentioned it because if you drew a Venn diagram Michael's music would touch upon those genres and more. While those elements are there or suggest those styles they're entirely Michael's and therefore unique.

If you like Michael's live set, and I know you will, then I know you'll also will want to know about Headphone Commute's compilation album, ...And Darkness Came, which drops tomorrow. It's 10 bucks for over 75 tracks!

...And Darkness Came features the world’s top talent in ambient, modern classical and experimental music. Like I said, there are over 75 tracks on this album and features everyone from Ben Lukas Boysen to Ezekiel Honig. You'll really get your money's worth buying this album but the best part is not only do you get to listen to beautiful music, you also help support Doctors Without Borders and The Humane Society to help all those affected by Hurricane Sandy.

HC wants to do good in the world while turning people on to good music.

On next week's show I'll be playing select tracks from HC's compilation album, so stay tuned for that.

See you then!

01. Michael Maricle "Earthbound Misfit"

02. Michael Maricle "Around the Corner"

03. Interview with Michael Maricle

04. Michael Maricle "Live, 2012"

You and I need to talk. I've been gone for two months and I owe you an explanation about where I've been.

The last week of August I took my first vacation in something like seven or eight years. It's been the first time in ages that I've been able to unwind and completely relax. But something unexpected happened: I found I couldn't get back on the saddle.

Let me explain it this way. I've been producing an episode of solipsistic NATION nearly every single weekend for the last five years. That's 290 shows and sure, here and there I took a week off but otherwise I've been working on this show constantly.

Every day I spend a few hours sending out emails, making the rounds on Twitter and Facebook and reading electronic music blogs for ideas for future shows or just to take the pulse of the scene. And if I'm not doing that I'm either interviewing people for future shows or doing research for upcoming interviews.

And for the first time in five years I had a week where I didn't have to hustle. And after that week I realized how big solipsistic NATION had become and how much work goes into making each episode. It was paralyzing. Each week that went by without producing an episode of solipsistic NATION made the following weekend that much more difficult to face.

It's not that I don't enjoy doing solipsistic NATION, because I do. In fact, I've got some big plans in store for the show. But I can't go on like this. Something needs to change and I've got some exciting ideas I want to tell you about on a metacast I'll put out later this month.

In the meantime, I'm back, and I'm back with a bang! On today's show we'll talk with Raoul Sinier and hear a recording of him performing in Toulouse in 2009.

Like so many artists I really like, Ad Noiseam's Nicolas Chevreux introduced me to Raoul when I showcased his label way back in 2008. I was immediately smitten with his deft weaving of staccato glitches, chopped vocals and shattered vocals. After going offline for so long I figured I'd better deliver the good when I came back. Speak Onion let me know on Twitter that he's looking forward to today's show and that he digs Raoul's music.

I'm particularly sentimental about today's show because I interviewed Raoul on my birthday. Granted, I had to wake up at 4:30 am in the morning to accommodate the time difference between me in San Diego and Raoul in Paris. Nonetheless, I was pretty alert and had a good time talking with Raoul. It was a good start to one of the best birthdays I've had the pleasure of experiencing.

Enjoy Raoul's live set in Toulouse! Join us again next week when we'll showcase Dope Records.

See you then!

01. Raoul Sinier "Listen Close"

02. Raoul Sinier "The Incredible Spitting Machine"

03. Raoul Sinier "Huge Samurai Radish (Video Edit)"

04. Raoul Sinier "Green Lights"

05. Raoul Sinier "We Fly Part 2"

06. Raoul Sinier "Listen Close"

07. Raoul Sinier "Ants Mayhem"

08. Raoul Sinier "Live (Toulouse, April 24, 2009)"

Tapage is Tijs Ham and he's our guest on today's show.

While I've always enjoyed his music, I think he's really matured as an artist and as a musician with the release of Overgrown, his latest album on Tympanik Audio. All the elements that Tijs has worked with the last couple of years—the soundscapes, breakcore and IDM—are all there, but his use of all those styles of music is more precise. They're there more to support what he wants to express through his music than overwhelming the music, if that makes any sense. You'll see what I mean, because we'll also hear a live in studio performance from Tijs on today's show.

Speaking of shows, [tlr], who has been a frequent guest on solipsistic NATION, will be performing tonight with Ming and Ping and Mike Diva as NVD-NDR at Til Two here in San Diego. If you live in the area, go see them! I plan to be there so send me a tweet @solipsistic and maybe we can meet up. That's if I get today's show out early enough.

If you can't make the show, fear not. You can download [tlr]'s's performance as NVR-NDR on the October 15th, 2011 edition of solipsistic NATION. TLR was also on the show with tooth_eye, A Beautiful Lotus, Johan Ess and Joshua Decker with a mix of select tracks from their Magicore blog back in March.

One more thing...

I get sent a lot of music, and even though I feature the best of it each week on solipsistic NATION, there's so much that I can't pack it all into an hourly program. Even though I can't play everything that I think is great, I can still tell you about it, so I've started a new feature on the solipsistic NATION website: the song of the day. Recent posts have featured Bonde Do Role, Laid Back and the Drop Out Orchestra. All the music is exceptional and each post features a video or track from the artist. I also include links to download free MP3s if they offer them. If you like the show then I think you'll like the song of the day, so check it out!

Join us again next week when we'll showcase music from Metal Postcard Records.

See you then!

01. Tapage "Leptoid"

02. Tapage & Meander "Delicate Hydroid"

03. Interview with Tijs Ham of Tapage

04. Tapage "Laboratory Panic Advice"

05. Tapage "Sine"

06. Tapage "Notbremse"

07. Tapage "Head Cage"

08. Tapage "Mortuary Beef"

09. Tapage "Live"