Ocean Soundscapes, Heartbeats & the Voyager (Playlist for 3-11-12)

It’s been quite some time since I’ve posted to my blog.  But below is the playlist for my latest program on KKUP (Sunday March 11).  For this program, the music grouped itself nicely into three main courses (with an “appetizer” by Paul Beaver & Bernie Krause to kick things off).  First, we heard some ambient ocean soundscapes by Danna and Clement and by Jonn Serrie (from his brand new album on Valley Entertainment).  Very serene music for the first hour!

Secondly, mostly electronic music with the metaphor of the heartbeat running through it.  The idea of this segment came to me when listening to Klaus Schulze’s 1980 album LIVE — a wonderfully atmospheric piece titled “Heart.”  Mentioned on-air that the early back catalog of Schulze seems to be deleted for now, owing to the financial bankruptcy/demise of SPV Records in Germany.  In fact, many of the older titles (1970’s, 1980’s, early 1990’s) recently vanished inexplicably from the iTunes store!

The third hour morphed from a sort of tribal sound to choral/orchestral/rock music hybrids by Mike Oldfield and the late David Bedford (a classically trained composer & conductor who worked with Oldfiled on numerous projects).  Very unusual music back then — ebullient, free, playful even — neither classical nor pop, but with elements of both.  Who does music like this today?  Seems to me there’s still room for new innovative soundscapes in this arena.  Dan Pound’s new album Cocoon does seem to share some of that energy.

The final song was in honor of SF Bay Area guitarist Ronnie Montrose, who unfortunately died on March 3rd, 2012.  Can’t help but think that “Voyager,” the song by his band Gamma, is not just a song about one man at sea — but that it’s about our lives.  We are all voyagers charting course on an enormous ocean that’s sometimes stormy, sometimes gentle.  There’s fear about what lies ahead, but hope also.

[ARTIST — TRACK TITLE — ALBUM TITLE — RECORD LABEL]

8:00 am
Gustav Holst (cond: Simon Rattle) — “Neptune the Mystic” — The Planets — EMI Classics (theme music)
Beaver & Krause — “By Your Grace” — In a Wild Sanctuary/Gandharva — Warner Bros.
(featuring Moog synthesizer, pipe organ & saxophone)

~8:15 am (Ocean soundscapes set)
Jonn Serrie — “Sunday Morning Peace” & “Maiden Voyage” — Sunday Morning Peace — Valley Entertainment
Mychael Danna & Tim Clement — “To the Land Beneath the Waves” — The Best of Danna & Clement — Mirage/Oasis Productions

~9:00 am (‘Heartbeat’ set)
Klaus Schulze — “Heart” (~1st 11 min) — Live — Revisited/SPV
Steve Roach — “Destination Beyond” (~1st 11 min) — Destination Beyond — Projekt
Mickey Hart — “Music to be Born By” (~1st 12 min) — Music to be Born By — Rykodisc
Paul Ellis — “Chambers of the Heart” — Mysterious Sketches — self-published [download only]
Tangerine Dream — “Invisible Limits” (~1st 8:30) — Stratosfear — Virgin

~10:00 am (from tribal electronic to Native American harmonized peyote chant to orchestral/rock hybrids)
Dan Pound — “Life Stages” (~1st half) — Cocoon — Pound Sounds
Primeaux & Mike — “Awakening” — Prophecy [v/a compilation] — Hearts of Space
Mike Oldfield — “Part Two” (~last 9 min) — Incantations — Mercury (CD reissue)
David Bedford — “Penelope’s Shroud (iii)” & “The Sirens” — The Odyssey — Virgin (orig. vinyl LP)

~10:45 am (after events annc. — a meditative track for flute & keyboard synths)
Deuter — “Traveling the Stars” — Empty Sky — New Earth

~10:55 am (after sign-off — a prog rock classic in memory of guitarist Ronnie Montrose)
Gamma — “Voyager” — Gamma 2 — Elektra (orig. vinyl LP)

William Blake’s Poems Set to Music (2-06-2011)

For the final hour of this week’s “Neptune Currents,” we’ll be hearing musical arrangements and renditions of William Blake’s poems. Some of it is related to ambient/electronic music; some of it is a bit farther afield. William Blake (1757-1827) was an illustrator, engraver, and philosophical writer, as well as a great poet. Some of his poems have inspired songs (and even whole conceptual suites) in both the classical and popular music realms. For more information on William Blake’s influence on contemporary popular culture, see this Wikipedia page (scroll down a ways for information specifically about music).

