SCULPTURE 1 / I cant sleep when i think of you

INTERVIEW + TRACKLIST >  https://inverted-audio.com/feature/opal-tapes/
ORDER MERCH > https://everpress.com/invertedaudio

For our second merchandise collaboration we team up with @opal-tapes to present a limited collection of premium organic tees and jumpers, adorned with a four-way print designed by Berlin-based musician, illustrator and artist @fredmannnn.

For the occasion, Stephen has recorded a 100% Opal Tapes retrospective label mix, providing a shape-shifting auditory journey through Opal Tapes' discography, composed entirely from music released on Opal Tapes and sub-labels Black Opal, VANILLA, and Zabte Sote.

In our interview, we discuss why Stephen founded the label, the importance of the work behind Opal Tapes' impeccable A&R, their considerations when reaching out to artists and supporting their craft, and sharing the story of how Opal came to release music from legendary artists Max Ravitz aka @PATRICIAAA and Brian Leeds aka @huerco_s — plus the story behind the simple yet enigmatic name.

100%

100% Opal Tapes

epoch

guise

From the composer: “Pufferfish can change their appearance by expanding or contracting their bodies at will by swallowing air or water. Known and respected for its dangerous toxicity, the pufferfish must be expertly prepared by a master sushi chef or the result can be a highly unpleasant or even fatal meal. On the other hand, if prepared properly it rewards the anxious diner with a delicious culinary experience accompanied by an overall feeling of well-being or euphoria.”

Things to think about:

Do you think the composer is trying to tell a narrative with these sounds?
How does repetition work in this piece to create structure and alter our understanding of certain sounds?

"Pufferfish" by Mark Wingate (1996)

Fragmentation // Eyot Soundscape

BS083 - Passage through the blue mist w/ Prince of Gosplan
@dekatmemwa

Prince of Gosplan (the alter-ego project behind the De Kat Memwa guestmix series) joins our own podcast with a sonic collage to explore and re-assess personal memories, emotions, events and places.
His "Passage through the blue mist" mix ties altogether classical music and jazz, melancholic poetry, Eurasian folk, spoken word and field recordings from his St. Petersburg native city. A blend of sorrow and hope: lending emotional depth while hinting at a spark of light in the darkest corners of the soul. Far from freezing you in time with cumbersome memories, this spiritual passage through the blue mist shall trace a movement from anxiety and loss toward an inner renewal.

Here are a few words from Prince of Gosplan about his mix:
"This is probably the most personal thing I’ve done under the Prince of Gosplan name. It’s a space where the imagined and the intimate blur — where I try to process memories, emotions, and places by shaping them into a kind of sonic essay. Maybe I’m overcomplicating it, and all these semiotics only make sense to me. In the end, it’s just a selection of tracks that were mixed in particular order, but the process itself feels strangely therapeutic to me. And that’s reason enough to keep doing it.
This particular mix was also shaped by impressions from reading diaries, works of autofiction, and essays — stories where protagonists face emotional challenges, yet eventually find the strength to move forward. That narrative arc resonated deeply with me. In fact, the cover of the mix features a frame from Hedgehog in the Fog by Yuri Norstein — a masterpiece that I see as a quiet meditation on getting lost, confronting inner fears, and coming out the other side altered, maybe softer, maybe stronger. Each sonic fragment in this collage carries part of that transformative journey. It flows through symbolic phases: drowning; resurrection; fragile and quiet joy; sadness and disorientation; then movement, searching, and finally rebuilding with a hope for better. And yes — blue is my favorite color. It holds sorrow and light at once, and to me, that’s where transformation begins."

Artwork taken from "Hedgehog in the Fog" (1975 Soviet animated film directed by Yuri Norstein).

BS083 - Prince of Gosplan

westside gunn - selling dope again

Picture a warm sunny day accompanied by some warm music, bringing you into some joyful shaking of the butt. 

My go-to tunes when I need uplifting and positivity in my day :) 
Find the full tracklist and related episodes on NTS: https://www.nts.live/shows/joy-2025/episodes/joy-2025-sun-shining-butt-shaking-w-cathy-grogan-24th-april-2025

SUN SHINING, BUTT SHAKING w/ CATHY GROGAN 240425

Two hours of exploratory Indian classical sounds from legendary tabla player and percussionist Zakir Hussain, selected by [Arushi Jain.](https://www.nts.live/shows/ghunghru)

"When Zakir Hussain died last December, the world lost not only an immensely talented tabla player and percussionist, arguably the greatest of his generation, but also an extraordinary philosopher of sound.

