Object No. 97/254/1 

Alexandra Spence’s work explores earth’s material relationship with space via satellite disposal and debris, and the uncanny historic connections between electronic music and space exploration. Travelling through orbits, life cycles and transmissions, Stellar Nullius reconsiders the earth’s atmosphere, not as a liminal zone, but as a provisioning body whose wellbeing is deeply intertwined with our own. 

Alexandra Spence is a sound artist/musician based in Eora (Sydney). Through her practice Alexandra reimagines the intricate relationships between the listener, the object, and the surrounding environment as a kind of communion or conversation. She has presented her work worldwide and released music with Room40, Longform Editions, MoreMars (with MP Hopkins), Canti Magnetici, and Mappa. Find Alexandra on Instagram @alxandraspence.

With thanks to the interview subjects: Dr Annie Handmer, Professor Iver Cairns, Alan F Jones, Dr Sarah Reeves, Martin Gotfrit. Work title borrowed from Elizabeth Povinelli. 

Oscillations is presented by Jon Tjhia and sound design is by Erin Hyde (Sig Nu Gris).

ALEXANDRA SPENCE — STELLAR NULLIUS

This month we welcome Tokyo-based electronic sound artist and lyricist, Yumi Iwaki.

Yumi is an extraordinary talent, who layers her voice, acoustic instruments, field recordings, modular synthesisers, and small synthesisers, as if travelling through an imagined landscape.

Her mix takes us through a selection of music she likes to listen to when she wants to relax, but at the same time add something spicy. The flow of sounds take her to different places while in a daze.

Tracklist:

1. Zane Trow - a call from minyon falls [Room40, 2021]
2. IDRA & Hiroshi Ebina - IV [Mystery Circles, 2022]
3. Jonny Nash & Suzanne Kraft - Hanging Glass Structure [Melody As Truth, 2017]
4. Suso Saiz - Scrub Your Ego [Music From Memory, 2019]
5. Ryan J Raffa & Yumi Iwaki  - Rains of Keelung [泊人ANKR, 2023]
6.  |||||||||||||||||||| - Outlook Remains Untouched [self-released, 2021]
7. Valance Drakes & Ivan Shopov - Our Choices Are Prepaid [Etheraudio Records, 2018]
8. Ann Annie - By Morning [self-released, 2022]
9. Carlos Ferreira - Imaginary Soundscape I (Postcard Six) [Past Inside the Present, 2020]
10. Andrew Pekler & Giuseppe Ielasi - Trebizond [Shelter Press, 2021]
11. Bana Haffar - Sit Still [Touch, 2023]
12. Federico Durand - Salvia [laaps, 2021]
13. r beny - alone in the pavillion [self-released, 2020]
14. J Foerster / N Kramer - Four Glass Steps [Leaving Records, 2021]
15. Shuttle358 - Can you prove I was born [12k, 2015]

Mix mastered by Holosuite Mastering
Artwork by Clayton Ciolac

The Observatory - Yumi Iwaki

Some Choices

Very happy to feature a special mix by @patriciawolf_music for the 20th Mirror Tapes podcast.

"In the past couple of weeks I have watched a few films by Éric Rohmer. First I watched Boyfriends and Girlfriends, then The Aviator’s Wife, and most recently Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle. These three films were made between 1981 and 1987 and stylistically feel very much like a product of their time, but also timeless in the sense of how humans navigate relationships. Through these films and many of his others, Rohmer continues the ancient tradition of telling moral tales and having proverbs play out in clever and comedic ways. I loved every moment of these films and can’t wait to dive deeper into his work. These films left an impression on me and in the days after I craved music that gave me the feeling of being in his film environments. This mix includes music that holds some of the same magic and energy for me. One interesting fact about the films of Rohmer is that he seldom includes extradiegetic music. He views the inclusion of off screen music as a violation of the fourth wall. While I do love soundtracks in films I respect and appreciate his perspective on this. His focus on dialogue and the ambient sounds of the locations is more than enough, but in the aftermath made me want to linger in music of a seemingly similar time and emotion. With this mix, I daydream a bit more about his films."

