Episode 35 is an ambient music special with one of the genre’s contemporary luminaries and a personal favourite of mine, John Elliott, also known as Imaginary Softwoods.

Although he’d be loathe to describe his work as ambient, John’s music as Imaginary Softwoods is celebrated for its deep, lush tones, beautiful synthwork, pensive melodies, and thoughtful samples. Perhaps best known for his band Emeralds, which disbanded in 2012, John has been making music as Imaginary Softwoods since 2008, releasing several incredible works on tape and on vinyl over the years, while simultaneously managing the @EditionsMego offshoot label @SpectrumSpools. In this conversation, John and I discuss the ins and outs of making, playing, and releasing ambient music, and what the genre has to offer in 2021.

++


Music:
"Another First/Sea Machine" - Imaginary Softwoods (2020)
"Overlook" - Tetsu Inoue (2007)
"The Imminent Collapse Department" - Imaginary Softwoods (2020)
"Court of Failure" - Imaginary Softwoods (2008)
"Entrance Through Selenite Pillars" - Imaginary Softwoods (2016)
"Vaporware 04" - Donato Dozzy Plays Bee Mask (2013)
"Sapphire Point" - Imaginary Softwoods (2019)

AIR 035 / Imaginary Softwoods

Mysteries of the Deep Podcast, Chapter CXXX. Serene Healing Machinery by @Saphileaum. Cover photo courtesy of Candace Price.

Tracklist:   
1. Shiro Sagisu - Nothing Anymore  
2. Purl - Melora  
3. Picnic - Drops in the Water (DJ Paradise version)  
4. S.V.R.A - Postponed Rain  
5. Laraaji - Being Here  
6. Oreste - Minas Mare  
7. Jonn Serrie - Maiden Voyage  
8. Black Merlin - First Light  
9. Moss Covered Technology - Glare 
 10. Zemog - Equality  
11. Shaded Explorer - Attunement  
12. Simone Gatto - Imaginary Landscapes  
13. Neel - Alchemy 
14. Simone Gatto - Don't Hold On To The Unconscious Self feat Flora Paar

Mysteries of the Deep CXXX - Saphileaum | Serene Healing Machinery

An absolute treat for number fifty-two from Tbilisi based @saphileaum .The talented producer with a knack for percussive, minimal rhythms recently released an incredibly dreamy EP via @goodmorningtapes. Prior to that Andro has put out an impressive string of releases which have garnered international attention, via labels like  Silent Season, Oslated and more.

This mix is a beautiful showcase of Andro's ability to mesmerise through music... complex and intricate rhythms wound together in a relaxing and sublime manner. 

Hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.

Thanks again Andro!

Downloads enabled

Animix Fifty Two: Saphileaum

Merci www.soundcloud.com/ishq <3

Part 1 by Timnah

O Yuki Conjugate - Unfolding
Robert Rich - Adrift
Neel - Travelling on Kepler Dorsum
Adham Shaikh - Journey to the Sun
Pendant - IBX-BZC
LF58 - Life at Brancaleone (F)
Yttrandet - King Williams Island
Namlook - Labyrinth Path lll
Yttrandet - Linear Fractures
Alva Noto - Oval Asimoo
CTI - Fire Trance
CTI - Ritual Awakening
CV & JAB - Hot Tube

Part 2 by Ishq Live

Timnah invite Ishq

Saphileaum live performed and recorded on the second day of Stihia Festival, in front of the dried up Aral Sea in Muynak, Uzbekistan

Image by Ruztamo

Saphileaum (live) @ Stihia Festival, Muynak 07.05.22

@sanjib-4

"Tainted by melancholy and recorded in a peaceful energy, this set is a short mirror of my winter feeling. As a moment of recovery and regeneration. let yourself be guided by these deep waves."

