solipsistic NATION No. 26: Through A Glass Darkly
February 23, 2007 | 4 Comments
In 1 Corinthians 13:12 the Apostle Paul says “Now we see through a glass darkly.” The glass is a mirror which and to see through that mirror “darkly” is to have an obscure or imperfect vision of reality.
But what is reality?
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English says that reality is “the state of things as they actually exist.” But all we know of reality is perceived through our senses, which are imperfect. Further, the way we interpret what we perceive is a subjective experience. In a sense, there is no way to see reality but through a mirror darkly.
There are some who hold that since our sense are imperfect and since everything is a subjective experience the only thing we can truly know is ourselves. While reality is a consensual experience we are all of us living in a solipsistic nation.
Music is another subjective experience and trip hop, with its noir-ish lense, offers us yet another glimpse into a world seen through a glass darkly. Trip hop was a term coined by British dance magazine Mixmag, to describe DJ Shadow’s hip hop instrumentals that changed-up the beat and mid-cuts, taking the listener on a dark musical journey.
I hope you enjoy today’s flight through the glass.
Photo Credit: Sy Parrysh
- Kalahari Surfers “Versatile Flying Objects”
- Chillerstadt “Heat”
- Scanlan “Son”
- Audiomoe “57 Spring”
- DigiT aLL LoVe “You Keep It”
- Monkeybacon “Roller”
- Unorganized Crime “Alessandra”
- Da Smee “Jahmin001″
- Verbal Kint “The Temple (Smooth Trip Mix ft. Judie Jay)”
- Anji Bee with Bitstream Dream “Love Me, Leave Me”
- The Neybuzz “Dark Days”
- Behavior “Anywhere But Here”
- Collide “Razor Sharp”
Download episode.
1:00:55 | 55.79 MB
solipsistic NATION No. 25: Exquisite Corpse
February 16, 2007 | 17 Comments
Exquisite corpse is based on a parlor game. The game was played by several people, each of whom would write a phrase on a sheet of paper, fold the paper to conceal their part of it, and pass it on to the next player for her contribution. Each collaborator adds to the composition in sequence, either by following a rule (e.g. “The adjective noun adverb verb the adjective noun”) or by being allowed to see the end of what the previous person contributed.
What made this game so charming was the collaborative efforts in creating a piece of artwork and the unexpected results when the whole was revealed to all the particpants.
Years ago I adapted exquisite corpse for radio when I was spinning at WMFO. I would invite several DJs to the show and begin the set with a song. The next particpants had exactly the length of the song to choose a track that he thought should be played next. The DJ could stay within the same genre or mood or segue into an entirely different direction and the next DJ would do the same. It was a lot fun and made for some amazingly diverse mixes of music.
Today’s episode of solipsistic NATION is an exquisite corpse mix.
I invited the hosts of some of some of the best electronic music podcasts to participate in the exquisite corpse mix. As above, each podcaster was sent a MP3 of the song most recently added to the mix and were asked to select a song to play next. None of them has any idea what the final exquisite corps emix will sound like until the release of today’s show. The mix will be just as much a surprise for them as it will be for you!
Photo Credit: raindog
- Stop Paving Roads “Spanish Evil”
Selected by Bazooka Joe, solipsistic NATION - Halou “Everything Is OK (Different)”
Selected by Anji Bee, The Chillcast - Pale Beneath the Blue “Inside”
Selected by Jim Nye, Idyllic Music - Hexes & Ohs “Alive Until Saturday Night”
Selected by Julien Smith, In Over Your Head - Christian Walt “Sooner Or Later (Once Again)”
Selected by Jason Smith, Both Sides of the Surface - La Caution “Je Te Hais”
Selected by Thomas, Yo La La! - Aegis “Computer Chips”
Selected by Guy David, Advanced Electronica - I Am Dog Biscuit “Yakuza VS The Robots”
Selected by Neil, Well Made Music - :brownstudy “Do Gets Done”
Selected by .8bliss, Omnipresent Podcast - Ewun “Screw Up”
Selected by Mr. E, The DJ Class - Blue Hand “Novokaine”
Selected by Patric Bakkenist, Electron-X
Download episode.
1:00:44 | 56.35 MB
solipsistic NATION No. 24: Jahtari
February 9, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Each weekend on the Small World podcast I put out a mix of fantastic podsafe music. I really wanted to put a dub mix but I was finding it difficult to find podsafe dub music. Dr. Puff, host of the Puffcast, suggested I check out Jahtari.org’s roster of dub artists. I’ve been hooked on their music ever since!
Today’s solipsistic NATION features music from the net label Jahtari as well as an interview with Jan Gleichmar, founder of Jahtari.
Jan got into dub after experimenting with the most different equipment and
styles (from gabba to digital hardcore to electronica). Due to lack of money Jan decided to create dub music on his laptop. Shortly afterwards Jahtari was born.
- Blue Vitriol “Re-Entry Dub”
- Volfoniq vs Trema “Recreadub”
- Krystoff “Holy Mount”
- Blaze Dem “Dubness Of This Creation”
- Normaa “Give Thanks To Be Part”
- Noisebeyondsilence “Sound Dimension”
- Disrupt “Bauhelm Dub”
- Disrupt “Gateless Barrier”
- Disrupt “Tubby ROM Module”
- Jahtari Riddim Force “Loose In Space”
- Parmon “Kimension Drums”
- Lingam Cutter “Kickermorphose”
- Ovr Thrustr “Half”
- Normaa “International Calling”
- Roots Ista Posse “8Bit Battle Dub”
- Mikey Murka “Sensi Addict”
Download episode.
1:05:37 | 60.11 MB
solipsistic NATION No. 23: Schismatrix
February 2, 2007 | 2 Comments
Mind the Glitch!
While some consider Glitch a sub-genre of intelligent dance music, Glitch does away with traditional instrumentation, and instead focuses on the use of mechanized and non-natural sounds. While rhythm is a central focal point of Glitch, the style’s various sub-genres range from the ambient to the dance-oriented.
While putting together today’s episode of solipsistic NATION I wondered what my attraction to Glitch is. In the hands of, say, Throbbing Gristle or Ministry, Glitch would be a sonic barrage of static that would reduce a cinder block to a pile of dust. While some artists do use that approach with Glitch there are many more who prefer to use the elements of Glitch with a more ambient approach. The unnatural sounds of static, hisses, bleeps and pops become soothing and hypnotic. At the same time, the broken beats and fractured rhythms of Glitch can also for listeners to pay more attention to the music than other genres of electronic music.
In any case, Glitch captures the zeitgeist of the world we live in. The whir of harddrives, the jerky sounds of printers, the beeps of our mobile phones take on a new significance against the backdrop of Glitch.
- Zephyr Nova “Iota”
- Parts & Labor “Processional”
- DJ Slip “Utopia Revealed (She’s A Time Traveller)”
- Rik Rue “My Life With Speed”
- Nalepa “Durian”
- krill.minima “Holzwurm”
- Shen “Causation”
- Land Shark “Dangerous”
- Drop The Lime “Try Harder”
- Mouse On Mars “Inocular - A”
- Deru “Tapah”
- Socks and Sandals “Lover (OG Edit)”
- Aerostatic “Drone Mix2 limNORM”
- Miskate “Ditty Dumdum”
- Ultre “Being Invincible”
- Balún “Opening The Box”
Download episode.
1:02:20 | 57.09 MB