Spaceman’s Transmissions

Every so often, I'll make a mix CD of all sorts of ambient MP3's to listen to at bedtime. Things that I like, things that I want to check out, etc. The one that's been in rotation for about 3 months now has been blowing my (sleeping) mind. I finally popped it into the computer to browse its contents. It was Drift Music by Jon Jenkins and Harold Budd, The Stargazer's Journey by Jonn Serrie, a few Brian Eno tunes, and I Fell Asleep At My Desk Making This Mix by Dave at Low Light Mixes. The amount of chill vibe that I've been getting from this CD has inspired me to make this creation. Therefore, I had to look for the real sonic spacemen to help me gather up some really good ambient sounds.

This mix is (once again) for the traveler among the stars. May it bring you tranquility and be the appropriate elevator music for your ascent to the cosmos. Don't forget to search out and support the artists. 

Turn on, tune in, sleep...

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Everywhere we look in everyday life, we are surrounded by numbers: speed limits, item prices, time, counting sheep at night to sleep, and so on. This mix is a tribute to those everyday numbers that make our day a misery or a blessing.

I put on 2 pieces that I almost thought that I would never use, since I consider them sacred epics (12:18 by Global Communication and 1/1 by Brian Eno). But this mix calls for it. I believe that my attachment to these two songs comes from a time when I was taking a course (back in 2005) and I had put a massive amount of MP3's on disc to listen to in my spare time (since I was apart from my family for 2 months, I had nothing BUT time). Among the first songs played from the disc (along with others from Global Communication, Brian Eno, and William Basinski) were these 2 tunes. I heard them over and over at the start of every session, and welcomed them as a 'ceremonial wind-down' to a busy day. I still get that same buzz from hearing them, and I hope that you do as well. I just realized after posting the media on Mixcloud, that there are 8 songs, and that number happens to be my lucky/favorite number. No lie.

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This mix will help usher in the night for you. You can use it to relax, watch the sky go from light to dark, or sleep. As summer starts to draw to an end, we'll soon see less daylight. I'm a bit sad by this, as I've (thus far) had an amazing summer, seeing my kids growing up a bit and getting them out on bicycles every day.

I'm hoping in the near future that I (and some friends of mine) will create some more original music that can be used for some things. I'd like to eventually find the time to put out a full length release to be given away with some nice artwork. Key phrase being 'find the time'.

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Hello, all. This mix is for the daydreaming cloud watcher. This summer made me that (again), since it was my son's first real summer (between kindergarten and first grade) and we spent the whole summer outdoors, riding bikes until dusk, throwing frisbees, flying kites, swimming, and so on. And doing a lot of daydreaming. You can use the music for anything that you'd like, as long as you're not operating heavy machinery.

I got the chance to finally put in a few things that I've wanted to use for a while now. AND, I've been kind of digging finding some things online through Netlabels (you'll see that in the track listing for the label). Basically, ARCHIVE.ORG has a lot of really great stuff (like EL Heath in this mix), and people post many things for free, whole releases of numerous tracks with artwork. I've found some really amazing things there, so I think that it's worth checking that stuff out. I initially started out to do a semi-electronica set featuring a smattering of beat-laden chillout, but stuck with making everything (nearly) beatless (I did manage to cheat and put in a beat with the Bombay Dub Orchestra tune, I love them!). I did use some of the other artists that I wanted to use for a more beat oriented mix, like  Carbon Based Lifeforms and The Cinematic Orchestra. Another time, perhaps.

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I'm doing something out of the ordinary this time. This mix I actually did quite a while ago, it was probably the 3rd or so one that I did (although I made a couple of revisions). The mix is a bit shorter than others that I've done, but I had to find things from the artists that didn't completely melt one's face (sorry Yngwie!). I had some other artists on this in the initial phases (like Mr. Malmsteen, and some Nuno Bettencourt), but didn't want it to be a lot of notes or seem a bit shred-licious. I still wanted to make it pretty chill. That was a challenge.

I'm a professional guitarist by trade. I've traveled and performed in 49 states (no Hawaii yet), and over 20 countries, all in the name of playing guitar. It has gotten me everywhere that I am, and the journey is not over. So it was a matter of time for me to put something like this out. I love guitar, and guitarists, and obsess over new gear, and a lot of volume. I really love ambient music because it is something that I don't do, and it's very calming and minimal. I suppose that I'm a bit envious that the really great ambient artists create a very dramatic feeling with so little. 

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The working title to this post was 'Your Other Mother'. I ended up calling it what it is now for no particular reason. I came up with the concept for this mix while down in Florida, at the beach every other day, flying kites, doing a lot of running in the morning, and seeing great sunsets. Actually, the seed for any and all of this sensation came from my son 'graduating' from kindergarten in June. It brought back all of the amazing things that I remember about being a little kid in the summer time.

It helps that I grew up in a beach town, and my only concern was getting a new frisbee or a cool skimboard, watching airplanes flying overhead spelling out 'Pepsi', cloud watching, riding bike like it was a religion, and every other fun thing that makes being a little kid the best experience ever. Anyhow, enough reminiscing....