Track List
Martin Jarl - Abandoned Beaches
Courtesy - Night Journeys III
nthng - Encounters At The End Of The World
Cell - Mi09
Slow Walkers - Wake
Yui Onodera - Too Ne I
Cirrus - Blue Sahara
ASC - If Only for a Minute
Nahaanok - The Time Needed
Advanced Dreams - Hill Call
Warmth - Anchorage (Leandro Fresco Remix)
Owl - Towards The Dawn's Light
Sotvorishi & Heavenchord - Thread Of Light (Nicola Ai Version)
Heavenchord & Infiniti Dots - Hint To Goa
Araceae - Elemental Peninsula
Korinami - Shining Bright (Sanjib Remix)

WAVES FROM Sanjib

TRACKLIST:

Warmth - Odessa
Mick Chillage - Sunshowers (Full Length Version)
La Serpiente - Man Is Both Animal And Plant
Genning - Five
Karen Vogt - Hunaudières
nthng - Wordless Mass
ǝɯǝɐ - Hmu
Einerlei - Shrouded Echoes
Aleksi Perälä - FI3AC2391010
Doltz - Rakuyoh
Om Unit + TM404 - Microdose Mondays
nthng - Tryot
OK EG - Ephemera
Cousin - Otta
Sleep D - From Village To Empire
KiTA - Ceramic
Mikkel Rev - Regrets
Command D & gi - Bleary
Hysterical Love Project - I Hope I See Some Of My Haters Out Tonight
Mikkel Rev - Nothing So Hidden
HVL - Window Sill
Carlo Maria - Exhumed
Hysterical Love Project - See You At The

Visions by @marcomaldarella 🫧

Introspective Electronics w/ Avsluta x Netil Radio | July 23

@wanderwelle graced the RLR studio with an hour of pure bliss. All live! They invited @astralindustries in the first hour of the show -> www.soundcloud.com/willoirson/ario-astral-industries-red-light-radio
Livestream: www.facebook.com/thesomethingsomething/videos/450431168815796

Wanderwelle (live) _ The Something Something on Red Light Radio #35 pt. 2

Paraffin is back with another special episode of its Podcast series, this time with our most fav ambient artists, Ario from Astral Industries (UK), a well known ambient label which is famous for its quality vinyls with the greatest artists in this game on their catalog. Ario also played at Paraffin Tehran’s 1 year anniversary in Iran, a festival with Iranian acts from all around the world. This mix is the actual recording of Ario’s performance at Experiment Intrinsic London on September 15/2018, Intrinsic is an event organisation which is taking place a at special locations around the world focusing on ambient music, also including a very special visual art treatment at their events.
Hope you enjoy the journey

https://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/ario
https://www.facebook.com/arioastral

Paraffin Podcasts - 006 - Ario

꿈 Kkum 01 - Ario (@Astralindustries)

2019년 3월 18일, 
첫 번째 꿈 Kkum 에피소드는 런던의 앰비언트 레이블 Astral Industries의 큐레이터이자 앰비언트 디제이인 Ario의 70분 세트와 함께 합니다. 

Astral Industries의 설립자이자 앰비언트/덥테크노 디제이인 Ario는, 과거의 잘 알려지지 않은 보석과 같은 작품들울 발견해 자신이 설계한 예술적 플렛폼을 통해 다시 선보이는 뛰어난 큐레이팅 능력을 보여주고 있다. 단 몇 년만에 Ario는 AI 레이블을 전 세계적으로 존경받는 레이블로 성장시켰으며, 다음 작품을 손꼽아 기다리는 이들을 아직까지 단 한번도 실망시킨 적이 없다. Ario에 의해 선택되는 음악들은 언제나 깊고 부드러우며, 매우 생동감이 넘친다.
이란 출신의 배경을 지니고 런던에서 활동중인 Ario는 깊고 탐구적인 음악을 섭렵해가고 있는 아티스트이며, 그의 음악은 일렉트로닉 음악의 깊은 그림자 안쪽을 탐색하고 있지만, 레이블 운영에서 드러나는 미적감각은 광범위한 음악 분야에 걸쳐 다양한 스펙트럼을 지니고 있음을 보여주고 있다.
Ario는 보다 어둡고 진지한 사운드들을 유기적으로 믹스하여 상황에 따라 엠비언트와 무거운 클럽 음악 사이의 경계를 오가는 셋을 선보이며, 자연과 기계에서 동등하게 영향받은 사이키델릭한 드론 사운드를 자신의 사운드 스케이프에 투과시키며 청중들에게 일종의 자각(Self-awakening)적인 경험을 제공한다.

