AGCD032 - Harry Salsava "TechHouse Demo Mix, April 2009"

It has literally been months if not over a year since I've been able to record a mix CD that I feel satisfied with sharing. I've only just bought the hardware/software to be able to record the output from my mixer and I'm still getting to grips with it.
This mix here is 45 minutes of Tech-House/Techno and is packed with some B-sides, personal classics and recent purchases. Unfortunately, due to the fact that my mixer is ancient and less than adequate, a couple of the mixes are slightly off. What's worse, is that I've not quite worked out how to rid that dreadful feedback/hum that you can hear at the start...so that will be something I plan to work on for future mixes.

In the meantime, since I like the records in this mix very much and they are reasonably well put together, I've decided to include it as an Audio Gourmet CD release.

I do plan on making future CDs that are much tidier and of better quality, but for now here is something to get to grips with in the meantime:

http://www.archive.org/details/HarrySalsava-TechhouseDemoMixApril2009

TRACKLIST:
001 Mountain People "Mountain 005.2"
002 C-Soul "Verbal Competition"
003 HippE "Chunky Tool"
004 Tigerskin "Push The Patton"
005 Kriece "Nozomi"
006 Martin Woerner "Sun Dried"
007 Dan Berkson and James What "Onika"
008 SLG "Sleepless"
009 Shlomi Aber "Sekur"
010 Kriece and Basek "Submission"

MDAC006 - Monthly Discerning Audio Chart, April 2009

This month saw the release of my Soluable Jazz Session mix CD, which I'd bought a lot of music for. It'd be all to easy to just compile a chart featuring all of those excellent tracks...but that would just be lazy. I've been listening to plenty of other records this month and so I've taken a bit of time on this sunny Friday afternoon to talk you through some of the stand-out pieces from my record collection this April...

LUALLAN CARDONA & MATT BALZAN - Go Deep
I was drawn to this since I've got a bit of Balzan's material in my collection...and this one's something different from him as he joins forces with Luallan Cardona. It's more up-tempo than his usual work, deep dreamy synths swell over some simple House beats. The real treat is when it takes a break half-way through to reveal that lazy guitar section which is set at half-time...

KEMETIC JUST - Highways and Mindwaves
There was a small record shop that I used to frequent as a young lad, in Peterborough. On reflection it wasn't particularly brilliant, but given that it was only down the road and I was young and impressionable - it sufficed. There is not a lot of music I bought back then that I still listen to nowadays, since my tastes have differed somewhat. Yet this record here is something different; I've been listening to this soulful House cut since 2002 and still don't get tired of it! An absolute classic in my record collection.

OSBOURNE - Hydragilm Exit
I've been looking into the sounds of Osbourne, and much of it seems to be of a more 'electro' disposition - which is something that I tend to steer clear of, if I'm honest. This cut, however, is much, much deeper and is nice to listen to when the sun is shining! It's classic deep House music with a nod towards Larry Heard's style of production. So if Osbourne's likely to write anything else along these lines, I'd be very willing to hear it...

CARL CRAIG and MORITZ VON OSWALD - Recomposed
Picked up this CD since the concept seemed an interesting spectacle. Fusing music of organic and orchestral nature with synthetic electronic manipulation....a paradox that has provided a window of experimentation ever since electronic music began. Carl Craig, something of a techno master, reconstitutes this beautiful classical music with tasteful yet boundary-expanding craftmanship.
Well worth a listen, is this - particularly my personal favourite 'Movement 6'.

SUSUMU YOKOTA & ROTHKO - Floating Moon
Two big artists amalgamate to create sonic beauty, fusing electro-acoustic guitar work with intricate soundscapes. Rothko provides this guitar work and Yokota supplies the backdrop.
To someone that is more used to listening to popular music forms, the guitar sounds will rise to the foreground in this piece. And rightly so, as they set the mood and feel to the track. But if you try to push these to the background, you will notice Yokota's delicate soundscaping shine through and add subtle accents to further enhance the mood of the track.

NICOLA RATTI - esope
When I download netlabel albums, I usually have a subconscious list of labels to check. Some labels will have regular releases and others will not release for months. I've been checking back at Zymogen for months after I'd particularly enjoyed their Offthesky release. So I was extremely excited when I noticed Nicola Ratti's 'esope' became available to download.
And, what's more, it really doesn't disappoint. This is just how I like my soundscapes - field recordings, drones and instrumentation, delicately woven together as an untold story. I've listened to this a lot over the month - it is just superb. This release comes with my highest recommendation:
http://www.zymogen.net/releases/zym022/

BLACKFISH - Pacific Harbour
This track was brought to my attention at a recent downtempo/funk/House set by Pat Unwin of Dig Deep. I remember him dropping this one early on, and it just filled the room with a nostalgic haze...It's just such a smooth, languid track and I just had to ask him who it was by... cheers Pat.

