*end transmission**

Greetings. If this posting title seems a bit apocalyptic (or cryptic), well, it kind of is. I've done a lot of deep thinking over the last few months and I've decided that it's time to send the spaceman home and end the mission. It's been a fun journey, and the experience of creating mixes and meeting people has been unreal. I have to say, that I really only set out to make a few mixes, maybe have a blog for about a year at the most, and move on. It turned out to be a bit more than that, and the time and effort that I put into making it (somewhat) successful has been very overwhelming at times. I really enjoy making the mixes, finding the tunes within my library, listening, working on the site, and so on and so forth. It was kind of a test to see if I even had an aptitude to do such a thing (many, many thanks to Dave Michuda for getting me up and running due to the endless inquiries). Still not sure if I have the aptitude for it all, but I really enjoyed it.

guest mix: silas (part III)

I've been fortunate to have the honor of once again presenting a session by one of my favorite storytellers: SILAS. Silas returns with a beautifully weaved mix of subtle bliss and dark melancholy. I'm honored that Silas keeps in good contact with me and has been churning out a plethora of epic mixes. Rather than to mentally coast through any sessions that Silas creates, I choose to ingest his pure musical vision completely undeterred by outside influences. Mixes like his are the reason I spent a lot on headphones, and between that small universe that exists in my mind, he unfolds a story of beauty and wonder on a grandiose scale. When he presents music to me with enthusiasm, I believe that his inspiration is sincere. TEULU is one such mix that came to me from Silas, and I'm confident that you will be taken in by its intense orchestration and development just as I am.

soul ascending

There are so many ideas and theories about what truly happens to your soul when we depart Mother Earth. Is our mortal body a vessel that carries the soul, steered by our intuition and desires? Or are we just empty shells, only to be recycled back to the Earth? I have my thoughts and beliefs, as does anyone. Life is about pondering, discovering, and experiencing. Like anyone else, I strive to radiate good intentions by trying to live a selfless life that is inspirational. In doing so, my wish is that as my soul ascends, it will be accompanied by a beautiful soundtrack; one that represents the elation that I experienced in my life balanced with the melancholy of departure. I would like reflect on my life in a satisfyingly content manner during the ordeal, both good and bad.

The intention of this mix is for it to be used figuratively. If a dark cloud casts a shadow over your world, the music presented here will guide you above and beyond. Do not allow the gravity of turmoil and negativity weigh you down. The set here is intentionally a bit cinematic and deep, and I hope that your soul ascends higher and higher as you take in warm colors and the sonic aura that envelopes your soul. 

guest mix: michael gaida

Greetings from the ethereal universe and welcome to Spaceman's Transmissions. It's known that I spend a bit of my listening time on Mixcloud, and it's extremely gratifying when I get positive feedback. I often try to return favor, but checking out all sorts of mixes (as much as my ear and brain will allow), and hearing positive comments from those that create magic is the highest form of praise. I save what I can in a my NEW STUFF TO REVIEW folder and pay if a visit first and foremost. Needless to say, it's very overwhelming and ambitious. 

I had gotten the opportunity to come across a mix entitled THE JOURNEY OF A PAPER BOAT from listener MICHAEL GAIDA and was completely floored by the sonic offerings. I took it in as an early morning session to get my head right, and it pretty much did the trick (very well). I asked Michael if I could host this on Spaceman's Transmission (so that everyone could take in the vibe) and he was happy to oblige. Michael has built up such a deep, subtle mix that will take you in and give you a soothing mental de-fragmentation. His balance of  colorful melodic drone and harmonic soundscapes is perfect. This is easily one mix that will put you 1 1/2 hours into the future with a clear mental tapestry. I find Michael's music choices and sessions to be very, very inspirational. I asked Michael to shed some light on himself, and while humble about it all, he provided some great insight to his mastery of the sublime.

Michael Gaida was born in 1966 ("....yes, i broke the "wall of 40"...") in Dusseldorf, Germany. His initial love for electronic music cam in the late 90's beginning with Liquid Drum & Bass artists such as LTJ Bukem & MC Conrad, Tayla, Blu Mar Ten, PFM, as well as other artists from the Good Looking Records Family. This turned him onto his future fav's Dave Seaman and Nick Warren at Global Underground.

coexisting within a concrete jungle

Quite a while back, I learned about a very interesting little machine entitled the AMBIENT ADDITION, which was a thesis from an MIT student named Noah Vawter The purpose of the machine was to transform everyday sounds into musical notes. He had made the valid point that with the whole 'i' revolution (iTunes, iPod, iPad, etc.), the 'i' represented isolation. I actually downloaded the whole thesis, and gave it a very good bit of my attention. For some reason, there have been no other sort of things like this, and it seems that this idea turned out to be nothing more than just an idea. Granted, there are a few apps that I have on my (old) iPhone, like the INCEPTION app as well as RJDJ (if you have an iPhone, I highly suggest these; I believe that RJDJ is no longer a functioning app, but I could be wrong). We can't escape the noise, but maybe we can take in what is there and process the good bits through our minds to keep us grounded.