Below is the playlist of the final portion of my broadcast (2/6/2011), a sort of tribute to the words, alchemical artistry, and ideas of William Blake. Notations in square brackets [ ] indicate from which William Blake work the words were sourced, in cases where it’s not obvious. (e.g. “Tyger” by Tangerine Dream obviously is based on William Blake’s poem of the same title.)

1. U2 — “Beautiful Ghost / Introduction to Songs of Experience” (3:52) — bonus track to The Joshua Tree
2. Tangerine Dream — “Tyger” (5:47) — Tyger
3. Tangerine Dream — “London” (~5:00) (~1st half) — Tyger
4. Loreena McKennitt — “Lullaby” (4:26) — Elemental [incl. lines from the ‘Poetical Sketches’ by Blake]
5. Bill Douglas — “Heaven in a Wild Flower” (4:29) — Eternity’s Sunrise (best-of collection) [words from Blake’s ‘Auguries of Innocence’]

–break– (with Ishq’s “Energeia” (4:01) as backdrop — from the album Sama)

6. UtopiaXO — “Summertime in England: Summer’s Play” (4:02) — The Light [words from The Fly by Blake]
7. The Doors — “You’re Lost Little Girl” (3:01) — Strange Days [an original song, but clearly inspired by Blake’s ‘Little Girl Lost’]
8. Allen Ginsberg — “The Sick Rose” (1:45) — Songs of Innocence & Experience by William Blake, Tuned by Allen Ginsberg
9. Ulver — “Intro” (to plates 21-22) (2:28) — Themes From William Blake’s The Marriage Of Heaven & Hell
10. Ulver — “Plate 3” (2:48) — Themes From William Blake’s The Marriage Of Heaven & Hell
11. Jah Wobble — “Holy Thursday” (5:33) — The Inspiration of William Blake

–break (and Sign-off)–

12. Mastermind — “Tiger! Tiger!” (3:45) — Mastermind III: Tragic Symphony
13. Emerson, Lake & Palmer – “Jerusalem” (2:44) — Brain Salad Surgery
[their rendition of Hubert Parry’s hymn, which was based on lines from the preface to Blake’s epic poem ‘Milton’]

The Bogey Man & the Bogus Man – Halloween Edition (Playlist 10-31-10)

This edition of “Neptune Currents” fell on Halloween 2010, and came just a couple of days before the midterm U.S. national elections. Could not help but provide commentary on the bogey man of horror movies and the “bogus man” of the political machine. Brendan Perry (formerly of the seminal group Dead Can Dance) provided the biting satire of “The Bogus Man,” from his excellent [import only] CD titled ARK.

(ARTIST — TITLE — ALBUM — LABEL)

Gustav Holst — Neptune the Mystic [George Byrd’s metallic mix] — The Planets — n/a
Tuu — The Ghost Road — Tracks Across the Universe [compilation] — privately published (by Jim Brenholts)
Sounding the Deep — Burden — A Union According to Energy — Sonic Meditations
Eberhard Schoener — Shape of Things to Come — Trance-Formation — Innovative Communication
33 Tetragammon & Human Metronome — Spectral Solitude, Part 1 — Spectral Solitude — ResonatingEarth.com [download only]
Robert Rich & B.Lustmord — Synergistic Perceptions — Stalker — Fathom/Hearts of Space
Dino Pacifici — Spectre — The Float Zone — Scorpio Rising Music
David Parsons — Realm of the Hungry Ghost — Maitreya: the Future Buddha — Celestial Harmonies
Popol Vuh* — Ich Mache Einen Spiegel : Dream Part 4 — Affenstunde — Bell