DIFUSION - Second Future
Deep broken groove here that's just perfect for those summer months. Lots of sounds to soak yourself into; funky bass, broken beats, deep keys, mellow flute, subtle vocals....excellent music! Whilst it's quite deep and dreamy piece, it's still funky and up-beat enough to spin at a party...

DORIAN CONCEPT - Two Hour Power
Dorian Concept's production style sees a unique style of instrumental Hip-Hop pushed towards experimental and glitch realms. Some of this wasn't really my bag, but this cut treads a slightly different pathway...Nice laid-back beats with a powerful synth sound over the top; it's simple but VERY effective!

TERJE PAULSEN - Twenty Feet For Buddha
A new Resting Bell netlabel release is always something of great excitement for anyone who is into the Creative Commons Ambient/drone scene...and this longform piece from Terje Paulsen doesn't let this excellent label down. It is a beautiful, gentle, meditative piece that is perfect for introspective listening or set at low-volume to induce sleep...enjoy:
http://www.restingbell.net/releases/rb056-twenty-feet-for-buddha

AGCD031 Liquid Jazz Project "The Soluable Jazz Session" (Mix CD)

This excursion into laid-back jazzy sounds sees the Audio Gourmet blogspot CD collection rise to 31 pieces; one for each day of a full calendar month! It also sees the resurrection of my old guise 'Liquid Jazz Project', a project name reserved for nu-jazz, downtempo, soul, funk and jazz music styles. This CD serves as a demo mix that I might hand out to prospective bars to secure a gig - it has been designed to showcase the sort of music I might play in a stylish cocktail bar, for instance...

THE LINK:
http://www.archive.org/details/TheSoluableJazzSession

One important note, is that given the software I used to mix the CD, it has not been beatmatched or blended as such. Despite the transitions being simple and quick, I tried to program them as smooth as possible and to the best of the program's ability.

TRACKLISTING:
001 Senseque "Days Like This" (Attic Tree Remix)
002 Paradice "Worry Breaker"
003 Domu "Message To Omar"
004 Flashbaxx "Voodoo Therapy"
005 Soulphiction "Used"
006 The Mighty Bop "Ride Away"
007 Mr Scruff "Bunch Of Keys"
008 Ameaba "Salty Tears" (Atjazz Remix)
009 Umod "Tromboline"
010 Nanami Togarashi "Orange Peel"

Please support these artists by downloading other works by them...

AGCD030 - David Saker "In My Thirties But Still Dancing Like A Gooner" (mix)

After he swanned off sunning in Bermuda for a few years, I've been left very much to my own devices as a DJ. It's of course been an excellent and worthwhile experience, but much thanks is owed to David Saker for giving me a few gigs and learning me 'bout House!!

So I'm pretty chuffed to be able to feature a mix he put together at the tail end of last year on this blog.

It nods towards Francois K et al, towards the acid House movement and stays true to David's trademark House music sound...and of course, is impeccably mixed as ever!!

DOWNLOAD/STREAM MIX:
http://www.archive.org/details/InMyThirtiesButStillDancingLikeAGooner

TRACKLISTING:
1) Mark E – Human (Original Mix) (Runnin Back)
2) Shur-I-Kan – 287 (Original Mix) (Dark Energy Recordings)
3) Ron Trent – Journeyn2u (Original Mix) (Futurevision Records)
4) Wipe The Needle – The Rhythm, The Drum (Vinyl Edit) (Deeply Rooted House)
5) Brothers’ Vibe – Like It Used 2 B (Altered Vibe Mix) (Mixx Records)
6) Franck Roger – Mind Illusions (Original Mix) (Earthrumental Music)
7) Dominic Martin & Hiro – Dom In Tha Groove (Original Mix) (Tronicsole)
8) X-Press 2 – Muzik X-Press (Original Mix) (Skint Records)
9) Franck Roger – Passages (Original Mix) (FR Productions)
10) Jack Coleman – Relax (LilRoj Remix) (Sub Sensory Recordings)
11) David Alvarado – Aurora (Original Mix) (Bomb Records)
12) Chez Damier – I Never Knew Love (Made In Detroit Mix) (KMS Records)

Again, no imagery for this! Perhaps David will grace us with a nostalgic image from the past? Would be great if he could dig us an old one from the days when we graced the same turntables....!

