solipsistic NATION

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"

In the six years of producing solipsistic NATION I've never done a "best of show." There are a couple of reasons for that.

One reason is because there are already enough record stores, magazines and blogs doing a much better job of curating music from the last year than I am. Hell, the Headphone Commute blog dedicates an entire month looking back at the last year alone.

But honestly, I could never care enough to get my act together to do this kind of show. I normally don't keep track of things like this. Besides, I play the best of electronic music on each show, so I'm doing it do already.

There are times, however, where I did make the effort to stay on top of what I thought was hot for a given year. But those were also the years where my computer would die and I'd lose all the meta data that I used to keep track of music I thought was noteworthy. But this year the stars aligned and I'm here to present to you the best electronic music of 2012.

At least according to iTunes. I created a smart playlist to select music from 2012 with three simple criteria: the music had to have been released in the last year, and I had have given it a high rating and, most importantly, I had to have played the hell out of it. Does that make it the best electronic music of 2012? Maybe not, but it's good enough for me.

By the way, when I give a numerical ranking all it means is that I played that particular song or album a lot last year and also gave it a high ranking. I didn't give it any more thought than that.

Show the artists some love by buying a couple of tracks, or albums, if you're feeling especially extravagant.

Check back again next year and we'll do it again. And check back next week, we've got a special live set from CRL Studios recording artists, Psykkle!

See you then!

01. Shawn Lee "Tiger Style"

02. Emsy Prank "Backside"

03. DJNSM "XYZ"

04. Piotr Kurek "Heat"

05. Leaving Richmond "Tiny Things"

06. Renart "Conte D'Eté"

07. Tomas Barfod "Broken Glass"

08. Dorit Chrysler "Winther Glow"

09. Blockhead "Meet You At Tower Records"

10. Clark "The Pining Pt3"

11. Brambles "Reflected Consciousness"

12. Maps and Diagrams "Oblonga"

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

14. wAgAwAgA "phaseyphase"

15. Deadbeat "Dub Des Erables"

Good grief! I had a four-day weekend and it took all four of them to produce today's show, never mind the hours spent arranging and preparing for the interviews featured on today's show! That's the problem with the star-studded-ultra-mega-cool editions of solipsistic NATION, they're totally worth it but that still doesn't make producing the show any less backbreaking. Okay, I'm working on a computer—it doesn't make producing the show any less carpal tunnel inducing. And, hey, have you heard? Sitting can kill you!

Sorry, A little woozy. I'm still spent from producing today's show. But I crushed it. Let me tell you how.

Come back again next week and we'll do it all over again. But completely different. Next week I do do something I thought I would never do: I'll be playing the best songs and best albums of 2012.

How am I doing? Tell me what you think at [email protected] or Tweet me @solipsistic.

See you next week!

Photo Credit: ©schillaci70

01. ESA "The Shape Of Hate To Come"

02. Opposite Exhale "Stare Into The Sun"

03. Interview with Paul Nielsen, founder of Tympanik Audio

04. Access To Arasaka "Fragments Of A Hologram Rose"

05. Integral "Empty"

06. Lodsb "Cyan"

07. Zan Lyons "Devil's Advocate"

08. Interview with Wassim, cofounder of The Centrifuge

09. Vaetxh "Resonant Bridge"

10. Alphabets Heaven "Darma (Kwala's Headshotboyz Reremix)"

11. Muta "Movie Hour"

12. Interview with PK, founder of King Deluxe

13. Johan Ess "Spastick Witchcraft (featuring Gianna Love)"

14. Johan Ess "Gematria"

15. Interview with Johan Ess

16. [tlr] "Crystalline Space Entity"

17. [tlr] "Gzngztrzm"

18. Interview with [tlr]

19. [tlr] "Jungular"

20. Julian Sartorius "October 2011"

21. Julian Sartorius "May 2011"

22. Interview with Julian Sartorius

23. Julian Sartorius "September 2011"

24. Julian Sartorius "December 2011"

25. Julian Sartorius "January 2011"

26. Julian Sartorius "May 2011"

27. Julian Sartorius "November 2011"

28. Julian Sartorius "March 2011"

Today on solipsistic NATION we're going to listen to select tracks from CRL Studios and talk with the label's founder, James Church. You may be more familiar with him as Lucidstatic.

If you're new to solipsistic NATION you might be under the impression from last week's and today's show that all I play is IDM and industrial, and you'd be wrong. I play the best from all genres of electronic music.

