The latest mix in our series for Apple Music is by S/A/M. Here’s what she says about it:
This mix flows from an almost meditative state moving through ambient and avant guard sounds that heal and stimulate the senses to chilled out jazz rhythms, trip-hop beats and haunting Spanish guitars before delving into deeper more sensual beats. There is a definite sense of femininity throughout the mix which comes from the grace and style of the artists featured. From the binaural sounds and therapeutic frequencies of composer and sound designer Hinako Omori to the experimental witchery of Scottish music artist CLAIR and including an upfront poetry rendition of Erica Jong’s Alcestis On The Poetry Circuit by vocalist and songwriter Vanessa Daou plus a cover version of Nina Simone’s Blackbird and also includes tracks by iconic women I grew up listening to. The mix explores themes of time, calm, love, desire, struggle, fun, frolics and the duality that is life.
Attempting to recreate the golden yesterdays of Jose Padilla`s White Isle sunsets with the tunes of today…
a.s.o. / Rain Down / Low Lying Records
a.s.o. aka Lewie Day and Alia Seror-O’Neil, release a second single, Rain Down, on their label, Low Lying Records. Rattling away on a familiar breakbeat it retains the vibe of their debut. With subliminal scratching, the production’s a conscious nod to the `90s sound of Bristolian pioneers Massive Attack, and Smith & Mighty. The song’s protagonist proclaiming independence, in what appears to be a pretty complicated relationship, as synths add moody, mysterious Middle Eastern details. The main melody, however, soars, recalling post-Soul II Soul classics, such as Praise’s Cafe del Mar favourite No Easy Way Out, and All Saints’ William Orbit-produced Pure Shores. Recreating music of such sophistication is no mean feat.
Here, on the flip side of the first Chill Out Tent compilation (which came out last summer), is the first in a series of ambient collections for time indoors, quiet contemplation and continental drift.
There are ten tracks, nine exclusive to this collection. The artists come from Japan, Ireland, Denmark, UK and Spain.
We begin with ambient sounds, birds and water then flow through various moods and styles. There are deep, pulsing arpeggios, sweet, angelic voices, muted conversations, distant drums and floating guitars, creating a sonic doorway to another place, a different mindset.
File under ambient / electronica / pastoral / piano / relaxation / meditation / contemplation
We’re sitting around flipping though tunes and a box of our latest obsessions, so that’s like – Japanese ambient music from the ‘90s; a book on the history of Drone; reconditioned vintage oil-wheel projectors; sheep-watching on the South Downs; and praxis, the art of working out what to do by actually doing it (as recommended to us by Anthony H Wilson).
Then it hits – the big, bright, beautiful idea.
We need to do something positive, make it happen, really make the difference, definitely, no messing… maybe tomorrow.
Then Chris, who sees himself as a bit of a hispanophile but is just over obsessed with music of the so called Balearic variety, says
“It’s like mañana, it’s not just a word, it’s an attitude, a philosophy. There’s a whole way of life in that word. It’s tomorrow, bright and early, sun rising, birds tweeting, always about to happen, but always somehow just out of reach. mañana is taking things easy while doing what you want, exactly whenever you want. Like we do. Mostly.”
Steve, because, well he’s Steve, is already running with the idea, up that hill, in the direction of some sheep, who by now are scattering in different directions, a little dazed and confused, as they disappear into a glitchy video portal to mañana.
“We’ll make a web page that is always ‘under construction’ – coming soon; and an email address with a constant out-of-office reply.”
“Thank you for your mail, we’ll get back to you soon.”
But because we’re who we are and we do what we do, which is to actually do stuff, albeit at our own pace, that conversation, on the hill, in the chill out tent, or wherever it was, has turned into this. The first physical version of our slightly blurred vision of mañana.
“It’s like mañana, it’s not just a word, it’s an attitude, a philosophy. There’s a whole way of life in that word. It’s tomorrow, bright and early, sun rising, birds tweeting, always about to happen, but always somehow just out of reach. mañana is taking things easy while doing what you want, exactly whenever you want. Like we do. Mostly.”
We’ve made some sweatshirts, really great sweatshirts, with a few different colours and a big fat mañana pasted across the front. No messing, no explanation. IYKYK.
We like to play nice with nice folks so we made a collaboration with (arguably) Manchester’s finest purveyors of quality clothing (Good Measure, obviously) and us, with our new mantra and a lovely logo (typeface designed by Studio Imeus).
They’re on pre-order now, but they won’t be for long, and when they’re gone they’re gone.
Three of the four tracks on this E.P. are lush, highly percussive, latin house – sophisticated, futuristic fusion-esque sambas – but it was the mellow, marimba`d, Mallorca, that caught my attention. A daydream-like drift, a feather-light float of gentle hand drums and warm synth swells, surrounding carefully placed piano notes. Subtle, but haunting, with melodic patterns recalling John’s classic album, Ten Days Of Blue, the tune occupies a sonic space somewhere between Steve Cobby`s The Departure Lounge Awaitsand Art Of Noise`sMoments In Love and, to my ears, it coulda been a Cafe del Mar contender.
Here’s a little more detail about the making of and the motivation behind Barcelona based DJ T Modet’s film for us. You can see the set as part of Sunday’s Chill Out Tent Edition #7 livestream.
“T Modet’s music references always take us back to the origins. That’s why we went with a shooting team deep into nature, into a cave, a few kilometers away from Barcelona. As T Modet was playing her set, the birds were singing and the forest was shining. Then we went into the editing room and we mixed the set in the cave with T Modet’s favourite movie: “In The Land Of The Headhunters”. The movie is from 1914 and it depicts the adventure of a native american hero. As we were in the cave listening to the music and picturing the images of the movie in our heads, it really felt like going back to some lost roots that felt more familiar than one could expect.”
About the music: “This eclectic selection is made from balearic beat and electronic music. It’s an invitation to transport yourself into that cave and dance with your ancestors.” Watch the set with our streaming partners Livefrom and Mixcloud Live. See you on Sunday at 22:30 UTC on Sunday 25 October.
Still from In The Land Of The Headhunters
Here’s a recent set from T-Modet to keep you going ’till Sunday…
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José Padilla passed away on the evening of Sunday, October 18th. We all knew he was ill. So many people – 1000s – kindly donated funds towards his treatment and care. But colon cancer is such as cunt – one of those conditions where by the time the symptoms show themselves it`s often too late.
In my opinion, José was the most influential of the “old guard” of balearic DJs – more so even than Alfie and Leo – because – I believe – that it was Jose`s “chill out” tapes that kept the idea of balearic alive – passed it on to subsequent generations – while the hazy halcyon days of Amnesia were something of a cult – confined largely to the memories of those that experienced them first hand. If you were born say after 1980, then your way into “balearic” was most likely via the Cafe…
Phil Mison reunites with long-standing firm friend, and collaborator, Quinn Lamont Luke, and…
The Chill Out Tent 