AGCD029 Harry Salsava "Gruenerot"

http://www.archive.org/details/Gruenerot

Here is a single, short piece of IDM/electronic 'music'. It has a sketchy, loosely defined rhythm and is loaded with an unusual arrangement of effects and samples. It took a while to make, but the objective was not to work it into anything too rigidly structured and to steer clear of tidy categories. It is designed with these media-dictated structures that inhibit stylistic experimentation in mind, and to rebel against them.
Once we rid ourselves of these over-marketed confines, we're able to be truly experimental as an artist...

This is an insight into the world of anti-pop:
"music designed for mass consumption is ditched in favour of a collection of noises that do not make sense, nor do they pretend to.Pure experimentation, rebelling against any rigid structures that are all to often assumed by the general consumer."

NOTE: Again, with my lack of any real design skills, this track goes without any accompanying imagery...if anyone has any ideas, let me know!!

MDAC005 - "Monthly Discerning Audio Chart March 2009"

You may have noticed, that rather than posting a chart at the very end of the month, I post it 5 or 6 days before the month expires. The reason for this, is so that if I'm running late and can't get one written in time, I've a few extra days to work on it!
I actually struggled to get a full chart written this month!!! I have of course, been listening to lots of music...but I've mainly been spinning old House classics and working on a mix CD. So in way of Ambient, experimental forms, it's been a quiet month. (Excuse the pun).

But! The few pieces I did get chance to listen to have been extremely pleasant on the ear, as you will learn....I've included a couple of albums from friends in the netlabel scene, so please support them!

ENNIO MAZZON - "Muffled"
First up is my friend Ennio from Italy, a keen netlabel artist. He sent me this album at the beginning of the month, which is out on Spanish label Audio Talaia. I've heard some of Ennio's material before; much of which is powerful Ambient and noisy drones. But this album induces moments of contemplative solitude and sheer desolation, yet still staying true to his classic production method. It's a very well put together album, which I'm sure fans of Ambient will love:
http://audiotalaia.net/at018.htm

THE NATURE OF LIGHT - "Atropos"
Between Brandon Lewis of The Nature Of Light and myself, we've been chatting about our projects and the possibility of getting some material out as a unit for months. We've both been far too busy on our individual projects and have been struggling to get a chance to produce a collaboration. But here is what Brandon's been busy on: his album 'Atropos', a dense exploration of treated guitar work and gritty industrial soundscapes. It's a compelling listen, lightly straddling between the noisy and the plain beautiful. Enjoy it here:
http://www.webbedhandrecords.com/wh114-the-nature-of-light-atropos/

LOW LIGHT MIXES - "Shadows At Midnight"
I've been downloading mixes from both The Lowlight Mixes and the Hydrogen Cafe for a couple of years now. Both blogsites offer tastefully created CD length mixes of a relaxed nature, done in a professional manner. Being an avid fan of jazz, mainly of a subtle melancholy disposition, I jumped at the chance to download this hour-long jazz mix! Very interesting listening music, is this:
http://lowlightmixes.blogspot.com/2009/02/shadows-at-midnight.html

MARKUS FIX - "Collection E.P"
I'll happily publicise the fact that I'm working on a deep/tech House mix CD at the minute, but I'm keeping the subject of which relatively quiet. Be assured, however, that a track from this Markus Fix E.P is to be featured somewhere within this mix! I'm a big fan of Fix's stripped back percussive style, which keeps from being too cluttered; just good House music put simply.

CAVALIER - "Ride 'Em E.P"
On the tip of the House E.P, here's a cracking deep package from Cavalier. My pick of the bunch would be 'The Beat', as it's exactly the kind of Deep House I'm into spinning; something similar to the sort of records Ray Valioso/Agnes would play too.