Another mention that I have to make is of a book called HEPCAT. I've read this to my kids for years. I'm fascinated by this story of how a jazz cat learns to hear each sounds of the city as separate musical entities, until his mind creates the symphony of each noise, not unlike seeing separate colors and forming a picture. I'm not kidding when I tell that I've taken the story of this book to heart. Obviously, we all have. I'm not at all alone in being fascinated and creating and purchasing music that lives and breathes field recordings.

resonate / reason nitrate

Hey there. I've put together a new release witha little bit of help from the unbelievable composer WINGS OF AN ANGEL (whose release OUR FORGOTTEN INFINITY AND THE ABSOLUTE ZERO  will without a doubt go down as my favorite release of 2015). I've been working on this for a while, and after some great communication exchanges with WOaA, we decided to merge our collective thinking into an 18-song album coming in at almost 2 hours of music. I can't express the elation and satisfaction that I am experiencing in being able to present this to the world. Every soundscape and ethereal tapestry is covered in this release, and its sonic presentation will please every listener. 

guest mix: spinnet

Welcome to another episode of Spaceman's Transmissions. As your host, I'm responsible for providing a very intensely tranquil journey to those places in your mind that wake your imaginative synapses and clear the fog. With this latest guest mix, I'm confident that we will accomplish this.

I have graciously received a session a (very long) while back from a DJ named SPINNET who hails from Greece. While I had many things to deal with this summer, I am finally able to get this mix out to the world, and extremely happy to do so. If you are craving deep space that nonetheless draws you into a universe of minimal soundscapes but still leave your harmonic indulgences satisfied, you've come to the right place. Spinnet is another crafty DJ that is adept at finding perfect balances between 'felt' pulses and tapestries of melodic flow. Listening to his session brings a sense of Steve Roach-ish vibe balanced with subtle Global Communication colors. To top it off, I'm really digging on his editing and shifting of mood color. This mix will serve not only as background music but equally as foreground. Some of the best mixes that I get have me pulling the headphones off as I think that something is going on outside, as if my ears have tricked my mind into diving almost too deep. That's the way I like it.

rainy day

Is the amazing weather outside preventing you from sleeping in? Pay this site a visit and dial up some rain and thunder (with a drippy raindrop screen) and feel better about yourself. RAINING.FM has the prescription for what ails you. Peace.

//tonepoet//

guest mix: chasing sleep

It's not often (enough) that I get gifted with exclusive mixes that come from individual DJ's that seem to catch wind of Spaceman's Transmissions and honor this site by desiring to be a part of the ambient family. CHASING SLEEP (Scott Nyce) is actually one of those rare few, and I'm extremely blown away by the set that he sent in. I actually got my first full listen on a bike ride in July and actually got goosebumps about 6 miles into the ride (didn't realize that this was possible, given that it was close to 100 degrees outside). Now that's an indication of a killer set. While I'm not always about publishing beats (with the exception of a few that bring it in nicely, such as FACTION), Scott balances the beat with the beatless and his ability to glue his elements together create a gravity that is as intense as it is beautiful. He is able to still keep alternating profiles active: as a dance/bass music DJ (Headunit), one of more ambient/minimal/experimental structure (Chasing Sleep), and as Scott Nyce when DJ'ing sets. Such a mix like this can only come from a chameleon-like DJ that strives to be prolific in all things musical and whose accomplishments are monumental. That said, it is indeed Scott who manages to bring his depth of experience into presenting this unreal set of sounds to your ears. Here's what Scott had to say (I chose to do very little editing as his story is a fascinating read!): 

echoes of a silent ocean

I have waited so very long to do a tribute to the one entity that I admire more than anything in the world: the ocean. I was born in a beach town, and have never stopped being in awe at the power, beauty, and intensity of the ocean. It can be soothing and tranquil entity just as easily as it can be a cold, dark killer. For this reason, the seas have a rightful warrant to our respect. With this mix, I was fortunate in a few ways to have found some truly great music and have so many textures that I believe encompass the scope of the ocean. The music here reflects everything that the ocean represents to me from still, deep colors to its turbulent and dark contrasts. First and foremost, though, I need to give a huge thanks to ADRIEN SIFRE ('Fotografik33' on Flickr) for graciously allowing me to use his photo 'Wharf Variation 6' for this episode. The photo was very inspirational in helping me to create the perfect vibe to accompany it. You can find more of his amazing photos HERE (thanks, Adrien!).

as the world comes into focus (collaboration with dj seroton)

Now that we are fully into summer, I have regained my full momentum of enjoying the ride on Mother Earth's forgiving surface. I've made sure that the necessary pieces of my life's puzzle have been put together with precision (Tuned up the bike for amazing rides? Check. Bought new Frisbees? Check. Got supplies to fly kites with the kids and made sure the bubble machines had fresh batteries? Check and check.). Completing vitals tasks such as this allow me to get my head right with some great musical interludes.