Jorge Reyes — El Costumbre — El Costumbre — Extreme
Dan Pound — Hunter (The) — Wolf Moon — Pound Sounds
Byron Metcalf — Raven Medicine — The Shaman’s Heart — Dr. BAM’s Music
Satori — Gathering Power — Invisible Rhythms — Ancient Sun Music
Tuu + Nick Parkin — Ghosts in the Landscape — Terma — Fathom/Hearts of Space
Popol Vuh* — Ich Mache Einen Spiegel : Dream Part 4 — Affenstunde — Bell

Richard Bone — Fata Morgana — The Spectral Ships — Hypnos
Richard Bone — Palantine — The Spectral Ships — Hypnos
Richard Bone — Voltiguer — The Spectral Ships — Hypnos
Transcendent Device — At One with Time — Architectronics & the Elaborate Construction of Meaning — Mahorka [download only]
Popol Vuh* — Ich Mache Einen Spiegel : Dream Part 4 — Affenstunde — Bell

Brendan Perry — The Bogus Man — Ark — Cooking Vinyl [CD]
Lustmord — The Eliminating Angel (~1st half) — Metavoid — Nextera
Eden — Removed from the Darkness — Gateway to the Mysteries — Third Mind
Johnny Whitehorse — Spirit Rider — Johnny Whitehorse — Silver Wave

Loreena McKennitt — All Souls’ Night — The Visit — Warner Bros.

* music under announcements

25th Anniversary of “Neptune Currents” (Playlist 10-24-2010)

(ARTIST — TITLE — ALBUM — LABEL)

Gustav Holst (cond. by Zubin Mehta) — Neptune the Mystic — The Planets — London
Heavenly Music Corporation — Cloud Structure Silence — In a Garden of Eden — Silent
Michael Stearns — Morning — Jewel — Sonic Atmospheres
Don Slepian — Awakening — The Sea of Bliss [2000 reissue] — DonSlepian.com
Steve Roach — Quiet Friend — Structures from Silence — Fortuna
Steve Roach* — Structures from Silence (part) — Structures from Silence — Fortuna

Jordan de la Sierra — Song of the Rose (~1st 16 min) — Origins: The Early Years of New Age [compilation] Narada
Popol Vuh — Hore, Der Du Wagst — Bruder des Schattens / Sohne des Lichts — Spalax
Constance Demby — Lotus Opening — Set Free — Hearts of Space
Deuter — La Illaha il Allah — Ecstasy — Kuckuck/Celestial Harmonies
Steve Roach* — Structures from Silence (part) — Structures from Silence — Fortuna

Ishq — Bhakti — Orchid — Interchill
Makyo — Chandan (~1st half) — Shringara — Dakini
David Parsons — Varuna Deva — Himalaya — Fortuna
Brian Eno — A Clearing — Ambient #4: On Land — Editions EG
Steve Roach* — Structures from Silence (part) — Structures from Silence — Fortuna

Klaus Schulze — Freeze — Angst [soundtrack] — Thunderbolt
Healer — Go To Sleep (part) — Wonderground — Flying Rhino

Ravi Shankar — Shanti-Mantra — Inside the Kremlin — Private Music

* music under announcements

Infrasonic Bass to the Reimagined Acoustic Guitar (Playlist 10-17-10)

(ARTIST — TITLE — ALBUM — LABEL)

Gustav Holst (cond. by Simon Rattle) — Neptune the Mystic — The Planets — EMI Classics
Klaus Schulze & Lisa Gerrard — Ocean of Innocence (~1st 8:30) — Dziekuje Bardzo / Vielen Dank — Synthetic Symphony/SPV
Dweller at the Threshold — Worlds Without End — Ouroborus — Hypnos/Binary
A Produce — The Big Sleep — Smile on the Void — Hypnos/Trance Port
A Produce — Visions — Smile on the Void — Hypnos/Trance Port
Diatonis — Apotheosis — Ambient Life — Diatonis.com
David Parsons — Vayu — Akash — Celestial Harmonies

Thomas Ronkin — The Gates of Sleep — The Other World [compilation] — Hypnos
David Helpling & Jon Jenkins — Awake — The Crossing — Spotted Peccary Music
David Helpling & Jon Jenkins — For the Fallen — The Crossing — Spotted Peccary Music
Bruce Kaphan — Legacy — Hybrid — Wiggling Air

