Overshadowed (MP3)

Muttley - Back To Mine Pt.1 - Overshadowed. Another first for the Hydrogen Cafe…a guest mix by my “Transference” partner Muttley. This new Muttley mix is exclusive to the Hydrogen Cafe. Here is Overshadowed as described by Muttley…“Overshadowed”: the “Back To Mine” model taken literally, in a mixed-construction collage of music very personal to my existence; upheld as a return to being myself. Catalysed by an explosion of hateful bile, and inaccurate surmising, from two allies, towards me - defending the woman I’ve scripted in the “15 Minutes Of Fame” writeups from part 5 onwards - who this is anonymously dedicated to, each track signifies through titles a soundtrack to meetings, and departures which have never taken place. The end of a relationship or marriage can be a difficult and painful experience. It can leave you feeling confused, lonely and lacking confidence in yourself and the future. Feelings of betrayal, guilt or rejection are common. Anger, sadness and confusion are often intense. Moving forward can be hard when trust, self-confidence and self-esteem have been shaken. All I hope for is that “Overshadowed” can be an aural springboard to assist and heal those swathed in darkness, that which I’m slowly exiting, one step at a time.

Genres: ambient, downtempo, electronic, lo-fi, mixtape, music mix

Source: http://hydrogencafe.blogspot.com/2009/11/overshadowed.html

Linked by - nrvnet

Transference (MP3)

“Transference” is the result of the first collaboration between fellow mixtape creators Muttley & nrvnet. Influenced by the low-high penchant of groups like Explosions in the Sky and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Transference features dense soundwalls from Robin Guthrie and Harold Budd, Beef Terminal, Bitcrush and Broadway Project; among others--going from tranquil to downtempo walls of sound. The piece represents a conversation between people—both literally and figuratively. It also reflects a transference of state—from quiet to loud; from ambience to dissonance; from drift to beat. What Muttley provides in unconventional selections, nrvnet matches with tapestries of sounds. Transference is cross-posted at Muttley’s Subversion blog and nrvnet’s Hydrogen Cafe blog. See URL below for link to tracklist and album artwork.

Genres: ambient, downtempo, electronic, lo-fi, mixtape, music mix

Source: http://hydrogencafe.blogspot.com/2009/10/transference-is-res

Linked by - nrvnet

Music for the Swiss Alps (MP3)

Hiking up a mountain for the first time does something to you. It changes you in ways that are hard to describe. Faced with so much overwhelming beauty on a scale that is hard to image, you can’t help but be affected. So when you descend, it’s almost like you are a different person—somehow more than when you began your climb. Last year I had the opportunity to hike up a mountain in the Swiss Alps near Lauenen, Switzerland. It was truly an amazing experience. I decided I wanted to try and capture this unique experience and put it to music. The first challenge, of course, was: how do mountains “sound?” The mix represents a sound journey up to a mountain peak and then descending again. Because the mix represents points along a journey I decided to label the different parts of that journey as “movements” which I have listed on my blog. Cover art, more info and artist links can also be found on my blog (see link below).

Genres: ambient, downtempo, electronic, lo-fi, mixtape, music mix, quiet

Source: http://hydrogencafe.blogspot.com/2009/06/music-for-swiss-alp

Linked by - nrvnet

[02] Absolute Motion (MP3)

[02] Absolute Motion is polyrhythmic electro-ambient mix that includes cuts from some Berlin-school electronic artists like Tangerine Dream and Synthetic Block and uses the idea of incorporating conventional artists who did unconventional tracks and also using conventional tracks in an unconventional way. You will hear U2 masquerading as the Passengers along with the Twilight Sad and Snow Patrol. Excerpts from these artists are intercut with some great electronic tracks from Synthetic Block, the Irresistible Force, an amazing cut done way back in 1966 by Raymond Scott, Tangerine Dream, the Alan Parsons Project, a snippet of Vir Unis and a great cut by Saul Stokes. I also tried to incorporate field recordings that were rhythmic in nature as well. THC Series [20][12] is a series of 12 mixes, all 20 minutes in length. The Zip file on my blog contains artwork for the mix as well as the “score” for the mix which is a jpeg capture of the timeline from the mixing software I use. The score can show you exactly what is playing at any specific time code. Right-click on title above and choose "save link as" to download the file--MP3 (20:00) (320k) (45.8 mb). Tracklisting, links, cover art and music mix score available on my blog (see Source below). I hope you like [02] Absolute Motion.

