Sunday, August 9, 2009

sunday sounds


this sunday i've got two mixes for you, one from myself and one from dave, the silent ssg.

mine is a mixtape, recorded last sunday when suffering from a nasty headache and generally feeling pretty bad. the motivation for putting some tracks together came from a visit to meiji jingu in tokyo, when i was also feeling bad. it is one of my favourite places in the world and always has a very calming effect on me. right next to the crazy shopping district of harajuku, there is meiji jingu - a beautiful temple nestled within a deep, lush garden full of tall trees. a slice of tranquility in the heart of tokyo. the other week when i was frustrated, i put on my HD25s, pressing played on the aguaplano sessions mix from dozzy and nuel, and headed for meiji jingu. it was raining pretty hard, but that just made it all the more beautiful and relaxing (the picture is from my visit). the combination of the music, the rain and the surroundings made for a really powerful experience. soon after that i felt the urge to do a new mixtape. the format is the same as the other ones i've done: all tracks are played out at their original speed and mixed with basic crossfading (a few transitions are a bit rough, sorry). it is not really trying to be a mix per se, but plenty of thought went into the records chosen and the order they are placed in. if there is coherence in the mix, it comes from the feelings these sounds evoke in me. i like playing tracks that have deep emotions to them, and that is what i think unites this mix. i'll post the tracklisting in the comments tomorrow, but for now i'll say that the starting point for it came out of shed's recent livepa at sonar. he finishes with a very powerful reworking of 'estrange' which really hit me hard. i took that track and built the mix around it. anyway, enough talking, here it is:

chris (mnml ssgs) - meiji jingu mix

the other mix is from dave, the silent ssg, who is my techno brother. he put this mix together recently and i think it is something plenty of ssgs might be interested in hearing. it is a mix made up exclusively of early gescom and autechre material, mainly from around 1993-98 (for those who don't know, gescom is basically autechre and 'guests'). the gescom stuff is pretty rare and hasn't got the love it deserves, which is partly what motivated this mix. dave explained that the mix is focused more on the stuff where autechre weren't as concerned with creating new sounds and were more into playing their instruments/gear. listening to this mix i was impressed with how well much of this has aged. impressive. for people who don't know gescom and the early autechre, this will be a nice introduction, and for the rest it might be a nice trip down memory lane. also, it is good giving some ssg love to gescom because chances are mnml ssgs would never exist without them. i first met cam at a skam night at the liquid room in 2002 where gescom were playing. cam and i became friends, later cam and pete became friends, later cam introduced me to pete and we came friends, later i introduced dave to cam and pete and they became friends, and there you have the ssgs!

the silent ssg - gescom/ae mix

wishing you a relaxing and peaceful sunday...

chris

33 comments:

  1. thanks again for making my sunday morning worth to get out of bed.

    is there any chance on a tracklist?

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  2. @ anon: i'll put my tracklist in the comments tomorrow. for dave's mix, he is currently travelling at the moment, but we might be able to get a tracklist in a few weeks.

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  3. thanks mate! really appreciate it.

    been into your mix like halfway now, and absolutely love it so far.

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  4. beautiful mix!! makes me wanna go back to Tokyo to listen to it over there.... I will do so, definitely! :)

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  5. thanks for the kind words guys. it is greatly appreciated. i really wasn't sure whether to post my mixtape, so i am glad some ssgs are liking it.

    thanks! chris

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  6. This mix definitely takes me places. I love it really I do it's the definition of a musical journey. Chris I'm surprised you weren't sure whether to post it or not. I think all of the regular viewers of the blog have great faith in your musical taste. Thanks for the share it's another great Sunday Sounds. I think I look forward to these more than anything else lately. Probably from my state of mind on most Sunday mornings!

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  7. chris this is just great listening to it again just this time at night :) this is so great and better at night!

