We're back with another journey into the highest heights of the past, present and future of spectral sound. The Green Path for May brings deep ecological drone, ethereal sound science, water-borne mechanisms, therapeutic chamber jazz, and synapse scorching synthesis. Tune in for a full hour of uninterrupted mind travel, and check the show notes below for more details. Please support the artists and labels, and thanks for listening!
Barry Cleveland is an author, journalist, composer and musician, probably best known for his beautiful Stones of Precious Water album originally released on cassette in 1986, and reissued in 2020 by Morning Trip. Cleveland has been active for many years, doing soundtrack work for pictures, collaborating a while back with legend Richard Pinhas, and producing a catalog of fascinating music over the last three decades. The 2CD collection Memory and Imagination pulls together a league of Cleveland's work, a trove of expansive thought in action. The track "Bottom's Up" kicks things off with an undeniable groove, be sure to browse his site and deep catalog of works here.
Suzanne Ciani is a legend, a true titan of electronic music, and a powerhouse of ideas and creative process. The Lixiviation album is a doozy, released in 2016 by Finders Keepers Records, and collecting rarities and otherwise unheard recordings from master Ciani spanning 1969-1985. The track selected here “Princess With Orange Feet”, is particularly potent, such a wiggly little bop.
Clear Path Ensemble released the album "Solar Eclipse" back in 2022, and it's a gem of modern noir. The album blends classic jazz tonalities with elements of contemporary electronic production, and it's super effective. The album has become a favorite regular spin of the last few seasons. The group is led by percussionist Cory Champion, and supported by the great Soundway label. "Solar Eclipse" is a jewel of the mind, the smoothest of tunes for the roughest of times. Plus the artwork is incredible, grip an LP while you still can.
Sean McCann is well known as a mastering engineer, working in that capacity on literally hundreds of records, but he also creates tons of excellent music of his own, having built an impressive catalog. The wonderful "Music for Private Ensemble" album came out back in 2013, issued on the artists own Recital imprint, and it's a cool breeze on a warm day, with a pure form of supreme chamber ambient minimalism. The track here "Arden" is actually only the 2nd half of the final piece on the album, so take a moment to soak it up.
The music of Patricia Wolf has been rocking my world. The musician, sound designer, and field recordist is based in Portland, Oregon, and her delicate ecologically tinged soundscapes feel both infinite and crucial. I keep coming back to the excellent See-Through LP on UK label Balmat, and it always brings a wave of natural calm and joy. The track here "Woodland Encounter" is a calm walk into green, open spaces. I was also excited to see that Wolf has a new album titled The Secret Lives Of Birds, coming June 28th from Brighton label Nite Hive, which you can preorder here. Support everything Patricia Wolf and Balmat are doing, it's important and beautiful work.
Benjamin Tassie is an artist creating at the intersection of Nature and place. Tassie's 2023 release "A Ladder is Not the Only Kind of Time" is a fascinating project, created with kinetic water powered machines installed into waterways of Rivelin Valley in Sheffield. The music produced is textural, connective and transcendent, featuring artists collaborating with the mechanical installations to induce a hazy, organic dream state. Available on CD by Birmingham Record Company/NMC Recordings, and highly recommended.
Brendan Eder is a LA based artist, blending forms of ambient, classical, and jazz into glistening new shapes. The Brendan Eder Ensemble released the gorgeous Therapy album back in 2023, and it has been on repeat ever since. My copy came direct from the artist, but I was happy to see that the UK label Worried Songs recently announced a new UK/EU edition, which is certainly good for everybody too. The track featured here, "#3 (Rhubarb)" is a new arrangement for the original song by Aphex Twin. The album features 8 originals and two new arrangements for songs by Aphex Twin, and it's a stunner. This fact alone would have probably blown my mind already, but then I think about how that killer new Shane Parish “Repertoire” LP on Bill Orcutt's label Palalia also features an arrangement of an Aphex Twin song, and it's also totally amazing, and I can't help but wonder if there is some kind of AFX cultural resurgence happening? Synchronicity at the very least, but seriously, I can take a hint. I admit I didn't spend much time with Blackbox Life Recorder, but the 3D fold out package was cool and unnecessary. Maybe I need to dust off that Selected Ambient Works Vol II CD sometime soon.
Anthéne is the prolific project of artist / producer Bradley Sean, specializing in crumbling analog drone, and patient, meditative soundscapes. The Aurora album was released in 2016 on the artists' own Polar Seas imprint out of Ontario. The work is minimal and expressive, working with a limited palette of guitar loops, Juno synth and melodica, but creating whole worlds within the miniature form. Aurora is borne from an elemental space of serenity. Sean recently launched a new label Floralia, which seems promising, I'll be excited to see what happens next.
Daniel O'Sullivan traffics in what he calls "deep wallpaper", with an elevated and futurist approach, and an uncanny knack for creating timeless grooves in his short form library music. Last year I picked up the 3LP bundle from VHF Records, which is mind blowing, collecting Dan's LP's for the legendary KPM Library. The album "Electric Māyā: Dream Flotsam and Astral Hinterlands" is the source of the track "Lunar Pool" featured here, and features additional engineering by the one and only Thighpaulsandra. O'Sullivan stays busy, with what I'm sure will be a beautiful new album of library music, scheduled to drop July 30th. Preorder his upcoming new album "The Pastoral Machine" here.
Earth Speaks is the project of MN based environmental sound artist Matthew Hiram, from the now defunct "handcrafted psychedelia" label Home & Garden Music. "At Garden of the Gods" is a document of the soothing power of Mother Earth. A stereo slab of natural sound, capturing dawn's chorus in the early sunrise hour in the wilderness of Shawnee National Forest. Follow Matthew's work here.
Hoverkraft is the cosmic synth project of Sir Paul Reidl, probably best known as a member of the space themed death metal band Blood Incantation, but also developing a sharp reputation for his own brand of timeless New Age monster minimalism, both under his own name and with this project Hoverkraft. While I am confused about the whole claiming to be German thing, the vibes are pristine. The album title Schwebende Musik originally landed in 2021 on cassette, thanks to the mighty SFI Recordings for doing the good work.
THE GREEN PATH | MAY 20th 2024 | PLAYLIST
BARRY CLEVELAND - “Bottom’s Up” from the album Memory and Imagination
SUZANNE CIANI - “Princess With Orange Feet” from the album Lixiviation
CLEAR PATH ENSEMBLE - “Absolvo” from the album Solar Eclipse
SEAN MCANN - “Arden” from the album Music for Private Ensemble
PATRICIA WOLF - “Woodland Encounter” from the album See-Through
BENJAMIN TASSIE - “Wolf Wheel” from the album A Ladder is Not the Only Kind of Time
BRENDAN EDER ENSEMBLE - “#3 (Rhubarb)” - from the album Therapy
ANTHÉNE - Untitled II from the album Aurora
DANIEL O’SULLIVAN - “Lunar Pool” from the album Electric Māyā: Dream Flotsam and Astral Hinterlands
EARTH SPEAKS - “at Garden of the Gods” (excerpt) from the album at Garden of the Gods
HOVERKRAFT - “Innere Ozeane” from the album Schwebende Musik
Total playtime: 1:00:00
Originally broadcast at 11pm CET on May 20th, 2024 via CAMP Radio France.
Portions of this program have been sourced from vinyl and cassette formats.
Check The Green Path archives for more.