PAVONINE - "Pavonine"
Here on Webbed Hand Records, is wonderful dark Ambient music from Pavonine. It's so cleverly put together and is every bit the compelling listen. There's so much subtle detail to get to grips with, that it's easy to forget that you're actually meant to drift off to space when listening to this stuff!!!!
Download here:
http://www.webbedhandrecords.com/wh118-pavonine-pavonine/

EMERALD ADRIFT - "The Blue Flower"
This album is available from the very professional netlabel, Earth Mantra. It is light Ambient with a new age feel and is a fantastic restful experience. Quite often stick this one on repeat as a sleep playlist and find myself waking up to it at 7am! It is well worth the download and is available here:
http://www.earthmantra.com/release-detail.php?id=72

EREMOS - "Ubi Caritas"
After a month of retracing steps on the Webbed Hand netlabel, here is an older piece by Eremos. It's a collection of beautiful guitar pieces by the talented Mike Farley, patchworked together in an exquisitely delicate manner...
I listened to this album a lot when it first came out last summer, and as spring is emerging, I was out walking and listening to this again last week. I listened to every second of the album and it is excellent! The beauty of netlabel audio, is that it doesn't sell out...here's the link:
http://www.webbedhandrecords.com/wh106-eremos-ubi-caritas/

ELUDER - "Drift"
Drift is a word stereotypically associated with Ambient music. So does the title live up to the cliche? Absolutely. There are few albums that personify this word better than this release by Eluder on Archaic Horizon. It's perfect for a long walk in the outdoors, through fields and woodland. It's perfect for lounging around, restoring your strength. And it's perfect for low-volume consumption as you drift off to sleep...This is going to be a big classic for me.
http://www.archaichorizon.com/releases/ah030/ah030.html

GORDON EDGE - "Trumpet Funk"
As I've mentioned, this month has been about sifting through my many House records. Here's an old slice from excellent producer and trumpet player Gordon Edge. Nice deep keys, a solid beat and fantastic trumpet work!

AGCD028 - SPHERULEUS - "The Disguised Familiar"

DOWNLOAD:
http://www.earthmantra.com/release-detail.php?id=76

TRACKLIST:
(1) As The Warmth Fades (ft. Stuart Towell)
(2) A Significant Circle
(3) How White The Cerulean Sky
(4) Blue Moon (ft. Stuart Towell)

MYSPACE:
www.myspace.com/spheruleus

Courtesy of the Earth Mantra record label, I am delighted to announce the release of my first album as Spheruleus.
As I've mentioned before on this blog, I've a lot planned for projects under this name. I plan to really explore Ambient music further, embracing elements of instrumentation and lighter dronescapes with the obvious field recordings. Reserving Audio Gourmet as a name for this blog and a netlabel pseudonym for musique concrete excursions. The Eyes Flutter Beneath guise is not to be forgotten either - I shall use that purely for sleep/dream based work, designed for low volume 'ignorant' listening.

So, after that trademark paragraph of waffling, let me introduce The Disguised Familiar to you.
It is classic drone, ambient guitar fused with personal field recordings. Who plays the guitar? In this case, it is my brother Stuart providing these languid compositions. We've been trying to strike a happy medium between our two differing musical tastes and amalgamate to create something as a unit for a while now, and finally it has paid off. So I'd like to extend my initial thanks to him for his excellent contribution. I'm sure we'll collaborate again in the future on other pieces of music, too.

The album itself is themed around the recent flurry of snow we had in much of the U.K. I, like many, was sent home from work early as businesses accross the nation struggled to cope with what is essentially just frozen water...It just showed how we depend on transport methods so much and how everything collapses without them. Since I only really walk, it had absolutely no bearing whatsoever on me and in fact - I met my friend James Gelsthorpe and used the remainder of the day to 're-explore' this landscape that was hidden with snow. It was a landscape I was normally very familiar with, yet with this vast blanket of white upon us, it was all completely disguised. Which made for a very interesting afternoon indeed...
I'd like to offer another thankyou to James, as he is the man behind the tremendous artwork cover we have for the album. It was taken just outside our local woodland as twilight set in, and that splendid day drew to its close.

So hopefully that will put you in the picture as to roughly what the album stands for. I'd like to offer a final thankyou to Darrell at Earth Mantra, as I've always enjoyed the material on his netlabel and it is an absolute pleasure to have work released on it! It's always nice to work with someone who has a professional approach to releasing what is essentially free music and with such a clear vision of the direction he wants to head, too!
Every single album on this website is completely free for download. Please support the other artists on there too, there's some breathtaking stuff for the ears to behold!

Obviously money is of no interest to us netlabel artists. The main thing is that people take advantage of these free albums and enjoy them. Netlabel artists need that little encouragement from time to time, to feel as if their hard work is worth it. So please drop a comment whenever you download something you enjoy. It's something that even I'm guilty of - the times when I've been bowled over by some superb music, and failed to write a quick sentence of appreciation!

Anyway, it seems I've written a final paragraph as well as the opener!
Harry.