Genres: ambient, ambient & electronic, ambient techno blog, analog synths, atmospheric, chill, downtempo, electronic, mixtape

Source: http://hydrogencafe.blogspot.com/

Linked by - nrvnet

[01] Monoamine Road (MP3)

The idea for THC Series [20][12]-[01] Monoamine Road came from a small collection of tracks I have been putting together made up of unconventional tracks from conventional artists. I stumbled upon an ambient track of all things from Doves, an indie-rock band (one of my favorites). It’s from a collection of b-sides and rarities. I also had never, until recently, listened to David Bowie’s Low album all the way through and discovered the Eno-inspired ambient-like tracks towards the end. Those, along with U2 masquerading as the Passengers, Crystal Method, and excerpts from Amusement Parks on Fire and Snopek (a great local band from Milwaukee from when I was in college), and a few ambient tracks thrown in, make up Monoamine Road. I also threw in several field recordings, including one of my own. Right-click on title above and choose "save link as" to download the file--MP3 (20:00) (320k) (45.8 mb). Tracklisting, links, cover art and music mix score available on my blog (see Source below). I hope you like this trip down Monoamine Road.

Genres: ambient, atmospheric, chill, downtempo, electronic, lo-fi, minimal, mixtape

Source: http://hydrogencafe.blogspot.com/

Linked by - nrvnet

Music for Stargazing Vol 2 (MP3)

Music for Stargazing Vol 2 is a quiet, drifting mix put together specifically to accompany a night of stargazing. What makes this music suited for stargazing? It’s hard to say specifically, but, like my other mixes, I like to put together music that evokes an emotional response of some kind in the listener. So, for this mix I chose music that sounds the way I feel when I look at a star-filled sky. Right-click on title above and choose "save link as" to download the file--MP3 (68:57)(320k)(157 mb). More info and artist links on my blog (see link below).

Genres: ambient, downtempo, electronic, lo-fi, mixtape, music mix, quiet, stargazing

Source: http://hydrogencafe.blogspot.com/

Linked by - nrvnet

light cycles (MP3)

After a very long absence I am finally posting a new mix--light cycles. I love repetition in music–-music that uses the constant repetition of notes or themes or sounds as a basic structure to the composition. I wanted to put together a mix where all of the pieces used repetition as a major part of the cut. I also wanted to use pieces that had an “ambient” feel to them but that also were bright or upbeat. The title of the mix was inspired by the movie Tron. light cycles starts out fairly slow and quiet but becomes more vibrant as it goes along. Near the end it almost rocks out with an amazing piece I stumbled across by Can. The Can piece Future Days uses repetition to great effect. This piece is also cool because it was done back in 1973 but still sounds amazingly contemporary. I hope you enjoy light cycles. Like the last several mixes it is somewhat of a departure from the typical ambient drift and drone but I think it still evokes “ambient-ness” throughout the piece. Tracklisting, links, cover art and music score available on my blog (see Source below).

Genres: ambient, atmospheric, chill, downtempo, electronic, lo-fi, minimal, mixtape

Source: http://hydrogencafe.blogspot.com/

Linked by - nrvnet

Tears in Rain (MP3)

A mixtape of sad songs. While I was gathering music for my Desolation Angels mix, I was originally going to have both vocal and instrumental tracks. Once I started putting it together, however, I felt that having a mix of just instrumental and operatic cuts was best. So, I decided to put all of the vocal tracks left over from Desolation Angels together in their own mix which became Tears in Rain. The title is taken from the film Blade Runner. Tracklisting, links, cover art and music score available on my blog (see Source below). This mix is dedicated to my friend Katie, gone too long.

Genres: ambient, atmospheric, downtempo, lo-fi, minimal, mixtape

Source: http://hydrogencafe.blogspot.com/

Linked by - nrvnet

Desolation Angels (MP3)

“There are as many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year's course. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word 'happy' would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.” - Carl Jung....This mix is dedicated to my friend Katie. Taken from us much too soon, her bright smile and love of life will forever illuminate our world....Tracklisting, links, cover art and music score available on my blog (see Source below).

Genres: ambient, atmospheric, classical, mixtape

Source: http://hydrogencafe.blogspot.com

Linked by - nrvnet

Tea Time at Brian Eno’s House (MP3)

Here is the very first true “mixup” I did last year. Tea Time at Brian Eno’s House is based on an idea of being invited to tea at Brian Eno’s house and what one might hear from his in-house sound installation. I tried to approach the mix in an “Eno-esque” fashion, building track upon track. The foundation of the mix is made up of long-form Eno cuts (Neroli, Thursday Afternoon, etc.) that play at very low levels throughout the mix. On top of that are Quiet American field recordings that fade in and out. On top of that are various Eno and other artist tracks mixed end to end and sometimes together. So, at any point in the mix, there are 2-5 things playing at the same time. The Eno speaking parts are from a long interview with him. I cut pieces at random from the track. I then assembled those pieces together at random throughout the mix. So, you get Eno speaking in “nonsense words” that make sense in a wierd way.

Genres: ambient, atmospheric, chill, downtempo, electronic, lo-fi, minimal, mixtape

Source: http://hydrogencafe.blogspot.com/

Linked by - nrvnet