I created the 3 prior mixes in the span of a few days in very early January, as I knew that the winter for me would be terrible. And it was. It was full of homework, and non-stop travel to the snowiest places in the US at the time (I was HERE during this time), and traveling through the mid-West during equally terrible weather for the entire month of March (spending my birthday on tour, bleh.). During that time, I didn't take in too much new music, but did release WE'VE COME UNDONE. This allowed me to take that money earned and buy new music off of Bandcamp which really got my mind in motion for new sounds. So I'm presenting a lot of new music bought there in this mix, and I hope that you like it. But enough about that.

drifter v6 (collaboration with dj seroton)

I'm really pleased and honored to be able to present a collaborative mix (the first of two that we have planned) between DJ SEROTON and myself that will grace his DRIFTER SERIES  sessions. These series of mixes are probably the best that I've come across in quite a while so I'm really stoked to be a part of this. I'm inspired by him not only musically, but also by his professionalism and presentation. You could definitely say that this is his testament to the music that he loves as well as his artistic approach to creating sessions. 

Music speaks across boundaries of time, distance, and language, and what we present here is proof of that. We had some really great communication in getting this together (thankfully in English, I appreciate that, man!) and our mindsets were in line with each other in that we wanted to construct a seamless journey for your mind to bathe itself within. In creating this mix, we became completely taken in by each others concepts, and that friendly competition only stoked a passion to deliver our finest moments to your ears. We truly believe that we accomplished this.

guest mix: dj seroton

The family of ambient mixers all come from a common thread, and a core belief of us all is that music has the capacity to be a moving and uplifting force. We create moments within a wide range of color and sound through what others have done. Our goal is to give your thoughts a place to go, letting the negative vibe that forms the dark cloud around you to be lifted and released, even if only for a moment. 
In discovering DJ SEROTON (short for serotonin, a very fitting moniker), I found those moments within his mixes. What initially captured my ear were his monumental ambient structures (aptly named as the DRIFTER sets). But to rest his laurels on just one type of music to mix, he also hosts additionally phenomenal sets within separate series called UNWIND (chillout music) and TRANCE NCHANTMENT (vocal and uplifting trance). I caught wind of his mixes and was guided to his WEBSITE, which is so very well done, informative, and impressive to say the least. Needless to say, we've developed a few collaborations. I'm really stoked by what he's stirred up in the pot for me to finish and will be posting our mixes in the near future. In the meantime, I'm very happy to be hosting 3 of my favorite mixes from his DRIFTER (AMBIENT) SERIES.

camping under the stars volume 2 (renewal)

I've been pretty busy lately, and taking in lots of good weather, good bike rides (which gives me ample time to catch up on a backlog of listening), and ushering in the spring/summer vibe that is unfolding. I have bought and heard a lot of really good music from Bandcamp lately, and it has ultimately inspired me to create a second volume to honor this gold mine of independent artists. I have been so very elated to get new music and let it creep into my mind that I felt that it had to be shared with all of the qualified travelers of the sonic realm. I purposely sought to assemble this journey with absolute respect to what the artist has offered, and I hope that my intentions are sincere in this respect.

I am confident that this mix will be a perfect companion for nights of stargazing or waking moments of daydreaming. It has been meticulously crafted with the finest sonic glue possible, each moment carefully prepared to be delivered in the most thought provoking manner. I do have an alibi in this mix. I was approached by session ace MATT STANFIELD and given music (which is not on Bandcamp) and there was no way that I couldn't use two excerpts from his release HOMECOMING. Thanks, Matt!

amazing new resources

I have found that a combination of nature sounds from SOUNDS TO SLEEP TO and the outstanding ability to create a custom playlist from YouTube videos via YOUTUNES is a seriously amazing experience. Enjoy.

soundcloud

I've finally did something that I've been meaning to do for a bit. I've taken the old demo-ish things off of Soundcloud and put up higher quality MP3's of all that I've recorded and released from every project. There is one song on the Harmony & Decay release (Illumination) that is quite dark (entitled "Rapid Eye Movement") that I left off of the Bandcamp release that can be found here (finally). All sets are downloads, so feel free to grab it up, just click the big button on the right to get there. Peace.


