Sonixcursions

Tristan Welch: Undertaking Ambient

Ambient instrumental music is notoriously abstract and nebulous, making reference points and context hard to determine or convey. If a musician is trying to make a social statement or commentary, it’s usually done through lyrics or spoken work. Guitarist Tristan Welch creates expressive ambient music for thinking people that comes coupled with a message: all is not right with our economy and society here in America. He’s an outspoken musician with a sardonic take on modern human existence, and has just released his latest album Temporary Preservation—a concept based on his experience as a funeral director. Tristan is the most fascinating musician I’ve met in a long time, and I had to get in touch with him to find out more about the ideas and personal history behind his sound.

Backdrop

I started off by asking Tristan how he got started creating music and got a brutally honest response. “I’ve been playing music for a long time”, he says, “I grew up on punk stuff and hardcore, that was what appealed to me when I was younger, but I was never very good at it. And any band I had would fall apart for various reasons. And through a lot of that, truthfully I was on drugs. Like it was bad, so that would kind of take over.”

Recovering from drugs and addiction would form the basis of a personal rebound, but not without first abandoning his musical aspirations. “So around like 17, 18, that was my frame of mind, and as I mentioned before, I had a real bad drug addiction, so just really fell apart. Various jails and institutions and things for years. I sold everything I had or pawned it.”

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Sonixcursions:017 Podcast

Amidst the continuously depressing news cycles lately, I offer a brief respite from reality featuring an international mix of cosmic and electronic music. Grab your headphones and drift off into an ethereal world for the next 30 minutes with artists from Australia, Spain, Germany, England and Argentina.

Track Listing

Kilbey Kennedy “We Are Missing” (0:00) – a collaboration between the Church’s Steve Kilbey and All India Radio’s Martin Kennedy. From their recent album Jupiter 13.

Mecánica Clásica “Dunas de Posidonia” (3:50) – an electronic experimental outfit from Spain, off the album Mar Interior.

All India Radio “Deep Blue (feat Sasquin)” (8:50) – an ethereal new single from Martin Kennedy.

The Golden Vortex “BOC” (12:45) – a new electronic project out of Hamburg, Germany, this song is from an upcoming split release on the Samplefriends label due out in May.

Michael Rother “Wopp-Wopp” (16:42) – from his latest album that came out in September of last year entitled Dreaming, his first in 16 years.

Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan “Gateway to the North” (20:37) – an electronic project from Gordon Chapman Fox, serving as an homage to the British urban planning schemes of the 1970s.

The Tape Recorders “When Souls Shall Wear Their New Array” (24:35) – more cosmic sounds from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

As always thank you for listening, and sign up for the email newsletter to get updates on these and other bands featured in the episodes.

Stay safe & sane out there…

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Sonixcursions:016 Podcast

Forgive me listeners, as it’s been six weeks since my last podcast episode. I’ve had my head down finishing up the Masstransfer book for the past 2 months and realized it’s now halfway through March.

This episode catches up on some of the recent releases of the year so far. I’m trying to get a little more upbeat this season as we’re now going on a year of this pandemic (and my two kids haven’t been in school since then). Looking to shake off those winter blahs.

Track Listing

Night Glitter “Radio” (0:00) – the latest in late-night trip-hop from this eclectic Texas duo.

Flyying Colours “Boarding Pass” (4:57) – from the album Fantasy Country out now on the Club AC30 label.

All In the Golden Afternoon “Anymore Anyway” (9:58) – the husband and wife duo of Rachel Staggs and Carlos Jackson, from their 2008 self-titled debut EP on Mind Expansion records

Commentaires “Etrangers à l’intérieur” (13:47) – an array of “vivid analogue synth sequences and dusty, ticking rhythm boxes” from Jon Brooks’ Café Kaput label.

Personal Bandana “Still Sic” (17:58) – an American synth duo with a recent cassette release, This Time Its…, on the Woodford Halse label.

Matthew Shaw “Schlaf zu Fuß” (21:55) – from his latest release Nachtmusik, a dream-induced tribute to Florian Schneider of Kraftwerk.

Cheval Sombre “California Lament” (27:55) – downshifting into a quiet acoustic mood, this is the sound of walking alone on a beach with just your thoughts.

Thalassing “Three Arcs” (32:24) – the Clay Pipe Music label is celebrating its 10-year anniversary by reissuing their first 2 releases, one of which is Thalassing’s debut album.

As always thanks for listening, and sign up for the email newsletter to get updates on these and other bands featured in the podcasts.

Stay safe & sane out there…

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Matthew Shaw: 2020 Hindsight

“Music is like breathing, moving, sleeping, as natural and necessary as any other part of my life, for my mental health and understanding of the world far more than it being a hobby or pastime.”
~ Matthew Shaw

After winding down his dreamy folktronic project Tex La Homa in the early 2010s, Matthew Shaw has been issuing ambient and field recording material on a variety of labels, including his own Apollolaan. He had a busy 2020, with his own material and with collaborations—not the least of which was his participation on the recent album by English folk icon Shirley Collins. While researching the Masstransfer book, I caught up with him to find out what he has been up to, and it made my head spin!

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Sonixcursions:015 Podcast

saonixcursions podcast 15 Welcome to 2021–one month in and it feels like it’s been a whole year. There’s a slate of new releases in this episode, from dreamy neo-psychedelia to stratospheric ambient; from Portugal to Australia to Norway to America. Put on your headphones, close your eyes and breathe deeply.

Track Listing

Beautify Junkyards “Reverie” (0:00) – From their 2021 release Cosmorama, on the Ghost Box label.

Rancho Relaxo “To Colour The Stars” (4:09) -The latest single from this Norwegian band. Look for a full-length from them this year.

