Trance is an important aspect in Angus MacLise’s sound works. The drummer, composer, poet and calligrapher was a link between Beat culture, New York City’s art scene in the Sixties, and the hippies. 78 minutes with material by an originator who never released a record during his short life.
Wearing eyeball helmets is the trademark of the Californian artist collective The Residents. Inspired by avantgarde and pop, the band anticipated the idea of audio piracy and developed groundbreaking multimedia projects. 42-minute mix with some of the group’s conceptional thematic compositions and deconstructions of Western popular music.
Most artists involved in what critics called no wave in 1978 shared a nihilistic mindset as they explored realms ranging from abrasive noise to mutant disco in New York City. 44-minute mix featuring tracks by Boris Policeband, Bush Tetras, Jill Kroesen, Konk and others.
Equally at home in the art world and the artists’ pub, Ata Tak‘s proprietors manage their label from a nice office in Düsseldorf; in the adjoining music studio, they pursue the idea of a world rebellion with sound – as Der Plan. 32 minutes with Holger Hiller, Minus Delta T, Picky Picnic, Wirtschaftswunder and others.
Quiet ambient music may be rooted in cybernetic spirituality or get played in hospitals. It can be cinematic or resemble a landscape; and its production process might utilize huge quantities of graph paper.
61 minutes with Anthony Manning, Inoyama Land, Joanna Brouk, Laurie Spiegel and others.
Despite their gentle and surreal nature, these tracks weren’t necessarily made with the idea of sleep in mind; their dark ambient textures, however, are inspired by memories, sounds, or discoveries. 51 minutes with Brian Eno, David Toop, Monolake, Thomas Köner and others.
With his label Obscure, pop star Brian Eno starts a series with experimental listening music in 1975. The artists involved want to leave their previous approaches towards making music behind, work with new technologies or take inspiration from ancient traditions. 71 minutes with Gavin Bryars, Harold Budd, Max Eastley, Michael Nyman and others.
Relics – Miniatures on Air (1953-2019)
- 30. October 2021
- Tagged as: Alec Finlay, Allen Ginsberg, Alva Noto, Andy Warhol, Anne James Chaton, Anne Waldman, Brian Hodgson, Cardboard Air Band, Chris Watson, Daphne Oram, David Soldier, Dragibus, Helga Goetze, Ingrid Wiener & Chor, Jack Smith, Jürgen Ploog, Karen Michel McPherson, Katsuro Tajima, Ken Nordine, Kraftwerk, Laurie Anderson, Laurie Spiegel, Lou Giansante, Magazzini Criminali Music, Maria Jardardottir, Mark E. Smith, Max Brand, Moondog, Paul de Vree, Paul Vangelisti, Peder Mannerfelt, People Like Us, Richard Lair, Soliman Gamil, The Fugs, Timothy Leary, Yasuaki Shimizu, Zigaretten rauchen
Relics tell stories, take listeners on acoustic journeys, or document situations. They can be poems, studio productions, field recordings, or something completely different. 53-minute mix representing Paul Paulun’s series Fundstück on DLF-Kultur with pieces by Anne Waldman, Helga Goetze, Mark E. Smith, Timothy Leary and 26 other artists.
The stoic, almost machine like drumming of many West-German tunes from the early Seventies became the hallmark of a new sound – different from British pop or American rock, and in no way related to the country's horrible Nazi past. 45 minutes with Cluster, Faust, Harmonia 76, Wolfgang Riechmann and others.
Future Japan – Technopop (1979-86)
- 10. August 2021
- Tagged as: Apogee & Perigee, Dolette McDonald, Friends Of Earth, Haruomi Hosono, Imitation, James Brown, Japan, Jun Togawa, Keiichi Suzuki, Maceo Parker, Masumi Hara, Miharu Koshi, Non-Standard, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Steve Scales, technopop, Testpattern, The Beatniks, The Kakutougi Session, wave, Yasuaki Shimizu, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Yen Records, Yukihiro Takahashi
Yellow Magic Orchestra’s concept of connecting pop, dance music, and Far Eastern folklore quickly becomes synonymous with technopop in Japan. The band’s members also occur in each others solo recordings and cooperate with other musicians. 49 minutes with Apogee & Perigee, Friends Of Earth, Miharu Koshi, Ryuichi Sakamoto & The Kakutougi Session and others.
After years of increasing harshness on the dancefloor culminating in Gabber, round 1992 the time has come for more friendly grounds. 55 minutes from the advent of personal computers and internet for everyone – with tracks by Acid Jesus, The Black Dog, Cylob, Like A Tim and others.
