I'm In Love, What's That Song?!

(oystered 57)

1. R.E.M. "The Flowers Of Guatemala" (Life's Rich Pageant, 1986)
2. ~false intro~
3. The Replacements "Can't Hardly Wait" (Pleased To Meet Me, 1987)
4. Tears For Fears "Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Songs From The Big Chair, 1985)
5. U2 "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (The Joshua Tree, 1987)
6. Simple Minds "Alive & Kicking" (Once Upon A Time, 1985)
7. The Church "Under The Milky Way Tonight" (Starfish, 1988)
8. The Perfect Disaster "T.V. (Girl On Fire)" (Asylum Road, 1988)
9. The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy "Angels" (Distressed Gentlefolk, 1986)
10. New Order "Love Vigilantes" (Low Life, 1985)
11. Modern English "I Melt With You" (I Melt With You, 1982)
12. Felt "Primitive Painters" (Ignite The Seven Cannons and Set Sail For The Sun, 1985)
13. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark "If You Leave" (If You Leave, 1985)
14. INXS "This Time" (Listen Like Thieves, 1985)
15. Love And Rockets "Waiting For The Flood" (Earth Sun Moon, 1987)
16. Bruce Springsteen "Growin' Up" (Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., 1973)
17. Talking Heads "And She Was" (Little Creatures, 1985)
18. Echo & The Bunnymen "All My Life" (Echo & The Bunnymen, 1987)

Inspired by an inspired lost found(!) weekend with old friends. Equal parts goosebumps, bedroom nostalgia, teenage lust, insecurities, school dances, talent shows...
Goin' wayback!

Electric Campfires (4)

(oystered 56)

1. Leandro Fresco & Rafael Anton Irisarri "Entre La Niebla" La Equidistancia (A Strangely Isolated Place)
2. Golden Retriever "Sunsight" Rotations (Thrill Jockey)
3. GAS "Narkopop 7" Narkopop (Kompakt)
4. Janek Schaefer "Falls From Favour" Glitter In My Tears (Room40)
5. Byron Westbrook "Ritual Geometry / Sympathetic Bodies" Body Consonance (Hands In The Dark)
6. Leyland 'The Caretaker' Kirby "Consolation/ I Still Feel As Though I Am Me [b. neptune mix]" We, So Tired Of All The Darkness In Our Lives/ Everywhere At The End Of Time (History Always Favours The Winners)
7. Stephan Mathieu "Gisèle" RADIANCE X: Her Dark Gaze Drowned In Light (Schwebung)
8. Monster Rally "Vaqueros De La Isla" Flowering Jungle (Gold Robot)
9. Jon Porras "Still Life" Tokonoma (Geographic North)
10. The Fun Years "A Decade of Weakness Pt II" Heroes Of The Second Story Walk-Up (Spring Break)
11. Island People "Vogelsang" Island People (Raster-Media)
12. Alexis Georgopoulos & Jefre Cantu-Ledesma "Lost Summer" Fragments Of A Season (Emotional Response)
13. Taylor Deupree "Aoka" Somi (12k)
14. Auburn Lull "Mora=Mirage" Hypha (Azure Vista)
15. Olli Aarni "Hehkuva Tuuli" Nielu (Florabelle)

Saving the best for last—maybe. The set opens with what was the inspiration and motivation behind all six year-end surveys—a collaboration between Leandro Fresco, from Argentina, known for his spacious pop-ambient style and Rafael Anton Irisarri, whose sound, more often than not, is altogether more suffocating—the impetus being, to create better versions of Kompakt’s own yearly Pop Ambient dispatches, which, I’d like to think, the three Electric Campfires from this year, does fairly well. And, to feature only one song per release/ artist combination, showcasing just how much great music is being released—the three Electric Campfires alone cover 47 songs from 45 different releases and 44 artist combinations.