Tristan Welch “Social Helplessness” (8:30) – Washes of guitar

Hotel Neon “oct 12” (14:40) -A trio of musicians scattered across the East Coast of America, this off of the 2020 album Moments, from the Sound In Silence label.

Willebrant “Gathering” (19:25) –

Tawdry Otter “SnoodleTrout” (22:10) –

Ulrich Schnauss & Jonas Munk “Afterglow” (27:20) – An

As always thanks for listening, and sign up for the email newsletter to get updates on these and other bands featured in the podcasts.

Stay safe & sane out there…

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Sonixcursions:014 Podcast – My Favorite Songs of 2020

sonixcursions podcast 14

Welcome to the end of 2020 – a year that will change the course of our history into the foreseeable future. For various reasons, including being here at home full-time, I had a lot of time to spend listening to new music and following some bands I had lost touch with. For this episode, I’m going through my favorite albums, almost month-by-month, and playing my top song picks. You’ll see over the course of the year, things started off pretty strong with the guitargazing of Purple Heart Parade and Ringo Deathstarr, but gradually tended towards an ambient direction later in the year.

As always thank you for listening, it’s been quite an interesting year to say the very least. I look forward to 2021 at least not being 2020.

Track Listing

Purple Heart Parade “Petrichor” (0:00) – From the EP Desolation Angel on Club AC30.

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Drawn To Memory Drawings, Part 1

Do you remember when you would take some time to truly absorb and enjoy an album over multiple listenings, hearing and discovering more each time? Transnational post-rock/neo-classical collective Memory Drawings creates an exotic dreamscape of organic instrumentation that pulls you in, evoking either a Gaelic coastline or a Middle-Eastern desert, on their latest album A Few Scattered Hours. Woven throughout the album’s 11 songs is a comforting (for me) 4AD vibe, following the Dead Can Dance lineage; though the solid bass and drums anchor it squarely in the rock universe – a sound foreign and familiar at the same time.

I recently had the chance to speak with Joel Hanson, one of the core masterminds behind the outfit, and get some insight into how this hivemind of remote musicians can put together something that sounds so put together.

Memory Drawings A Few Scattered Hours

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Sonixcursions:013 Podcast

sonixcursions podcast 13 As we wind down this insane year and look to 2021, I’m catching up with some releases from 2020 that I missed along the way, along with a few new bands I’ve discovered over the past few weeks.

Track Listing

Causa Sui “Gabor’s Path” (0:00) – entrancing instrumental post/psych-rock from Denmark, from their latest Szabodelico on El Paraiso Records.

The Green Kingdom “Mayloops” (4:15) – acoustic loops and themes inspired by beauty that is often overlooked.

Memory Drawings “A Few Scattered Hours (The Green Kingdom remix)” (6:50) – The Green Kingdom’s Michael Cottone applies his creative hand to the lush textures of Memory Drawings, one this week’s featured bands (stay tuned for an interview with member Joel Hanson).

SANKT OTTEN “Dann doch lieber weisse Wände” (12:00) – The mood turns a little more electronic here with the sounds of German audio engineering.

Giants of Discovery – “Dream Of the Colossus” (17:05) – Inspired by gigantic brutalist edifices and colossal structures, this hauntological project seeks to explore the mysteries of sunken underwater statues.

All India Radio + Josh Roydhouse “At Sea” (20:30) – Soft piano floats above the waves of an ambient ocean. The first of two collaborations this year by Australia’s All India Radio.

Llarks “Allure” (24:20) – The second featured band of the episode, Llarks is the latest identity of Accelera Deck’s Chris Jeely, taking the best of his smeared tonal guitar playing and stretching it to the horizon.

RxGibbs – “Charon” (29:40) – Another late discovery is the ambient guitar work of Ron Gibbs, who records under the guise RxGibbs – a veteran of the Michigan space rock scene as a member of the band Auburn Lull (included on the recent Southeast Of Saturn compilation).

As always thanks for listening, and sign up for the email newsletter to get updates on these and other bands featured in the podcasts.

Stay safe & sane out there…

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Chris Jeely: Of Accelera Deck & Llarks

chris jeely accelera deck crystalline prickle

Accelera Deck can get you into a hypnotic loop, pulling you into its orbit and slowly adding new flourishes to the mix. Bass and drums are stuck in a repetitive groove while gamma rays of noise melt over the structure, oozing into every audible crack. Other than the rhythm, nothing else is identifiable.

Sometime in 1997 I received a demo tape from an artist called “Audio Wishe”, and passed it along to Carla Pino for her demo reviews in the first Masstransfer issue. Little did I know that this would be my first contact with a musician who would go on to prolifically produce works under a number of aliases over the next decade or so.

By the turn of the millennium, Chris Jeely had already racked up a solid discography – and the train was still moving. In the fourth issue of the Masstransfer zine in 2000, Pearson Greer penned quite an extensive overview covering most of his work until that time. A key line at the tail end of the article goes: “you know, I bet in 20 years, we’ll look back and see just how far this genius has come”. Hard to believe it’s been that long already.

I caught back up with Chris in 2020, after being notified of a new Accelera Deck release on Bandcamp. In return he sent me digital copies of recent works as well as his new banner Llarks – taking the best of his smeared tonal guitar playing to new heights. From his standpoint, this is his primary vehicle moving forward.

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Sonixcursions:012 Podcast

There are a few threads running through this batch of tracks: a focus on women vocalists; some throwback songs from the 2000s; and international representation from Sweden, Australia and Argentina, including a few that were submitted through the website.

Also, with this episode I’m better aligning the podcast and email newsletter, so I’ll be sending one out every time a new episode is released. Make sure to subscribe to get notified and stay up to date on the latest new music from the Sonixcursions universe!

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