It just so happens that a few months ago I had Fariz Suliman from Dope Records on the show. He raved about CRL Studios. Up to that point I had know about Lucidstatic but I had never made the connection that he also ran a label, and once I started listening to tracks from CRL Studios I knew I had to have him on solipsistic NATION to showcase his label. The music is just that great!

It's just coincidence I scheduled Dope Records recording artist, Tokee, and today's show featuring CRL Studios, back to back.

Today's mix was lovingly crafted by Chris Lacroix, AKA, DJ Siborg.

Funny thing about the mix. Behind the scenes I listen to a lot of music in order to present to you the very best in electronic music. I do a lot of this on the go so I'm constantly pulling out my iPhone and rating and noting songs that I might play in future editions of solipsistic NATION. Whenever I played DJ Siborg's mix I'd get lost in the music and get so excited about what I was listening to that I'd pull out my phone to rate the track I'm listening to and realize "Oh, right, right, this is a mix, not an individual track." That's how I knew this was a great mix and I'm thrilled to share it with you!

Before I get out of Dodge, I want to apologize if I sounded kind of like a douche bag on last week's show for talking about how quickly solipsistic NATION is growing. I'm just just excited. I always thought there was a larger audience for the show and it's gratifying to see how many people are downloading solipsistic NATION.

Oh, and, uh, we're at 342,116 downloads for January so far. Just in case you were wondering.

Look, I realize that Pete Tong or Tiësto probably get over 342,000 downloads a week for their podcasts. But I'm not them and I do a very different kind of show and 342,000 downloads is a big number for me. Bigger than I ever expected. So let's keep this thing going, tell a friend, tell a stranger about the show.

I'll make it worth your while. Join us again next for next week's mega-ultra-awesome show featuring Mark Johnson from Zite, a beautiful news aggregator that's become essential in producing this show! We'll also talk with Julian Sartorius about his Beat Diary project! We'll chat with _TLR_ and Johann Ess about their new albums they just released! We'll also celebrate King Deluxe's two year anniversary and The Centrifuge and Tympanik Audio's five year anniversaries!

Whew. I think I just burned through my exclamation point quota for 2013.

See you next week!

01. Cloud Roots "Nome (4 am)"

02. Interview with James Church, founder of CRL Studios

03. Glue On Smile "G_os"

04. Sleepless "The End"

05. Mono Penguin "Reaching Heaven"

06. Adonikam "Perpetual Symmetry"

07. Cryogenic Echelon "You're Still Lonely (ft Sabine Snaps, Studio-X, and Martin Veress)"

08. Human Error "Puppetshow"

09. Interview with James Church, founder of CRL Studios

10. Lithia "Tarnish (Interface Remix)"

11. Angel Of Violence "Mr. Sleep"

12. Viscera Drip "Suspiria"

13. Scrap/Grinder "To Make A Ring"

14. Virtual Terrorist "Gridwalkers (ft Psykkle)"

15. Tokee "Black Joy"

16. Interview with James Church, founder of CRL Studios

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"

2012 has been a fantastic year for solipsistic NATION!

In 2012 began streaming on taintradio. At first glance it seems like an off fit—taintradio is primarily a jazz station, but that also include jazz on the fringes like Naked City and Last Exit. If you kind of squint your eyes you can see how solipsistic NATION might fit into taintradio's overall format. Whatever, I don't care. I'm just thrilled and honored to be included on taintradio's roster. Check out my interview with Bob Rogers, the founder of taintradio, here.

There are a lot of new listeners to solipsistic NATION this month and if that's you, welcome aboard. You're probably wondering what this show is all about so let me get you up to speed.

The first weekend of each month I feature a live performance by an electronic musician. This month our guest was Michael Maricle, and that show got over one 144,624 downloads, so that may be how you found out about solipsistic NATION. The second weekend of each month, as I mentioned earlier, I showcase a record label that's putting out such amazing releases that it's my duty as host of this show to turn you on those labels.The rest of the month on solipsistic NATION is chock full of interviews and music and from time to tine, a guest DJ comes to town.

On today's show we'll bring in the new year with our guest DJs Juan Diego Borda and Andres “Popa” Erazo. Together they are Palenke Soultribe!

Palenke Soultribe is a loose-knit collective of musicians based out of Los Angeles. I've been a fan of their music since the release of their Tropic N Heaven album back in 2007. Such a fan that I was kicking myself earlier this year for not having them on the show yet. I sent them an invitation to cone on the show to play live. They declined because they are hard at work on their forthcoming album but they were generous to put together an awesome mix to close out 2012 and bring in 2013! Toss this mix onto the stereo at the next party you go to tonight!