From lesser knowns to ambient veterans, the mix concludes with a strong one-two (three-four) punch. First, a nostalgic and unlikely take from Alexis Georgopoulos and Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, recalling some underrepresented sounds--still--from the mid-‘80s, followed by a Taylor Deupree trifecta—first, a track from his Somi album, then two mastering jobs, the first, a vulnerable, deliberate and devastatingly charming track from Auburn Lull (song of the year?); the second, a lengthy nod out from Fennoscandia’s Olli Aarni, appropriately pure and classic.

Electric Campfires (3)

(oystered 55)

1. Yui Onodera "Nine Chairs To The Moon" Pop Ambient 2018 (Kompakt)
2. Marcus Fischer "Murmurations/ Variation Seven [b. neptune mix]" Loss/ Film Variations (12k/ bandcamp, self released)
3. Sarah Davachi "For Piano" All My Circles Run (Students Of Decay)
4. Loren Connors "Oh, My Beloved" Evangeline (Recital)
5. Growing "No Trace" Disorder (Important)
6. The Inward Circles "Scaleby, I" Scaleby (Corbel Stone Press)
7. Konrad Sprenger "Opening" Stack Music (PAN)
8. Crys Cole & Oren Ambarchi "Burrata" Hotel Record (Black Truffle)
9. Aquarelle "Open Absence (Parts 1 & 2) [b. neptune mix]" Leave Corners (Debacle)
10. Billy Gomberg "9:21" A Changed Meaning (Strange Rules)
11. Bellows "A2 Untitled" Sander (Latency)
12. Maxwell August Croy & Sean McCann "Vesper" II (bandcamp, self-released)
13. Elodie "Le Temps d'Antan" Vieux Silence (Ideologic Organ)
14. William Basinski "A Shadow In Time [b. neptune edit]" A Shadow In Time (2062)
15. Roger Eno "Stasis Affected" This Floating World (Recital)

Part five of six, and second of three ambient-themed 2017 year-end surveys. Originally inspired by Kompakt’s yearly Pop Ambient compilations, this installment features more blissed out and ecstatic, glitched up, melancholic, pensive and reflective tracks from the likes of Marcus Fischer, Aquarelle, William Basinski, Oren Ambarchi with his partner Crys Cole, Richard Skelton and Andrew Chalk (as one half of Elodie) as well as Brian’s brother, Roger Eno, among many other notables.

Tech-yes (1)

(oystered 54)

1. The Orb “4am Exhale (Dave Dk Accellerator mix)” Total 17 (Kompakt)
2. Lee Gamble “East Sedducke” Mnestic Pressure (Hyperdub)
3. Porter Ricks “Port of Tangency” Anguilla Electrica (Tresor)
4. Tilliander “Mokirian Tekno Trak” Compuriddum (iDEAL)
5. Voigt & Voigt “Tribute to a Greek God” Total 17 (Kompakt)
6. Ricardo Villalobos “Empirical House” Emperical House (a:rpia:r)
7. Inventing Masks “3’19”” 2nd (Error Broadcast)
8. Four Tet “You Are Loved” New Energy (Text)
9. Burnt Friedman & Mohammad Reza Mortazavi “Yek 132-11” Yek (Nonplace)
10. M.E.S.H. “Diana Triplex” Hesaitix (PAN)
11. Eric Copeland “Close Encounters” Goofballs (DFA)
12. Jürgen Paape “Always Disko” Total 17 (Kompakt)
13. Demian “Milestars” Total 17 (Kompakt)
14. Thomas Brinkmann “Sweetback” Retrospektiv (Third Ear)
15. NHK yx Koyxen “Finding” Exit Entrance (DFA)
16. Melchior Productions “The Hope” Superlongevity 6 (Perlon)
17. Jan Jelinek “Poren” Loop Finding Jazz Records (Faitiche)

Fourth overall 2017 year-end survey is an eclectic mix of electronic cuts, from after-party rave-downs, minimal dub and futuristic jams to crunchy techno grooves, anthemic and emotional dancefloor fillers, extended zone-outs and more effervescent and jazz mood-pieces featuring the likes of The Orb, Jan Jelinek, Ricardo Villalobos, Andreas Tilliander, Porter Ricks, Four Tet and more.