Headphone Commute

Brueder Selke - Q3Ambientfest 2023

I am always happy to bring new sounds to your ears [and mine!], and today I’ve got a mix showcasing some special selections from the upcoming boutique music festival named Q3Ambientfest, which will take place this year in June. Creating a perfect balance between some established and emerging artists of various genres and diverse origins, this event showcases a wide range and reach of the music scene. The festival [and this mix] is curated by Brueder Selke, East Berlin-born, Potsdam-based, multi-instrumental composers Sebastian and Daniel Selke, who are also known under their pseudonym CEEYS. “Each year, Brueder Selke invite like-minded friends and renowned artists to meet on a common, physical stage, and, with performances that range between academic avant-garde and accessible pop, develop a kind of cinematic music that holds a mirror up to and makes audible the eclectic architecture of the world-famous Filmstadt Potsdam, with its neoclassical palaces and socialist brutalism.” For this hour-long showcase, they have selected many pieces traversing the roster, including music by Jakob Lindhagen, Vargkvint, Mabe Fratti, Julia Reidy, Yair Elazar Glotman, their very own Brueder Selke project, and many more.

 

You can find more details on the festival here : www.bruederselke.com/happenings/kuration

Fields We Found - chroma

I've got an exceptional podcast for you today, folks. It's not a mix but rather a continuous, single, long-playing track composed by Fields We Found. I'm sharing this fantastic music as an opening to an introduction to a brand new label, quiet details, which I will be profiling this week. Founded this year by the artist behind this piece, the imprint focuses on each artist's interpretation of the phrase after which the label is named. Spanning multiple genres, the upcoming releases explore this idea in each artist's unique way, with the catalogue and upcoming schedule including names such as the humble bee, Fields Line Cartographer, Luke Sanger, bvdub, zakè, and many others [with nearly two years of releases planned already!], whom I'm sure we'll find on these pages. Each release will be accompanied by handmade artwork, with the music and each artist's intuition as a guide to the palette and structure, available as a physical item with bespoke packaging and individual prints. It's a wonderful series to follow from the very beginning, and I am honoured to be a part of this introduction to you. I'll be back with more words on the label later this week, but for now, please enjoy this beautiful piece titled "chroma".

Make sure to visit quietdetails.bandcamp.com for more!

Mathias Van Eecloo - eisOtones 15

50 pieces from 50 releases of the year – this is the ongoing theme of the eisOtones series that we have been featuring on the Headphone Commute podcast, and this is our 15th entry (previous mixes can be found here). Once again, Mathias Van Eecloo, of [previously] Eilean Rec. and [currently] LAAPS, returns for his annual tradition of masterful selection of musical journeys. This one has been in the making for quite some time, and I only wish that I could have published it earlier in the year. But yes, it’s March 1st, and yes, we’re still looking back at 2022, and yes, I think it’s just as well since music doesn’t like to be explicitly dated. This is a very interesting selection with a really wide span of genres and labels – plenty of which are very new to me. It’s an exceptional headcleaner for the walls of the echo chamber of styles in which you may find yourself stuck. So it’s time to pop out and see what you may have been missing. As usual, please enjoy responsibly and support the featured artists!

Full tracklisting is here…

zakè - Past Inside the Future Mix

Zach Frizzell's Indianapolis (US) based label, Past Inside the Present, has been an incredible force in the last couple of years in the ambient community. So much so that when I was putting the finishing touches on my own album and thought about the best home for it, PITP sprang to mind first. You may think that I'm singing praises here as a result of that, but if you flip through its impressive catalogue, you will immediately notice the quality output from artists such as ASC, 36, bvdub, Lav, Wil Bolton, Pepo Galán, Slow Dancing Society, Celer, Purl, r beny, Endless Melancholy, From Overseas, and ... too many others to name here... and that's just in the last few years! Opening its doors in only 2018, this American imprint has established itself as one of the leading voices on the scene. It's almost hard to keep up! And I'm not even mentioning here Zach's offshoot for his own works, Zakè Drone Recordings, or a digital-only sub-label called Fallen Moon Recordings, or a sonic platform called Healing Sound Propagandist. The stellar creations that found themselves on Past Inside the Present have appeared numerous times in HC's End of the Year selections since the launch, so it's only fitting to have Zach showcase the upcoming output through this exclusive mix. Enjoy the journey, and as always, please support the label!

Stationary Travels - Annum 2022

Yes, it’s already February, and yes, I’m still looking back at all the music from last year. But music can’t be “dated” – wouldn’t you agree? I’ve said that many times before, so let us practice what we preach. Today I am very happy to share with you a selection of favourite pieces from 2022 as curated by Brian Housman of Stationary Travels. We’ve been partnering in spreading our honest words about honest music for many years now, and I’m very happy that Brian still cracks on [that’s a new British phrase that I’ve picked up here in London]. In a way, we keep each other going, sharing our very special finds, making sure we don’t go too far off the path of being real to our cause versus turning into just “influencers”- do you know what I mean? Just as I’ve done in the previous year, I’ve selected my favourites from Brian’s EOY picks in a dedicated list I titled Music For Your Stationary Travels. In return, Brian highlighted my very own choices in this very lovely post. We play this ping-pong with you, our readers, and you must admit, it’s all for a good cause. Please enjoy this gorgeous mix and support the featured artists!