This mix I present to you, and hope that you really enjoy it, and most of all that this summer (that we're still clinging to) brings you MUCH joy! I have to advertise the fact that artist known as Bark Cat Bark (Josh Todd) makes some amazing music and plays all the instruments himself. He is no longer going by that moniker, but if you dig deep enough, you can find all of his stuff online. The best part: it's free!

Turn on, tune in, sleep...

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Okay, I know that I said I wouldn't post anything until after I got back from vacation, but I REALLY wanted to put out THIS mix! This is more stuff from my listening sessions in the last few weeks to find pieces of music that really stand out to me. I'm really, really proud of this mix, because I was able to (for the most part) have the most consistent mix without too much abrupt changes in mood and key. That's the goal for me, I think.

One artist in this mix that I listen to a bit regularly is Adam Fielding, who is a great electronica musician, and an even greater singer. I have a few of his releases, and I love the moods that he invokes with is unique choices of chord structure and tone. A must hear artist, in my opinion. His opening track is the most ambient thing that he does that I'm aware of, but, man, what a killer opener!

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I'm going on vacation after finishing up an 18 day tour in the Midwestern US states, and I won't have much time to do a mix for a few weeks since I'm driving down to Florida with the family for a lot of swimming, some fishing and seeing Mickey Mouse.

Since I've been on the road, I've spent a lot of time in the past few weeks listening to a lot of new stuff and jotting down what I wanted to use for a new track. I came up with a science based theme, and decided to put that out. I was originally going to call it 'The Science Of Silence', but went with with the current title.

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I had the MOST gratifying experience of working with people who are not big or even known in the ambient music world to create this mix. It all started when a fellow named Ryan Lucth contacted my via Mixcloud and expressed his interest in having me use his music for mix. I told some musician friends of mine, and stated that I would love to use some stuff that they created. They agreed to it, and here's the mix I came up with.

To give you a small insight of some of these guys and myself, I will say that 2 of these artists I currently work with, and we DON'T make ambient music as a profession (we ARE professional musicians, but we travel across the US 100-120 days a year melting faces!). We are in a rock band, in the Army (no lie, I can't even make that up), and we travel all over the lower 48 (and to Kuwait, and Iraq) playing music and supporting the troops. I love ambient music because it is really left field for me, and I've never done it (until now, there are some things of mine in this mix).

So, first off, Randy Wight is a singer with the band that I (used to) play in. He has written tons of killer music, and believe it or not, it is a lot of odd meter prog rock and fusion. He's my room mate when we travel, and we put on our sleep music every night. Well, when I expressed my interest for a track of his, he felt that being my room mate for years had allowed him to feel qualified to begin creating. He says that Steve Roach is a big influence in his style, due to his dark, cinematic soundscapes. You can hear that in all of his stuff (there are 3 tracks by him), and even named 'The Further' after the movie Insidious (we saw that together hopped up on a massive Starbucks coffee binge).

With Randy's ability to create and compose such amazing backgrounds, I was able to ask him to provide me some background ambiance to to a track that I improvised last year in a hotel room on tour (like now, we are on tour, thus my inability to get a lot of stuff outside of work generated). The end result is the second track 'Burning Sky'. We have since decided to create some more stuff and go under the name 'harmony & decay', so stay tuned on that. The next artist, Kirk Kadish, is also a musician in the US Army Field Band (he is the one on the right of me in the photo from our bio page). He is a monster musician, and keyboardist extraordinaire (and my boss, so I HAVE to say good stuff about him, ha!). All kidding aside, he has been in the ambient scene for some time now, and we have a lot of favorite artists in in common (Steve Roach, Stars Of The Lid, Between Interval, etc.). I was blessed to have him contribute some tracks (I have some more, saving those for a later mix).

The next track, is from Ryan Lucht. Ryan has created music that is generated by photographs and has a release entitled Photogenesis that promises to be pretty amazing. He has posted a small amount to be heard on the above link, and is currently raising money to have it done by pledges. Please, please, pay him a visit, and contribute, so that we can have some amazing music shared with us by an extraordinarily talented musician! I really enjoyed mixing his tracks (I have one more that I want to use on another mix of the same sort very soon!). Thank you, so much, Ryan, for allowing me to create some magic with your tracks!

I have one more artist that I really wanted to work with, but didn't get the tracks in time, so that will have to wait for just a bit. I am EXTREMELY honored to have worked with these musicians, and I really look forward to doing more with them in the future. Make sure you visit these guys, take a look and listen, and support the artists. 

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This mix is geared for the peace seeking traveler soaring among the stars. Again, I tried to keep the mix going from dark to light, to keep things not too heavy or too sweet. Well, not too much to say about this particular offering, I prefer to let the music speak for itself. I'm confident that this music certainly does. Please don't hesitate to support the artists for bringing us such amazing aural experiences!

Turn on, tune in, sleep...

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