The man behind the Astral Industries machine, Ario is a proven expert at plucking obscure gems from the past, or ensuring that good music gets the platform and artistic presentation it deserves. In just a few years, Ario has curated a highly respected and anticipated label roster that demands attention, and has yet to disappoint. The music is always gentle, deep and often extremely vivid, be it deeply hypnotic ambient, or gentle murmurs of dub-techno.
With origins linking back to Iran, London-based Ario is a practitioner of deep and inquisitive music – both as a DJ and label curator. Although his remit falls within the deeper shades of electronic music, his overall aesthetic draws on a broader spectrum that prizes the synthesis of both instrumental and electronic disciplines. Depending on context, he traverses the lines and forms between ambient and heavier, club-ready styles. What is common in both worlds, however, is his alchemic handling of rich organicism mixed with darker, more austere sounds. Speaking with an emotive sensitivity, there is a certain self-awareness that permeates his crafted soundscapes, which are as much drone-inspired as they are psychedelic and nature-driven.

꿈 Kkum 01 - Ario

Campfire Stories 98 (Consequence) by Aaron J (@arn_j)

~ About The Story ~

Whatever plows our dreams is ours to give:
The threshold rises and changes.
I give, I perceive;
Here are the gifts of day risen at last;
Blood of desire, the rising of belief
Beyond our fury and our silences.
- Muriel Rukeyser

~ Chapters ~

Roy Mattson - Dilating Moon - Self-Released, 2015
Sync24 - Walk on Spheres - Ultimae, 2007
Arc of Doves - Word of Mouth - Quietus, 2009
Celia Green - In The Extreme - em:t, 1995
Andrew Lahiff - Absence from the Conscious World - Relaxed Machinery, 2014
Tomaga - Memory of In Vivo Exposure Pt. 2 - Hands in the Dark, 2017
Kevin Keller - Anicca - Hypnos, 1999
Frank Bretschneider - Night Broadcast - 12k, 2004
Kajsa Lindgren - Melodies - Warm Winters Ltd., 2019
Aythar - Universe Pt. 2 - ...txt, 2016
Voice of Eye - Drifting - Cyclotron Industries, 1994
Evan Caminiti - Revealer (Reduction) - Make Noise, 2019
Mnemonic45 - Amara (for Tihomir) - Post Global, 2014
Cymphonic - Panorama - Databloem, 2013
Koyil - Pier.salut - c minus, 2019
Wil Bolton - Falling Away - Hibernate, 2010
Maju - Point - Extreme, 2008
Strië - 87 Billion Suns - Serein, 2016
Aseptic Stir - Next Sharp Breath - Klammklang Tapes, 2019
Relmic Statute - A Test for Tapes & Memories - Hibernate, 2010
O Yuki Conjugate - Black Magic Box - Auf Abwegen, 2019
Temps Perdu? - Spiral - Amplexus, 2000
Grit - Drifting From The Bay - Meanwhile, 2017
Lucette Bourdin & Phillip Wilkerson - Miles to Go - Earth Mantra, 2011
Aires - Your Breathing As ASMR - Eastern Nurseries, 2020
Amir Baghiri - Galileo's Dream - Arya, 1998
Steve Roach - The Ritual Continues - Fortuna, 1992
Jeff Greinke - Falling Away - Silent, 1992
Rapoon - Shakkirah - Soleilmoon, 1996
Spielerei - Exit - Databloem, 2005
Deutsch Nepal - The Fire Within My Cold Heart - Cold Meat Industry, 1993
X.Y.R. - Aguirre Song - 12th Isle, 2018
Tuu - Stone to Sand - Fathom, 1997
Celer - Australis & A Buoyant Object, That Rests and Moves in Such a Way - Slow Flow Rec, 2009
Barefoot - Collapse - Groundwork, 2020
Murkok - Down the Rabbit Hole - Self Released, 2016
Stephan Mathieu & Ekkehard Ehlers - Blue Baby 2 - Staalplaat, 2003
Landing - Blue - Music Fellowship, 1999

~ Notes ~

Campfire Stories is a mix series by friends of Silent Season. The focus of the series is on storytelling through deeper electronic music. Artists weave together narratives using the emotional characteristics of ambient and techno music.

Thanks to all the artists and labels whose sounds help tell the story.

Thank you for listening.

- - -

Photo: Sergey Norkov

- - -

www.silentseason.com
info@silentseason.com

꿈 Kkum 01 - Ario

꿈 Kkum

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