22 December 2014

Cosmic Birth [New Moon December 2014]



As humans have grown and expanded to every corner of this planet we call home, it has become increasingly clear that the Earth's limited resources cannot sustain our species' endless appetite for novel experiences and new horizons. Even though our mother Earth is already much older than ourselves, even she has a limited lifetime and our obsession with technology and expansion has now opened the possibility to ensure our species' long-term survival by making our way to other planets, other star systems, maybe one day even other galaxies. The earth has carried and sustained us for so long, yet now we are poised to take the next step into a new home- the Universe itself.

As I put together this mix of soundtracks from sci-fi films which touch on themes of exploration and transcendence, I also noticed a sub-theme of sacrifice and death emerging- from the mind-bending exploration of death, mourning, connection and consciousness in Solaris, to the sacrifice of the crew of the Icarus II in Sunshine, the stunning end scene of The Fountain, the death and rebirth symbolism in Gravity, the music from Zbigniew Preisner's Requiem paradoxically used in the creation scene of The Tree of Life, and of course the overarching themes of sacrifice and new beginnings in Interstellar. Birth and death are really two sides of the same coin- an end of the old way of life, and a beginning of the new.

Note: this mix is mastered quieter than the others to maintain an expressive dynamic range. Please adjust your volume accordingly!

playlist:
Cristian Sandquist feat. Carl Sagan - Wanderers
James Horner - Apollo 13
Alan Silvestri - Awful Waste Of Space [Contact]
Cliff Martinez - We Don't Have to Think Like That Anymore [Solaris]
John Murphy - Adagio in D Minor [Sunshine]
Clint Mansell - Death Is The Road To Awe [The Fountain]
Steven Price - Gravity
Hans Zimmer - No Time For Caution (Randal_Paul's Film Version) [Interstellar]
Hans Zimmer - Where We're Going [Interstellar]
Zbigniew Preisner - Lacrimosa [Tree of Life]
Zbigniew Preisner - Prayer
Hans Zimmer - Detatch [Interstellar]
Gustav Holst - Neptune, The Mystic


The first track is from this incredible CG short film, which was also a huge inspiration for this mix:


Wanderers - a short film by Erik Wernquist from Erik Wernquist on Vimeo.

08 December 2014

Cosmic Womb - Full Moon December 2014

Cosmic Womb [Full Moon December 2014] by Hiddenplacemusic on Mixcloud

From the thatched hut in the jungle to the towering skyscraper, the human species' drive for creativity and self-expression has resulted in a myriad of cultures and societies, a bewilderingly rich diversity of colors, forms and sounds. Each human society's unique experiences coalesce into distinctive cultural expressions, building cohesion and cooperation within the group by setting up boundaries and defining a group as separate from another. Our language, behavior, appearance and music identity us as part of a certain collection of humans, while simultaneously distancing us from all other humans. The emerging global culture has made us aware of the vast differences in human expression, yet also reveals the similarities we all share in the journey of life, love and the pursuit of happiness. Even as we seek to preserve and celebrate these cultural treasures, we must recognize each other as members of the same Human Family, working together to honor and preserve our common origin: Mother Earth, the Cosmic Womb.

playlist:
Digital Samsara - C#
Bombay Dub Orchestra - Songs From The Seven Towers
Loopbaba - Aerial Roots
Ricky Kej - Exotic Dreams
Erofex - Garden Of Dreams
emancipator - Minor Cause
Chronos - Mystery Of Time
Cygna - Caucasus
Chronos – Leelah
Shpongle - The Epiphany Of Mrs Kugla
Globular - Timeless Vibration
Lapa - Roadwalk
Digital Samsara - BOSPOROS

13 April 2014

Springtime Synesthesia



blissful, chilled soundcolors for a full moon spring Sunday.

"It would be truly surprising if sound were not capable of suggesting color, if colors could not give the idea of the melody, if sound and color were not adequate to express ideas; for things have always expressed themselves through reciprocal analogy..."
— Charles Baudelaire

playlist:
The Art Of Noise - On Being Blue
Ricky Kej - Blue
Helios - Halving The Compass 
Ott - The Queen Of All Everything 
Erothyme - Fire of Purification (feat. Kyrstyn Pixton) 
Cahb - Secrets
:papercutz - Lylac (Helios Remix) 
Krister Linder - Broken Horses (Planet Boelex remix)
Crisopa - Matchin
Wavespell - Shambala Groove