Mathew Montfort — Purple Raga — Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar — Ancient-Future.com
Michael Hedges — Ursa Major — Torched — Windham Hill
Scott Huckabay — Into the Spirit — Peace Dance — Soundings of the Planet

Steve Roach & Mark Seelig — Nightbloom (part 1 excerpt & part 3) — Nightbloom — Projekt
DreamSTATE — Nocturnal Passage — A Decade Dreaming — e-Space Editions

Ancient Future — Socha, Socha (parts a & b) — Planet Passion — Ancient-Future.com
Ravi Shankar (w/ Yehudi Menuhin) — Prabhati — West Meets East — Angel

Deep Imagination — Awareness Part 1: Space Awareness — Prudence Cosmopolitan Music
Deep Imagination — Awareness Part 2: Clouds — Awareness — Prudence Cosmopolitan Music

Alpha Wave Movement — Synaptic Overdrive — The Mystic & the Machine — Harmonic Resonance Recordings
Emerson, Lake & Palmer — Hoedown — Trilogy — Atlantic

From Kotos & Zithers to Tribal Chants (Playlist 10-10-10)

(ARTIST — TITLE — ALBUM — LABEL)

Gustav Holst (cond. by H.Van Karajan) — Neptune the Mystic — The Planets — Deutsche Gramaphon (sp?)
Klaus Wiese — Dunya (~1st 22 min) — Dunya — Aquamarin Verlag
David Michael & Randy Mead — Wings at Dawn — Heartscape — Purnima Productions
Paul Winter Consort — Koto — Miho: Journey to the Mountain — Living Music
MaEasy — Hentho — Topp Cosmos — n/a
Charles Lloyd — Pathless Path (formerly titled “Polestar”) — Best of HOS: No.1 First Flight [compilation] — Hearts of Space

Osamu Kitajima — Heavenscent — The Source — CBS
Kitaro — Silence — The Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai [volume 1] — Domo
Klaus Wiese* — Akhira II (part) — Dunya — Aquamarin Verlag

Popol Vuh — Mantra of the Touching of the Earth — Die Nacht der Seele: Tantric Songs — SPV/Revisited
Popol Vuh — In the Realm of the Shadows — Tantric Songs / Hosiana Mantra — Celestial Harmonies
Popol Vuh — Wanderer Through the Night — Die Nacht der Seele: Tantric Songs — SPV/Revisited
Popol Vuh — Listen, He Who Ventures — Tantric Songs / Hosiana Mantra — Celestial Harmonies
Popol Vuh — Im der Garten Ruhe (~1st 4:30) — Die Nacht der Seele: Tantric Songs — SPV/Revisited
Peter Michael Hamel — Madras — Piano Performance — Kreuz Plus Musik
Klaus Wiese* — Akhira II (part) — Dunya — Aquamarin Verlag

Tetsu Inoue — The Night in Goa (~1st 11:30) — Organic Cloud — FAX/Ambient World
DreamSTATE — Sandstone — A Decade Dreaming — e-Space Editions
Robert Rich — Black Skies — A Troubled Resting Place — Fathom
David Helpling & Jon Jenkins — For the Fallen — The Crossing — Spotted Peccary Music
Klaus Wiese* — Akhira II (part) — Dunya — Aquamarin Verlag

Ayub Ogada & Union Nowhere — Lhung Tir — Tanguru — Amiata [iTunes download]
Robert Mirabal — Popay Runner — Taos Tales — Silver Wave
Wimme — Enchantment — Nordic Roots 2 [compilation] — NorthSide

Deborah Martin & Erik Wollo — Gathering at Sunrise — Between Worlds — Spotted Peccary Music

The Alchemy of Happiness (Playlist 9-26-10)

(ARTIST — TITLE — ALBUM — LABEL)

Gustav Holst (cond. by Simon Rattle) — Neptune the Mystic — The Planets — EMI Classics