On that high note, I want to thank all the bands and musicians, labels and festival organizers, filmmakers and documentarians, photographers and artists who make solipsistic NATION. And of course I want to thank you for listening. I'm stunned at how many there are of you. Tell a friend about the show, let's see how big solipsistic NATION can get in 2013.

See you next year!

01. Palenke Soultribe "The Sierra Brothers (Wilcox Remix)"

02. Interview with Juan Diego Borda and Andres “Popa” Erazo of Palenke Soultribe

03. La Makina del Caribe "Levemente Obsceno"

04. Munchi "Sandungueo"

05. ETC!ETC! "Temblando"

06. Palenke Soultribe Remix "Bonkers"

07. Frikstailers "Cumbia Kamisama"

08. ETC!ETC! "Fresh"

09. Palenke Soultribe "Oh Mama! (Kaddyn Palmed Remix)"

10. Palenke Soultribe "Oh Mama! (DJHD Remix)"

11. Shanti Roots "Cumbia Nightlife"

12. Gregor Salto/The Flexican "Maldita Cumbia"

13. Andy Von Paramus "La Cumbia (Dutchworx Rmx)"

14. Sidney Samson "Riverside (Palenke Soultribe Remix)"

15. Palenke Soultribe "La Tierra No es Mia"

16.Palenke Soultribe "El Cocuyo"

17. Hatiras, Nom De Strip "Roman Bromanski"

18. Palenke Soultribe "Africa is the Mother of the Beat (feat.Scrip)"

Each edition of solipsistic NATION is evergreen because they rarely make any mention of current events. There's no talk about the latest tragedy, the latest scandal or the latest war because solipsistic NATION is place for at least an hour every week where you can get away from all of that, where it just about the music. When you listen to solipsistic NATION you join a temporary nation of solipsists. Don't worry, all those worldly matters will still be waiting for you when the show ends.

But on today's show were going to listen to select tracks from Headphone Commute's ...And Darkness Came compilation album, an album that would not exist if not for Hurricane Sandy. I can't simply not talk about it.

...And Darkness Came features 87 tracks of beautiful music. But ...And Darkness Came is more than just beautiful music. It also benefits all of those affected by Hurricane Sandy, the largest Atlantic hurricane on record, which has devastated portions of the Caribbean, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States in late October 2012. 100% of all the proceeds generated from the sale of this album will be donated towards two charitable organizations: Doctors Without Borders and The Humane Society. The artists on the release have been hand-picked to showcase the world's top talent in ambient, modern classical, and experimental music and features many unreleased pieces composed exclusively for the cause.

HC from the Headphone Commute music blog invited me to put together a mix of my own featuring tracks from ...And Darkness Came. Unfortunately, I was waylaid by a cold last weekend and couldn't get that show out. In fact, I'm still under the weather but fortunately HC put together a mix of his own, which we'll listen to today. You can also listen to the mix without my blathering here.

If you're a long time listener of the show then you already know I'm a big fan of HC. If you're new to the show, then today's edition of solipsistic NATION serves as a great example of the kind of music HC blogs about: it's beautiful, yes, but it's also luxurious, breath taking, intimate but at the same time, larger than life.

You can purchase ...And Darkness Came at headphonecommute.bandcamp.com or go to headphonecommute.com for more information. If I know HC, he's hard at work putting together his list for the best music of 2012 so you'll want to subscribe to his blog just for that. It usually takes him the entire month of January to get through it all.

Join us again next week when we'll wind down 2012 with a special mix from the Palanke Soultribe.

See you then!

01. Gen Ken Montgomery "Sandy Drain"

02. The Frozen Vaults "A Year Without Summer"

03. Clem Leek "A Modern Hymn For NYC"

04. Good Weather For An Airstrike "Fred's Song"

05. riverrun "Maallinen Kuu"

06. Roel Funcken "Trideo Vaperz"

07. Pinkcourtesyphone "pixels came and broke your heart"

08. Julien Neto "Los Cien Enamorados"

09. Jóhann Jóhannsson "Melodia (iv) (Live at Ancienne Belgique)"

10. Nils Frahm "Sol"

11. Ólafur Arnalds "Tomorrow's Song"