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  8. cheers guys. here is the tracklisting for my mix:

    meiji jingu mix

    plastikman - 'lost'
    susumu yokota - 'kinoko'
    mika vainio & lucio capece - 'ahuyenta temores'
    Ø - 'u-bahn'
    pom pom - 'untitled' [pom29]
    shed - 'estrange'
    oni ayhun - 'OAR001'
    milton bradley - hypnagogic'
    tujiko noriko, lawrence english and john chantler - 'today the scene is yours'
    oni ayhun - 'OAR002'
    speedy j - 'as the bubble expands'
    lawrence english - '...and clouds for company'
    louderbach - 'so this is control'

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  9. The second track in daves mix is killing me

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  10. Chris... How the hell can you afford ($$$) to spend so much time in Japan .. (JEALOUS!) Do you work there?

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  11. Both mixes are great! can someone id the track at 35mins for daves mix? im speechless at how good that track is!

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  12. Tnx Chris Dave.... I download it right now and will listen during my drive to Berlin....

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  13. I enjoyed this with a nice mug or two of coffee. Thanks

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  14. track at 35 mins is 'Five' by Gescom from the very first Gescom EP on Skam

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  15. I enjoyed the mix chris. I listened to it while commuting on a train. It brought back memories of taking train rides around Japan. I really miss that experience. I don't think I ever went to Meiji Jingu, but this mix had me thinking of Ryoanji in Kyoto, and some other temple I can't remember the name of in Kamakura.

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  16. thanks so much for the id ruaridhTVO, this track is amazing

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  17. @ last anon: thanks for your comments and memories. yes, travelling on trains in japan is definitely part of the japan experience. Ryoanji is a really lovely place too...

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  18. Just dug up the tracks on that EP on discogs and then youtube. must add that the bola track 'Sciew Spoc' is equally just as amazing.

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  19. What a GORGEOUS mix Chris! Thanks so much for sharing! Okay, now I'm onto the Gescom mix!!! :-)

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  20. thanks for the mixes - Sunday sounds will be my "Thursday morning return to work after a holiday sounds" - The most necessary sounds of all.

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  21. Boomkat has Gescom EP available digitally. Think I will get it.

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  22. like the gescom/ae mix a lot but can't recognize some of the tunes at all! i used to listen to shitloads of that stuff some years ago, and i thought i would know all the trax...
    any chance for a tracklist?
    thanks, martin

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  23. The track in min. 17 in daves mix
    please...?
    Thanks

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  24. i spoke with dave and hopefully we should have a tracklisting for his mix in about a week.

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  25. Loving the Autechre/Gescom mix especially. The first track's one of my favourite pieces of music ever - Autechre's 'Chatter'. Track @ 17mins sounds like it's sampling Cybotron's mighty 'Clear'...

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  26. track at 17 is 'puzl' --> http://www.discogs.com/Gescom-The-Sounds-Of-Machines-Our-Parents-Used/release/5303
    what a beauty! good luck hunting it down ;)

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  27. I am very grateful to all
    Thanks

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  28. hey guys thanks for the kind words re the gescom mix.

    here's the tracklist:

    chatter* (warp23/1994)
    lanx 3* (8vcd8/1995)
    puzl (clr408/1995)
    motor 4 (EFA-MS-00643/1994)
    are y are we?* (wap72/1996)
    five (ska002/1994)
    keynell4 (ska007/1996)
    leritue (gibber mix) (wi xv/1998)
    sciew spoc (ska002/1994)
    cicada (ska002/1994)
    piobmx2 (???)

    the tracks with a "*" are credited to autechre rather than gescom but i felt they fitted well with the gescom aesthetic.

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  29. oh man, i miss clear.. thank you!!

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  30. I've not heard the gescom yet, but chris' mix is amazing! Really really beautiful.
    Thanks

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  31. For those of you searching, Puzl is also on the vinyl of the Andrea Parker DJ kicks.

    (For those of you with copies of Machines... on discogs, sorry!)

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  32. this sounds great, could you please reupload it?

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