Ishq — Sol (Tokyo live version) — n/a — unreleased mp3
Michael Stearns — Jewel — Collected Ambient & Textural Works: 1977-1987 — Fathom / Hearts of Space
Al Gromer Khan & Klaus Wiese* — The Alchemy of Happiness (~1st half) — The Alchemy of Happiness — Rasa/TeaTime Music
Dan Pound — Inside the Crystal — Interlace — Pound Sounds

Peter Michael Hamel — Felix, Schlaf Ein — Piano Performance — Kreuz Plus Musik
Peter Michael Hamel — Verschmelzung — Piano Performance — Kreuz Plus Musik
Florian Fricke/Popol Vuh — Spirit of Peace 1 & 2 — Keys of Life — Celestial Harmonies
Georgia Kelly — Gypsy Boy with Roses — Gardens of the Sun — Heru
Peter Michael Hamel — Continuous Creation — Piano Performance — Kreuz Plus Musik
Ludovico Einaudi — Reverie — Nightbook — Ponderosa Music & Art

David Helpling & Jon Jenkins — Two Paths — The Crossing — Spotted Peccary Music
David Helpling & Jon Jenkins — From the Smallest Seed — The Crossing — Spotted Peccary Music
Deuter — Deux — Atmospheres — New Earth
Al Gromer Khan & Klaus Wiese* — The Alchemy of Happiness (excerpt) — The Alchemy of Happiness — Rasa/TeaTime Music

Stellamara — Aman Doktor — The Golden Thread — Lucidity Music
Paul Winter Consort — Yangjin (Words of Wish Fulfillment) — Miho: Journey to the Mountain — Living Music
Kutira & Raphael — Taua Mai E (part) — The Calling — Kahua Hawaiian Institute

[Christian] Fennez — Black Sea — Black Sea — Touch Music

World Music Marathon (playlist 10-02-10)

Not really an edition of “Neptune Currents,” this show was my stint for the World Music Marathon at KKUP — it took place on a Saturday morning, not the usual Sunday. I had originally decided not to post this playlist, but I had a request for it. So here it is (there were interruptions to raise money for entirely listener-supported KKUP during this special annual fundraising marathon):

Ayub Ogada & Union Nowhere — Baya Baya — Tanguru — Amiata [iTunes download only]
Habib Koite & Bamada — Kanawa — Baro — Putumayo World Music
Trance Mission — Monkfish — Head Light — City of Tribes
Trance Mission — Head Light — Head Light — City of Tribes

Will Seachnasaigh — Barru (Crocodile) — The Didgeridoo — Dharpa: Songs from the Dreamtime — Lyrichord
Hassan Hakmoun — Live — Life Around the World — Alula
Dissidenten — Monsoon — Trance Planet Vol. 2 [compilation] — Triloka
Sevara [Nazarkhan] — Sen — Sen — Real World
Silvia Perez Cruz & Ravid Goldschmidt — Gitana — Llama — MA Recordings
Kevin Nathaniel — Dream — Mbira Magical — Gwenyambira Productions

Pusaka Sunda — Jeruk Manis — Samagaha — Sakti
Pusaka Sunda — Gagak Lumayung — Samagaha — Sakti
Pusaka Sunda — Jalir Jangji — Samagaha — Sakti

Shweta Jhaveri — Dream — Avishkar — Cosmic Khayals
Loituma — The Bells of St. Michael’s — In the Moonlight — NorthSide
David Hudson — Brunga — Gunyal — Black Sun
Anouar Brahem — The Lover of Beirut — The Astounding Eyes of Rita — ECM
Ayub Ogada — Kothbiro — Trance Planet Vol. 2 [compilation] — Triloka

Ayub Ogada & Union Nowhere — Mudno Gita — Tanguru — Amiata [iTunes download only]
David Gilden — Yarabi — Ancestral Voices — Kora Productions
Joji Hirota — Komori Uta — The Gate — Real World
Hector Zazou & Swara — Zannat — In the House of Mirrors — Crammed Discs
Stellamara — Lado — The Golden Thread — Lucidity Music

Classic Spacemusic & Ambient Piano (Playlist 9-19-2010)

(ARTIST — TITLE — ALBUM — LABEL)