Mirrors 020 - Patricia Wolf

Drip Drop (adventure pod)

monthly mix series curated by marine eyes. if you love the mix, a little help goes a long way: https://ko-fi.com/marineeyes. 
for full archives + short interviews with women artists on their creative process head to my newsletter: https://cloudcollecting.substack.com

women of ambient~ december '24
1. Dream Crease feat. Drum & Lace- Grotto (s/r) 
2. upsammy- Mazing (topo2) 4:10
3. Kayla Painter- For You I Won’t Forget (s/r) 8:00
4. Aisha Vaughan-No Past, No Present, No Future (Leaving Records) 11:30
5. Pefkin- Gossip in the Leaves (Nite Hive) 15:05
6. Cassandra Croft- Country of Your Mind (s/r) 17:10
7. amelia courthouse- Vihangi (s/r) 21:40
8. Gia Margaret- Mourning Dove (Red Hot Org) 23:27
9. Merely & Malibu- love hard (YEAR0001) 25:00
10. Alanna Crouch- to go out again 29:15
11. Celia Hollander- Air / Water (s/r) 31:10
12. VoxAxoV- VERT6 (s/r) 33:30
13. wood ear- Amethyst Deceiver (s/r) 36:45
14. Antonina Nowacka- Moth Spins (Mondoj) 37:40
15. Belly Full Of Stars- Swannanoa (Bakkerman) 39:00
16. Freya Arde- Falling In Love Again (s/r) 41:50
17. our dear friend the medic- cold clouds go over (avos records) 44:00
18. Veryan- Lift Hands (quiet details) 46:40
19. Moskitoo- Words Wardrobe (Headz) 49:37
20. perila- wish (Lapsus Records) 54:20
21. Sofi Paez- 1123 (OPIA Community) 58:00
22. Sun Swept- Mirror Lake (Aural Canyon) 59:25
23. Hollie Kenniff- What Carries Us (Nettwerk) 61:43

women of ambient ~ december '24

Jo Johnson’s explorations in sound have ranged from free-form punk with Huggy Bear in the 90s, to underground techno in the 00s, and, for the last decade, deeply expressive electronic minimalism that pays tribute to the many women who pioneered this genre. She has released with respected labels including Further Records and Mysteries of the Deep in the US and Frequency Domain and Castles in Space in the UK. Her latest project, Alterations, is a 'slow' album that she is recording and self-releasing track-by-track throughout 2025. 

For the fourth edition of Waves, Jo Johnson presents a mix of absolute celestial beauty, building delicately with deep and lush ambiance into a trip of interstellar melodies, this is the perfect way to start your week off right. 

Follow:
https://soundcloud.com/werkhouse
https://jojohnson.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/jojohnson.tinysilences/

Monument Waves 004 : Jo Johnson

Wanderers 67 is made by Arieh Chrem aka Cartopol, a Peruvian-Spanish composer and DJ, born in Lima, Peru, and currently based in Amsterdam. He is the label boss of Anekumena Tapes, and has keen ear for sounds that are on the edge of club and non-club music. 

Cartopol: 'For as long as I've been DJing, one thing I found striking is how a lot of modern DJ  equipment and software takes the idea of equally spaced beats in 4/4 time as standard, an almost all-encompassing reality to which music conforms. Rhythm that escapes this frame fascinates me. It can drift between tempos and divide itself infinitely into equal and unequal beats. With some sleight-of-hand you can even drift into completely different territory without realising.

I've been collecting music that plays with these ideas for a while now, a lot of which isn't designed for the dancefloor, so when the invite to make a mix for Wanderers came I knew immediately what I wanted to do. Layered tempos, polyrhythmic transitions and completely dissolved irregular cycles, it's all assembled in there. This mix also contains a lot of unreleased music by friends and some material from myself, it was a treat to put it together.

Huge thanks to Daniel for the invite and to the Stëfan Däniëls and Hervé for letting me do justice to my idea and record it on three decks in their beautiful Noord Space. Enjoy "Rhythm is a liquid".'

Cartopol:
https://soundcloud.com/cartopol
https://www.instagram.com/car_to_pol/

Wanderers 67: Rhythm is a Liquid w/ Cartopol

Mark Templeton is a Canadian media artist and the founder of Graphical, an audiovisual label dedicated to publishing his own musical and image based experiments. Mark’s audio compositions are constructed from reel-to-reel tape loops and sampled cassettes that are contrasted with contemporary sound techniques. He is currently on tour in Europe and will perform a hybrid set of live and prepared music featuring pieces from his recent album, Two Verses, combined with selections from other artists on Jan Jelinek's Faitiche label.


Mark Templeton (live) @ Kiosk Radio 30.03.2025

Hi friend,

I am releasing this first soundtape, built from sounds collected while cycling through Kenya and Uganda. I am grateful for the freedom to move, and for the warmth of those I met along my path.

I’d like this piece to be an invitation to undo the borders we carry in our so-called connected world. For the sounds to feed your imagination, taking over where words and images fall short. May they soften something in you, may they interrupt the fatal silence of indifference.

I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I did putting it together.
More to come!

Big love 🤍

P.S: You can find all individual sounds in here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/4vrmr4nt60b3rq282x553/AFS0WxSb-ofkDUltNjhrmFA?rlkey=1ps2h6l7dqsa3vofnqysejdea&st=a6dud0ky&dl=0

Some Choices

Outside

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