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//