//tonepoet//

gazing into the infinite cosmic abyss

I ran across a very interesting comment via Reddit a while ago that stated 'instead of looking up into the sky, you're actually gazing down into the infinite cosmic abyss, with only gravity holding you to the surface of the earth.' Heavy. But true, and a bit scary. We ride the Mother Earth spaceship venturing through the absolute unknown. And there's nothing we can do about it other than enjoy the ride.
To accompany your journey, I've managed to glue together some sounds that were brought to initial life by some of the greatest aural travelers in the field of sonic space. My role is to manipulate and conjure up the family of musical representations that assist you while peering out beyond the cosmic rim into the infinite cosmic abyss. Now that warmer weather is coming, it is a good time to get back into marveling at sunsets that give way to nightly stargazing. I've used only my 'A' list of space traveling composers to give you the best mix (in my opinion) that I've ever created. Use this mix freely as your soundtrack for this. Give thanks that Mother Earth is gluing you to herself so that you can get a good glimpse of the heavens all while hitching a ride on her back. Make good use of this soundtrack while gazing into the infinite cosmic abyss to assist with your journey through the solar system. BTW, I'm posting this on my birthday (exact time as well as date) as I want to give something that means a lot to me. Better to give than to receive, in my opinion. Peace.

we've come undone

Hello, everyone. I'm really proud to announce that I've managed to conjure up some more music for your ears, mind, and soul. You can snag my latest release entitled WE'VE COME UNDONE. Like the last release, I put quite a bit of time into it, with the writing, recording, and mastering. I'm really proud of this, so by all means, if you like the music (and I think that you will), feel free to let me know, share with your friends, and enjoy it! Peace.

//tonepoet//

lullabies for a rainy morning

I purposely created this mix to accompany those mornings that make one feel the need to stay in bed for an extra bit of time. This mix could also come of use during the day, or evening, if you wish as its main purpose is to erase detrimental mojo. Outside rain is optional as I've included a tiny pinch of rain in the mix to help balance the sounds of nature driven ambience with artist created tapestries of beauty (although rain from the outside will further assist in achieving the peaceful state that you seek). Admittedly, ever since I heard Junkyard Angel's WAITING FOR THE RAIN, I've been eager to follow suit. A tip of the hat.

Just as the morning bleeds into the day and night without an abrupt transitions, the music should meld into your mind without consideration to the shifting moods. The thing is to take in the mix, and let it soak into your mind so that it may bring you solace.

guest mix: grani radioshow

A while back, I was attending a sensational mix by GRANI RADIOSHOW entitled GRANI RADIOSHOW #42 (AUTUMN SEA), taking it in, and floating among the blissful sounds created by these DJ's. Needless to say, it's safe to say that this particular mix was one that pulled me into the world of Grani Radioshow. Not only are the music selections amazing, but the crafting is breathtaking. This mix has a life of its own, exhaling warmth and a deep intensity that seeps into the mind of listeners that crave color and clarity. It took a bit to get in contact with them, but once I did, I was richly rewarded with downloads of every mix available from them through a hosting site (that's 60 mixes so far). I was pretty overwhelmed (and still am) to find the best of the best within these mixes, so I'm hosting 3 mixes from them that resonate with me.

Grani Radioshow (grani translates to 'edge' or 'side') consists of 2 individuals (Alexy Moned & Denis Disia) that create these mixes while geographically separated in Belsarus & Russia. While they have worked on a few mixes together, their preferred method is that each submit a mix for hosting individually. The best part of actually hosting this mix is the response that I got from Denis when requesting a bio.

"I'm not sure that our biography is important. The important thing is the music :)"

mesmerizing

guest mix: gosh snobo

For this episode of Spaceman's Transmissions, I'm very fortunate to have given permission by a deservedly accomplished DJ goes by the name DJ SNOBO in presenting THIS WAS OUR LAST CHANCE (BEFORE WE SLEPT). Gosh hails from Riga, Latvia, and has a very extensive bit of involvement in the DJ scene, as well as in music overall. I asked Gosh quite a while back to host his mix. We had lost communication, but persistence allowed us to reconnect. While I try to do the most justice in doing write-ups for people, DJ Snobo says it best. Therefore, I pulled a bit of the bio off of his website.

within clouds of infinite space

Now that we've taken various detours throughout realms of thought and imagination, it's time to re-enter the space pod of higher realization and creativity to journey to new worlds for inspiration. To help adjust your human self to certain elements of the celestial current and adjust to zero gravity, Spaceman's Transmissions is offering an in-flight aural injection of freshly processed ingredients. It is mixed with careful consideration and care, and is both organic and high in mental nutrients. For those wishing for a vegan entree of goodness should rest assured, as there were no humans or animals harmed in the making of this delightful departure orientated morsel.

Within your mind there lies a world of untapped potential. The only way there is through your ears. The music will guide you through the darkness, and bring light and sound into focus. As grey matter aligns with the positive gravitational pull, a bright light of mental agility will be poured upon your consciousness. Let the sonic aura draw away undesired tension and bad vibes. Your pod serves as a cocoon that hatches a human that is more aware and more functional. Thank me later for that.