Aware of musical traditions and eager to incorporate the latest technology in his productions, Haruomi Hosono is one of the most versatile and influential figures in Japanese popular culture. 44 minutes with various collaborations and solo works by the co-founder of Yellow Magic Orchestra.
“Listen to your world. It may be more interesting than all the things you buy to escape from it.” 46-minute mix that proves Sasha Frere-Jones’ observation from 1999 right – with field recordings by Alejandra & Aeron, Bill Fontana, Chris Watson, Paul Bowles and others.
Ambient Japan (1981-2004)
- 3. March 2021
- Tagged as: Haruomi Hosono, Hiroshi Yoshimura, Inoyama Land, Japan, Lady Murasaki Shikibu, Masahide Sakuma, Masahiro Sugaya, Molissa Fenley, Pacific Flora, Pappa Tarahumara, Ryuichi Sakamoto, The Beatniks, The Tale Of Genji, Wacoal Art Center, Yasuaki Shimizu, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Yoshio Ojima
Free of artificial ornamentation, well balanced, and designed with love for detail, some Eighties’ Japanese ambient music resembles the concept of the countries’ traditional gardens. 51 minutes of music striving to enhance environments – with works by Haruomi Hosono, Inoyama Land, Masahiro Sugaya, Yasuaki Shimizu and others.
Reminiscent of a certain time or place, these tunes are for a chill-out zone. 49 minutes with memories and fantasies by Cluster & Eno, Geir Jenssen, Graeme Revell, Muslimgauze and others.
Sekt oder Karies – West-Germany in the 80s
- 21. August 2020
- Tagged as: Alexander Hacke, Andreas Dorau, Claudia Skoda, Conrad Schnitzler, DAF, Der Plan, Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, Die Dominas, Die Tödliche Doris, Die Zimmermänner, Düsseldorf, Einstürzende Neubauten, Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle, Hamburg, Holger Hiller, Ingrid Wiener, Ingrid Wiener & Chor, Kumpelnest 3000, Manuel Göttsching, Martin Kippenberger, Max Müller, München, Rosi Müller, Santrra, Säurekeller, Sentimentale Jugend, Sternhagel, Xao Seffcheque, Zickzack
Owing to a straightness rooted in punk, new things and personalities get invented everywhere and all the time in West-Germany’s music scene of the Eighties. 53 minutes with Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle, Holger Hiller, Ingrid Wiener & Chor, Martin Kippenberger and others.
Ten pieces about the mysteries, realities, and prospects of airwaves. 30-minute mix with works by The Android Sisters, Dan Lander, Negativland, Phil Harmonic and others.
Enhanced Poetry (1956-1991)
- 30. May 2020
- Tagged as: Augusto De Campos, Bernard Heidsieck, Bob Cobbing, bpNichol, Charles Amirkhanian, Demetrio Stratos, Enzo Minarelli, Ernst Jandl, Four Horsemen, Gerhard Rühm, Henri Chopin, Jean-Claude Gagnon, Ladislav Novák, Neil Mills, Paul de Vree, Poetry, Polypoetry, Sten Hanson, text sound, Tibor Papp
With reel to reels, poetry reaches the next level in the 1950s – language gets arranged in completely new ways. 37 minutes with Ernst Jandl, Henri Chopin, Neil Mills, Sten Hanson and others.
For some, the piano is the instrument of instruments. Here are ten good reasons why. 40 minutes with works by Charlemagne Palestine, Graeme Revell, Henry Cowell, Johanna Magdalena Beyer and others.
Letters & Numbers – Ingredients for Sound Art (1917-2006)
- 22. April 2020
- Tagged as: bpNichol, Brion Gysin, Christof Migone, Dada, Demetrio Stratos, Dieter Roth Orchester, Elaine Mills, Futurism, Halim El-Dabh, Henri Chopin, Khan, Klaus Groh, Lawrence Weiner, Letters numbers, Lettrism, Neil Mills, Nelson Morpurgo, Peter Downsbrough, Tellus, Vasiliy Kamensky, Vittore Baroni
Letters and numbers as material for expression. 40 minutes with inventions by Brion Gysin, Demetrio Stratos, Henri Chopin, Lawrence Weiner and others.
39 minutes of ideas being expressed with sound: made up trains, works with found sounds, or a collective approach in making music – realized by Amy Taubin, Angus & Hetty MacLise, Tom Recchion, Tuli Kupferberg and others.