More details, including the tracklisting: http://hcdi.gs/Annum2022

Optic Echo Presents - Best Vinyl of 2022

I look back at 2022 and realize that I didn't put out the "usual" amount of mixes for the HC podcast. This is indeed because right after the celebration of the music from the year before, I was utterly preoccupied with the thoughts turned towards Ukraine. As a result, there were two "For Ukraine" mixes by Brian Housman of Stationary Travels and Peter can Cooten of Ambient Blog. In the last two weeks, with the annual Best of the Year tradition, I managed to broadcast and archive a few of my selections from each list, showcasing appearing artists. You can stream these via my Mixcloud account. But it's not the same as the typical fair. So today, I'm back, along with the amazing Mike Jedlicka of Optic Echo, to share his favourite vinyl selections of 2022. This is that one particular tradition that I refuse to let go of, with today's mix being the 12th instalment in the series. There is not much left to say, and we both hope the music speaks much louder. Please enjoy!

Spatial x Headphone Commute

I’ve got something slightly different for you today than the usual fair. How are you feeling about atmospheric drum & bass this morning? To be fair, this is not the first time that I’ve showcased this genre on these pages (see Clima‘s Headphone Commute Mix or the super fun Chill & Bass Mix by Orangewarrior). Except for this time, it’s also a label showcase, featuring very special selections from James Clements‘ newly launched Spatial imprint (a sub-label for his Auxiliary), with an ethos to “recapture the essence of the mid 90’s scene” featuring classic breaks and heavy sub-bass. So far, the roster includes James’ own celebrated ASC project, as well as Simon Huxtable’s Aural Imbalance, but I suspect it may grow further, beyond the two. Meanwhile, because of the tight curation, each release is a beautiful and cohesive 12″ (yes, FINALLY available on vinyl) as well as a digital offering via the usual channels. In any case, this is an absolutely wonderful and very welcome journey for my sunny morning, and I hope that it’ll be for you as well! I’ll stop talking here but will include a pretty lengthy writeup (on my site) from the label boss himself. Enjoy!

Tracklisting and more here: https://hcdi.gs/Spatial

PvC - For Ukraine Mix

I honestly wish that I could stop promoting this benefit compilation, titled For Ukraine, which is now on its second volume (see links below). I’d stop promoting because we wouldn’t need the funds which would all be donated to International Rescue Committee (rescue.org) to support displaced children and families with vital supplies. Albeit somehow it has all receded in the background, and yet the war goes on. This time, I’ve enlisted the help of Peter van Cooten of ambientblog.net to compile and curate a mix, featuring 28 pieces selected from two volumes, all of them painstakingly edited to create a continuous journey and to entice you to purchase both volumes (with a third one on the way soon!) to experience the tracks in full. So you can treat this mix as a sampler, or a bonus if you’ve already contributed to our cause. “There are many changing instrumentations, moods and atmospheres,” says Peter about his selection, “I like to think of it as travelling in a fast-moving train, looking out the window at different landscapes gliding by…” Please share and help support our message.

 

Volume 1 : https://hcdi.gs/ForUkraine
Volume 2 : https://hcdi.gs/ForUkraine2

Stationary Travels - For Ukraine (Reprise)

About a week ago, in collaboration with Hollie Kenniff who curated the roster of artists, Headphone Commute released the first volume of the benefit compilation For Ukraine with 100% of all proceeds being donated to the International Rescue Committee (rescue.org). This is one of those things, folks, that does not need to be written about, promoted, or sold. Nevertheless, with the help of Brian Housman of Stationary Travels, I am happy to share with you an hour-long compilation teaser, featuring some of Brian’s favourite pieces. It’s only about half of the entire content, which you can now stream as part of our mix series and podcast, but we still ask you to share and help in any way that you can to support our message. Thanks in advance, and stay tuned for Volume Two!!!

For Ukraine : https://hcdi.gs/ForUkraine

Mathias Van Eecloo - eisOtones 14

How would you like to hear 50 tracks from 50 releases from last year? Well, in this 14th instalment, Mathias Van Eecloo, of [previously] Eilean Rec. and [currently] LAAPS [for which he also made a very special mix], returns for his annual tradition of masterful selection of musical journeys from many of my favourite labels. Plenty for you here to unpeel and explore throughout the numerous genres and musical diversions. And although I usually feature this mix sometime in January, I think it’s safe to admit that there is no better time like now. And, as usual, please enjoy responsibly and support the featured artists! We hope that you enjoy!