12. Dustin O'Halloran "Fragile N.2"

13. Clint Mansell "Merry Christmas (It’s The End Of The World)"

14. Somatic Responses "Fear Chasing Hope (Zombie Subway HC Edit)"

15. SaffronKeira "Endless Agony of Being Sick (Edit)"

16. Valgeir Sigurðsson "Big Reveal"

17. Dakota Suite & Quentin Sirjacq "Now I Am Lost"

18. Ben Lukas Boysen "16°"

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"

Today's show we'll been listening to noise and sound. Some of it, like Boyd Rice's Sick Tour, is blistering and could reduce a cinder block to dust in mere seconds. Some of it, like Kingbastard's "Danlan Speaks" could lull you to a deep, luxurious sleep. Some sounds like the sound of a 56K modem are fast disappearing.

Boyd's experimentation with sound opened my head up to what music could be. In fact, you can hear his influence in the introduction to each episode of solipsistic NATION. Those harsh frequencies trace their lineage back to Boyd and they kind of serve as a fuck you to the listener. It says: Hey, this is a different kind of show. If it's not for you, shove off. We don't need you. Go listen to something safe.

I discovered Boyd right about the time I discovered Survival Research Laboratories and their robot gladiator arenas and V. Vale's Re/Search magazines and the Murder Can Be Fun calendars and a whole bunch of other twisted shit that informed who I would become as a young man.

Getting back to noise that fades into oblivion...

The Museum of Endangered Sounds is an online archive of the archaic noises

of technology and is here to save the day. The hard static of 56k modems, the sounds of VCRs, and operators of payphones are just some of the sounds that you'll find at the Museum.

The Museum of Endagered Endangered lists Brendan Chilcutt as the curator of the museum but when I asked him to join us on today's show I discovered that Brendan is actually a cutout for Phil Hadad, who is just one of the people behind Brendan and the Museum.

Join us again next week for a special live set from Michael Maricle.

See you then!

Photo Credit: ©S2OK

01. NON/Boyd Rice "Warm Leatherette"

02. NON/Boyd Rice "Sick Tour"

03. Interview with Boyd Rice

04. Laibach "Get Back"

05. Ambassador21 "Power Rage Riot Death (Legion Mix)"

06. David Morneau "Exiles (David Morneau Doomsday Mix)"

07. Dalglish "3.2008"

08. Kingbastard "Danlan Speaks"

09. Korallreven "Pago Pago"

10. Khalija "Khalija Part VII (Flood's Dream)"

11. Interview with Phil Hadad, co-curator of the Museum of Endangered Sounds

12. Toshinori Kondo "Clear Water"

13. Pale Sketcher "Plans That Fade (Faded Dub)"

Once a month on solipsistic NATION I showcase a label that's putting out such amazing releases that I feel it's my duty as host of this show to turn you on to that label. On today's show we're going to listen to select tracks from Dope Records and talk to the label's founder, Farees Suleiman.

I wish I could tell you how I came across Dope Records. I mean, I know I came across them through Zite on my iPad. I've created a section that focuses on electronic music, so even though I came across Dope Records through Zite, Zite pulled the website from any hundred or so blogs dedicated to electronic music. So who knows?

What I do know was that once I was at their web site and started listening to some of the tracks they made available online I became a fan. I expected that a label called Dope Records would feature hip hop releases but I was confounded when I heard everything from ambient to metal to dubstep to noise. I loved it! So I reached out to Farees to join us on today's show. I've included links in the playlist below to purchase nearly all the tracks heard on today's show. Show Dope Records and the artists some love by buying a track or two that you dug, an album or two if you're feeling particularly generous.

Quick note: today's interview was actually recorded back in August but as I mentioned last week, I went on a sabbatical for a couple of months so it had to wait. I apologize to you and Farees for the delay. But trust me on this, it is worth the wait.

Join us again next week. We'll do it all over again. But completely different.

01. Tokee "Pa (2012 Remix)"

02. Interview with Farees Suleiman, founder of Dope Records

03. Tokee "Th (2012 Remix)"

04. [makina] "Kabul"

05. Tokee "Agony"

06. Paindonor "Shell Shock"

07. Tokee "Conquistador"

08. Meteo Xavier "Amenemhetopelzai"

09. Interview with Farees Suleiman, founder of Dope Records

10. Paindonor "Loneliness of the Shot Down Bomber"

11. [makina] "Fly With Me"

12. Bouquiniste "Unknown Track"

13. [makina] "Eat tha' Bass"

14. Meteo Xavier "Navi Whisperwilde"