Today's mix is a spacey ambient mix with a number of dynamite tunes from some recent 2012 releases by Sync24 [ Daniel Segerstad né Ringström] and Solar Fields. It's great to see Sync24's new CD "Comfortable Void" doing so well on the ambient charts. It has been a long time coming for a new solo album from Daniel since the previous "Source" CD and the new one is a truly astonishing release. For the last few years Daniel has been busy producing music as part of the ambient trance duo Carbon Based Lifeforms.
I must say you can definitely hear similarities between recent CBL work and Daniel's latest album. However there is just enough diversity in the tracks to make it stand alone as a independent piece of art. While CBL albums have great stand alone tracks, "Comfortable Void" plays out best as an album to be listened to and appreciated from start to finish.
I must say you can definitely hear similarities between recent CBL work and Daniel's latest album. However there is just enough diversity in the tracks to make it stand alone as a independent piece of art. While CBL albums have great stand alone tracks, "Comfortable Void" plays out best as an album to be listened to and appreciated from start to finish.
We begin today with a tune from Californian Mystical Sun [ Richard Plom ]. Richard has been making ambient music from his studio for over the past 20 years and has released around four albums to date. His music is best described as celestial, cinematic, and thought provoking. From a very young age Richard started to circuit bend toys and other household items into musical instruments and recorded the output by overdubbing between tape decks. Along with these early electronic experiments he studied and mastered the guitar before later transferring his interests to analog synthesizers and computer based sound production by developing his own sequencers and software instruments. I think that this dedication to creating new sounds and devices is what makes his music always sound fresh and engrossing.
Next up are two songs from the previously mentioned new Sync24 album "Comfortable Void". Realistically I could have chosen any song from the album to play in this mix as they are all just that good. So if you enjoy those spacey ambient sounds that Ultimae Records are known for then check out the album on the UR website or follow the above link to Daniel's own website. Following those tracks we have a tune from A.I.A [ Ambient Intelligence Application ] off the "Materia Musica" compilation CD on Ajana Records in 2008. A.I.A is an ambient project from Greece comprised of the two brothers Konstantinos and Nassos Kousiros. I haven't heard much from them since the release of their debut album "Physical Moments" back in 2009. Ajana Records have also been a bit quite after a number of excellent releases since 2005 from artists like Capsula, Khooman, Chronos & C.J. Catalizer and Objekt4. Let's hope we don't have to wait too much longer for some more exceptional music from this quality label.
After A.I.A is a track from John Rigas aka Alwoods. This track can be found on John's album "Aeolian Mode". One of my favorite albums of 2011, Aeloian Mode is an superb release and one of the very few quality chillgressive ( chill progressive ) albums available to date. It certainly is a niche genre and one I would like to see grow more. Apart from John I would also recommend the album "Through Other Glasses" by GMO vs. Dense if you like the slow progressive trance sounds. After Alwoods is a number of Ultimae records artists with some older tunes from Aes Dana and H.U.V.A Network ( aka Aes Dana and Solar Fields ). I wonder if we will ever see another H.U.V.A Network album again ? The two released so far are absolute epics ! These tracks are followed by two picks from the latest Solar Field album "Random Friday" which was released in April this year. With his latest release Solar Fields has gone for a more upbeat tempo into the progressive trance side of things. There are still plenty of ambient atmospheres there and the quality of production is still up to the high standards you can always expect from a SF release. Great album !
Next is a a tune from Russian Astronaut Ape [ Oleg Belousoff ]. This track can be found on the compilation "Everything is Possible" by Trimurti Records. A real treat of a compilation with some fantastic cover art by the amazing surrealist Adrian Borda. Trimurti also released the refreshingly different "Crystal Forest" by "Super Special" which I also recommend for something a little spicy. We finish today with a nice atmospheric track from Carbon Based Lifeforms' "Interloper" album. Another excellent Ultimae Records release.Well that about wraps it all up for this week. Hope you enjoy listening to this ambient trance mix. I also hope you are all enjoying the summer trance festival circuit for you listeners in the northern hemisphere. There are some huge shows coming up that look to have awesome chillout, dub and psybient stages so pack your sleeping bag and hit the road. At the top of the list would have to be the Ozora festival which runs from the 7th to 12 of August in Hungary. Check this for a chillout stage lineup :
Darren Sangita – UK
Digital Mistery Tour – FR
Dubsahara aka Greg Hunter – UK
Gabriel Le Mar – DE
Gaudi – UK
Higher Intelligence Agency – UK
ISHQ – UK
Kaya Project – UK
Mauxuam – NP
Minilogue – SE
Mirror System – UK
Naked Nick – UK
Nick Interchill – UK
Nick Manasseh – UK
Ott – UK
Saafi Brothers – DE
Solar Fields – SW
The Orb – UK
Toires – FR
Tripswitch – UK
Warp Technique – DE
Digital Mistery Tour – FR
Dubsahara aka Greg Hunter – UK
Gabriel Le Mar – DE
Gaudi – UK
Higher Intelligence Agency – UK
ISHQ – UK
Kaya Project – UK
Mauxuam – NP
Minilogue – SE
Mirror System – UK
Naked Nick – UK
Nick Interchill – UK
Nick Manasseh – UK
Ott – UK
Saafi Brothers – DE
Solar Fields – SW
The Orb – UK
Toires – FR
Tripswitch – UK
Warp Technique – DE
And that's just the more well known chillout acts !!
Here is the tracklisting for this week's mix :
Track / Artist
- 01. Place Of Refuge - Mystical Sun
- 02. Nanites - Sync24
- 03. Something Something - Sync24
- 04. Signals & Systems - A.I.A
- 05. Natural Calling - Alwoods
- 06. Aftermath #05 - Aes Dana
- 07. Antimatter [Post] - Aes Dana
- 08. Orientations - H.U.V.A. Network
- 09. Landing Party - Solar Fields
- 10. Light Control - Solar Fields
- 11. Universalis - Astronaut Ape
- 12. Polyrytmi - Carbon Based Lifeforms
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