Via his band Shanti, as well as his many collaborations with artists like George Harrison, The Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, Ravi Shankar, Herbie Hancock, Shivkumar Sharma Béla Fleck, Charles Lloyd, and Yo-Yo Ma, Hussain merged North and South Indian music as well as jazz, Western classical, and tabla to extraordinary effect. His music was effervescent, curious and dynamic." - Arushi 
 
Find the full tracklist and related episodes on NTS: https://www.nts.live/shows/in-focus/episodes/in-focus-zakir-hussain-25th-april-2025

In Focus: Zakir Hussain 250425

The British Library’s relationship with WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance) is nearly as long as the festival's existence, with a small team from the sound archive attending the festival to record and archive performances since 1985. The concentration of so many diverse and talented musicians in one place allows us to document musical styles from around the world right here on our doorstep. And, after 40 years, we now hold around 2,500 hours of music recorded at WOMAD, backed up digitally for preservation and access. 
With WOMAD taking a year off in 2025, we thought it would be a good opportunity to revisit some of the recordings we made last Summer. There were too many fantastic performances to choose from, so this is just a small selection of staff highl... 
Find the full tracklist and related episodes on NTS: https://www.nts.live/shows/british-library-sound-archive/episodes/british-library-sound-archive-womad-2024-26th-april-2025

British Library Sound Archive: WOMAD 2024 260425

A Song Is A Naked Person

Records, mostly scratchy 45s, received as gifts over the years, with standouts from Karen and Eric in Portland, Matt in New Orleans, and Khaleh Sousan’s Iranian 45 collection. Includes two unreleased tracks from forthcoming Mississippi Records releases, and Michael Hurley to set the mood.  
Find the full tracklist and related episodes on NTS: https://www.nts.live/shows/mississippi-records/episodes/mississippi-records-28th-april-2025

Mississippi Records 280425

A mix for sitting by the sea, relaxing while on holiday to a sun filled destination. Perhaps Latin America. Which is where the majority of the music originates from. As someone who mainly plays electronic music, inevitably this comes through in my selections. 
Find the full tracklist and related episodes on NTS: https://www.nts.live/shows/joy-2025/episodes/joy-2025-latin-flavoured-joy-w-ross-m-29th-april-2025

Latin Flavoured Joy w/ Ross M  290425

A version of the soundscape produced by three balloon-assisted kite tail sound systems for the Air Matters exhibition, Waterman's Gallery, London 2019.

Ascending Composition 1 (For Planes) representative soundscape - Kate Carr

All tracks written and produced by KMRU
Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri at Black Knoll Studio (NY)

whir

Bandcamp

odra

:: MaliFoliSofia ::
Mali is a country in Westafrica which Stini Arn has visited regularly over the past ten years. Foli means “music” or “rhythm” in Bambara. And Sofia adds a philosophical touch, Stini Arns personal attempt of an interpretation by composing the recorded sounds she heard in Mali. It shows her fascination for a world which is accoustically based on work rhythms, her fascination for the uninhibited and intentional use of repetitions, that create a magical event out of an action or a word, a meditative evocation, a meaningful act or in other words: music!

Stini Arn (CH)
| sound artist |
Stini Arn is a sound traveller that collects and researches sounds and uses them for her musical compositions for theater, film, radio plays and installations. For her performances she invents instruments that produce sound from daily objects and work tools. Koffertechnik is one of them that she made from a wheeled suitcase which contains the electronic device and serves at the same time as the sound producer with its wheels, handle and plastic shell. Webstall is her latest work which consists of a loom that transforms to a musical instrument by added electronical and mechanical elements that amplify and and modify the rhythmic sound of weaving. Her inspiration were several trips to Mali where there still don’t exist machines for most of the work and which makes the place very musical by the man-made rhythmical sounds. Especially the story about the pounding of the women with the mortar which was the inspiration for the men to create the drum, was a revelation for her.
WEB :: www.stiniarn.ch / www.taktstoff.com

Stini Arn :: MaliFoliSofia

See track descriptions for links to work.

Fragmentation // Eyot Soundscape

thoughtsarelikebirds

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