Gustav Holst (cond. by Simon Rattle) — Neptune the Mystic — The Planets — EMI Classics
Rudy Adrian — Trajectory — Distant Stars — Lotuspike
Celer — This Thinking Globe Exploding — Discourses of the Withered — Infraction
Steve Roach — Longing to Be… — Sigh of Ages — Projekt
DreamSTATE — Laika’s Last Orbit — A Decade Dreaming — e-Space Editions
Kevin Braheny — After I Said Goodnight (~last 13 min) — Lullaby for the Hearts of Space — Hearts of Space

Rudy Adrian — Le Songe du Singe [2nd half* = v/o music] — Distant Stars — Lotuspike

Ishq — Fluid Earth — Fluid Earth — Virtual
Heavenly Music Corporation — Anechoic — Anechoic — Silent
Blow Up Hollywood — Take Flight [*also repeated as v/o music] — Take Flight — Hollyskite.com

Bruno Sanfilippo & Mathias Grassow — Cromo (piano & drones) 2 — Cromo [piano & drones] — ad21 Music
All India Radio & Josh Roydhouse — Piano and Ambience (parts 4 & 5) — Piano and Ambience — AllIndiaRadio.com
Ruben Garcia — Lakeland — Lakeland — Close Tolerance Music
Ludovico Einaudi — The Planets — Nightbook — Ponderosa Music & Art
Liz Story — Solid Colors — Pure: Liz Story — Windham Hill/Legacy

Robert Carty — Trance of the Meteor Shower — Starlight Volume 3 — Deep Sky Music
K. Leimer — Common Nocturne (~1st half) — Degraded Certainties — Palace of Lights

Jai Uttal — Gopala — Beggars and Saints — Triloka
Jon & Vangelis — I Hear You Now — Short Stories — Polydor

Antarctic Ambience to Fourth-World Jazz (Playlist 9-05-2010)

The first hour of this morning’s broadcast was in the deep glacial vein of what has come to be called “isolationist” ambient music. A new CD by Irezumi, a young up-and-coming ambient artist, set the tone: an audio painting of Ernest Shackleton’s ill-fated expedition to the Antarctic on the ship Endurance (1914-1916).

(ARTIST — TITLE — ALBUM — LABEL)

8:00 AM (starting w/ the program’s theme music):
Gustav Holst (cond. by Simon Rattle) — “Neptune the Mystic” — The Planets — EMI Classics
Irezumi — parts four & five — Endurance — Snowblood
Biosphere — “Chukhung” — Substrata — All Saints/Thirsty Ear
Adam Schabtach — “Elephant Island” (~1st 21 min) — Elephant Island — Atomic City
Craig Padilla — “Vostok” (~1st 23 min) — Vostok — Spotted Peccary Music

~9:00 AM
Celer — “Stargazing Lily Lacks the Flower” — Discourses of the Withered — Infraction
Combs / Creek / Haller — “Trapped Inside Singularity” (~1st 13 min) — The Singularity — Earth Mantra Netlabel
33 Tetragammon & Human Metronome — “Separate Self” — Resonating Earth — ResonatingEarth.com

~9:30 AM
Brian Eno* — “Thursday Afternoon” (part) — Thursday Afternoon — Editions EG
Satori — “Invisible Rhythm” — Invisible Rhythm — Ancient Sun Music
Steve Roach & Mark Seelig — “Nightbloom” (Part Three) — Nightbloom — Projekt
Steve Roach & Robert Rich — “Nightshade” — Soma — Hearts of Space/Fathom
Brian Eno* — “Thursday Afternoon” (part) — Thursday Afternoon — Editions EG

~10:15 AM
David Helpling & Jon Jenkins — “Awake” _and_ “The Crossing” — The Crossing — Spotted Peccary Music
Deborah Martin — “Deep Roots, Hidden Water” — Deep Roots, Hidden Water — Spotted Peccary Music
Nils Petter Molvaer* — “Exhumation” — Hamada — Thirsty Ear
Nils Petter Molvaer — “Sabkah” — Hamada — Thirsty Ear

~11:55, after final sign-off:
Jon Hassell — “Time and Place” — Last Night the Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes in the Street — ECM Records

* voiceover music during breaks