Although it was created in March, this mix shows little signs of “Spring”.
There was no intentional relation, but inevitably the devastating Japan Earthquake, and the frightening nuclear disaster following it, somehow found its way into this mix.
The result: a rather dark overall atmosphere, which seems to leave little room for hope.
But at the same time, in Europe, winter retreats and daylight returns.
Nature shows that it can destroy as well as recuperate.
When I started working on this ‘single artist mix’ featuring music and sounds from Arno Peeters, I did not realise that creating a mix-collage based on soundscapes would be more difficult than one based on single tracks.
A soundscape is a collage in itself – and using fragments from soundscapes to build another soundscape is like ripping up a collage and presenting the fragmented details out of their original context, rearranging them to create a new caleidoscopic image.
The original context gets lost, and the result feels like an aural stream of consciousness that may not exactly be “easy on the ears” …. but may prove to be a fascinating exploration of imaginary territories..
When I read that a new Fovea Hex album will be released in the “Very-Imminent-Future”, this revived fond memories of their 2007 box set called “Neither Speak Nor Remain Silent”.
Two quotes may introduce this fascinating collection: Brian Eno thought these were “Some of the Most Extraordinary Songs I’ve heard in Years”, and The WIRE aptly summarized it this way: “If Emily Dickinson had ever been allowed to make a record, this is probably what it would have sounded like”.
These comments are all about the songs, but I was also impressed by the way Fovea Hex combined the (unmistakable English) “folk” tradition, their sweet sounding but very strange and mysterious vocal poetry, with a daringly experimental sound backing – even to the most extreme on the stretched minimalist remixes of the Hafler Trio (Andrew McKenzie) on the bonus versions included in the original limited special edition.
What exactly happens at the moment night changes back into day again, when darkness slowly retreats and light comes back in?
Are we aware of what happens outside, at that time of day most of us are still sleeping?
What sort of animals or creatures are hiding from the light, and what sort finally dare to come out again?
Would we discover “Dawn Secrets” when we’d leave our own safe and familiar surroundings?
To be honest, I did not start this mix with this theme in mind…it just ‘dawned’ on me when listening to it when it was almost finished…But from the start, I wanted this mix to have a strong ‘environmental’ feel (but not only include field recordings).
Imagine yourself in deep sleep. Very deep sleep.
Unaware of your surroundings, unable to control images built from memories, unable to distinguish your dreams from impressions originating from the outside world.
At times, following a gentle sleep cycle, your consciousness slowly raises – almost up to the point of waking up. At these moments, the outside world is more perceptible, you’re vaguely aware of what’s happening around you.
But not for long, because you gradually sink back to the realm of subconscious deep sleep.
This mix was created in november, 2010. It was ‘premiered’ on Fluid Radio Mixcloud
I guess I should start with a warning for regular visitors: this mix is different from what you’re used to.
First: it’s definitely not an “ambient mix”, although there’s quite a lot of ambience involved in this music.
Second: it’s not a compilation mix, but a mix featuring the music of one artist only: Michel Banabila.
A collaborative mix by Muttley (Subversion Weblog) and myself.
The mix is divided in ‘sets’ getting shorter each round.
In minutes: 20-20-10-10-5-5.
Every ‘set’ (except the first, of course) is created as an associative reaction to the the preceding one.
Though the title of Arve Henriksen’s opening track (Stille Veg, Quiet Road) was the working title for this mix, I finally decided to call it “Invisible Ink” – referring to the quote from Laurie Anderson’s track from “Homeland”, which may describe the confused global state (and – if you wish – the political state of Holland in particular):
Was the Constitution written in visible ink?
Has everybody here forgotten how to think?
Is this great big boat starting to … sink?”
But apart from this, this journey along the ‘Stille Veg’ may present some interesting encounters – some dark and mysterious, others enchanting and optimistic…
Since 1995, X-Rated (a weekly three hour radio show on dutch alternative music radio channel Kink FM) has been a “platform for ‘difficult’ music”. Experimental, avant-garde, poetry, soundscapes: uncensored and uncompromised.
(The FM in the channel’s name is somewhat misleading, since it’s a cable radio station that can also be received via internet or satellite).
X-Rated‘s existence for more than 15 years is nothing short of remarkable, because Kink FM (daughter of Veronica Broadcasting company) is a commercial station, while the music X-Rated features is about the opposite of “commercial”. Since dutch public radio has ended (almost) all of the experimental radio shows, X-Rated is about the last dutch program hosting experimental electronic music.
Needless to say that I’m very very proud to have X-Rated broadcast a full one-hour mix, especially created for this occasion. This mix was broadcast on the May 23, 2010 show (the first day of Pentecost).
Vortex was especially created for X-Rated. Thanks to Bob Rusche for broadcasting this on his show!
