idle is a selection of about 75 hours of low-intensity, high-density music to get played continuously in shuffle mode. Each featured project is represented by one track. For Sounds Central Radio, works from artists with the letters A-C got shuffled twice, relying on the sophisticated AI of Apple’s Music app.
Category: Terrain
Love for Sound – Engineered Reggae (1979-87)
In the eighties, old and new styles alike get developed in Jamaica. Ragga evolves and electronic production tools enter the studios, helping to establish the digital dancehall era. 37 minutes with Bunny Lie Lie, Charlie Chaplin, Don Carlos, Johnny Clarke, and others.
Ata Tak – Die neuen Herrn (1980-84)
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 – In Lilac Heaths (1974-96)
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, Henry Kawahara, Joanna Brouk, Laurie Spiegel, and others.
Sleep – Dark Ambient Textures (1982-2020)
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.
Obscure Music – Paving the Way for Ambient (1975-78)
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)
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.
Proper Krauts (1971-78)
The stoic, almost machine like drumming of so many West-German tunes from the early seventies becomes the trademark 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, La Düsseldorf, and others.
Future Japan – Technopop (1979-86)
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.
Perplex – Electronic Mood Music (1990-97)
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.
Reggae? – Some Seventies Soul Fire
Fuelled by collaborations between producers, singers, and studio musicians in ever new constellations, the seventies mark the transition from ska and rocksteady into a multitude of styles in Jamaica. 46 minutes with Keith Hudson, Norma White & Brentford Disco Set, Sound Dimension, Susan Cadogan, and others.
Reggae From Scratch – Lee Perry (1968-78)
Known for his innovative studio techniques, unique production style, and weird tunes, Lee “Scratch” Perry combines influences from soul, funk, reggae, and dub in the early and mid seventies. 46-minute mix with 14 tracks from the Perry orbit.
A Dandy From Heaven – Haruomi Hosono (1975-95)
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.
More Poetry of DIY – Using the Means at Hand (1967-2011)
A politician’s elusion becomes poetry, music of the collective subconscious is transferred into a dreamy landscape, and insects’ microtonal sounds get rhythmic. 36 minutes with pieces by Blancmange, Graeme Revell, Gregory Whitehead, Holger Hiller, and others.
Filed Recordings – Miking the World (1958-2018)
“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)
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.
Flokati – Tunes for a Chill-out Zone (1970-2014)
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
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.
Ray-Dee-Oh (1960-2004)
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)
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.
Ten Magic Pianos (1912-2017)
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)
Letters and numbers as material for expression. 40 minutes with inventions by Brion Gysin, Demetrio Stratos, Henri Chopin, Lawrence Weiner, and others.
The Poetry of DIY – Ideas Expressed With Sound (1956-2016)
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.