Gathering Clouds (mix)

Gathering Clouds

This must be one of the darkest mixes I have created until now.
I recommend headphone listening for this mix, but also recommend to avoid late night listening – unless, of course, you know what to expect.

The atmosphere is immediately set with the first notes, with a threatening (Boduf Songs) howl , and may even get downright frightening in the end climax.
Yet, not all is dark and gloomy.
In the middle section, there are also more optimistic sounds to enjoy, some more comfortable moments.

So: just let the Machinefabriek track (‘Stroomtoon Eén’- about 4 minutes from the start) guide you downward to a lower consciousness level – “Inception” style – and from there let your imagination do the rest….

There are a couple of surprising ‘similarities’ in this mix: the two-note chords in the Richard Skelton – The The – Anna Rose Carter sequence, and the vocal part from  Murcof track seamlessly following the preceding Library Tapes main theme.

But the most surprising track in this mix may be the Whistlebinkies track at the end.
Though not exactly a track to expect in any ‘ambient’ mix, I clearly felt that this theme should find its place in this mix.
Neither because it has a universal, somewhat melancholic,  universally appealing, “coming home” feeling.
Nor because this version of the classic (Scotch) Gaelic song also has a nice musical-box like effect: a repeating theme gradually slowing down to help babies (or yourself) fall asleep.
But mostly because I felt I could not ‘just’ end this mix immediately after the preceding climax… This track is the equivalent of a movie’s end title section –  presenting the opportunity to get yourself together before you’re leaving the theatre – still wondering what just happened ….

This is the question I want to ask you : what happened to you when listening to this mix?

Thanks for listening!

I am very proud that this mix has been “radio-premiered” on the same day it was published: in the 09-09-2012 edition of Bob Rusche‘s X-Ray radioshow (Concertzender, Holland) – it even was repeated exactly three months later: on 09-12-2012.

Gathering Clouds - Mix Sequence




Playlist:

[Start] [Sample Length] [Artist] – [Title]
[Album Title], [Year], [Label Details]

  • 00:00 01:05 Boduf Songs – Howl to Capitulate Undone Hours (3x)
    Internal Memo, 2012, Morc Records MORC59
  • 00:25 02:02 Matthew Florianz – Kuil
    unused track for Los, 2011, selfreleased
  • 01:40 01:43 Shackleton – Music for the Quiet Hours Part 1
    Music for the Quiet Hours, 2012, Woe to the Septic Heart! SepticCD001
  • 02:00 04:57 Dr. Jeffrey Thompson – Voice of Earth
    Nasa Voyager I & II Space Probe Recordings, 1992, Center for Neuroacoustic Research
  • 03:04 02:25 Peter Prautzsch – Nebelbank
    Schwere See, 2012, Palacmusic PM008
  • 04:15 06:00 Machinefabriek – Stroomtoon Eén
    Stroomtoon, 2012, Nuun Records NUUN12
  • 04:31 03:26 Dr. Jeffrey Thompson – Neptune
    Nasa Voyager I & II Space Probe Recordings, 1992, Center for Neuroacoustic Research
  • 09:05 02:52 Richard Skelton – Promontory
    Verse of Birds, 2012, Corbel Stone Press CSPCD001
  • 10:37 01:10 The The – Marking Time
    Cineola Volume 1: Tony, 2010, Lazarus Cineola 1
  • 11:14 03:50 Anna Rose Carter – Two for Joy (Ed Hamilton Edit)
    Sequence 4, 2012, Future Sequence SEQ004
  • 14:08 02:29 Xabier Erkizia – Ahmedabad Extasis
    Somewhere on the Edge, 2012, Gruenrekorder GRUEN100
  • 15:13 02:48 Ronny Nibletts – Slap My Halyards
    Insta-gram-bient, 2011, Disquiet
  • 16:05 01:59 Enrico Coniglio – Angels of San Marco
    Salicornie Topofonie, vol. 2, 2010, Psychonavigation Records, PSY039
  • 16:30 06:20 Wil Bolton – Blackpoint
    Under a Name that Hides Her, 2012, Hibernate HB41
  • 18:11 06:15 Antonymes – Familiar Things Happen, And Mankind does not bother about them
    Light Dispersed, 2012, Hibernate Postcard 018
  • 21:28 06:30 Biosphere – Vi Kan Tenka Digitalt, Vi Kan Tala Digitalt (edit)
    Compilation 1991-2004, 2012, Biophon Records BIO7D
  • 25:46 06-09 Joe Evans – Oort Cloud (edit)
    Ecliptic Plane, 2012, RunningOnAir RM008
  • 29:11 02:25 Leah Buckareff – Breathing Heavy
    Breathing Heavy Breathing, 2012 Thisquietarmy records TQA023
  • 30:21 03:28 Woob – 85bit
    Repurpose, 2010 Bigamoebasounds BASCD01
  • 32:54 04:10 Loscil – Halocline
    Sequence 4, 2012 Future Sequence SEQ004
  • 35:30 03:47 Deaf Center – Plateaux (edit)
    Lost in the Humming Air, Oktaf OKTAF004
  • 38:25 01:59 Mark Peter Wright – A Line Made By Listening
    Somewhere on the Edge, 2012, Gruenrekorder GRUEN100
  • 39:26 06:44 Sleep Research Facility – Stealth 1 (edit)
    Stealth, 2012, Cold Spring CSR159CD
  • 39:56 03:03 Sleep Research Facility – Stealth 3
    Stealth, 2012, Cold Spring CSR159CD
  • 44:16 03:14 Library Tapes – Found
    Sun Peeking Through, 2012, Auetic auecd006
  • 47:07 02:24 Murcof – A Lesson for the Future Farewell to the Old Ways
    The Versailles Session, 2008, Leaf BAY67CD
  • 48:25 04:42 Chris Watson – El Tajin
    El Tren Fantasma, 2011, Touch TO:42
  • 49:53 04:19 Thomas Köner – Novaya Zemlya Part 2
    Novaya Zemlya, 2012, Touch TO:85
  • 50:38 03:12 Pablo Sanz – Maghrib Prayer
    Somewhere on the Edge, 2012, Gruenrekorder GRUEN100
  • 52:20 03:37 Laura Sheeran – The Sadness of the Sea (Esperik Glare Remix)
    The Sadness of the Sea Remixes, 2010, selfreleased
  • 54:11 03:12 Recyclopedia (Frans Friedrich/Robert Kroos) – Tao Theta
    Recyclopedia T, 2011, selfreleased
  • 54:50 01:55 Nicolas Bernier, Jacques Poulin-Denis – Olo
    Sur Fond Blanc, 2012, Ekumen EK009
  • 56:13 01:08 Bruce Gilbert – Isopyre
    Oblivio Agitatum, 2009, Editions Mego eMEGO096
  • 56:50 00:31 Boduf Songs – Howl to Capitulate Undone Hours (Edit, 3x)
    Internal Memo, 2012, Morc Records MORC59
  • 57:18 02:42 Whistlebinkies – Nuair A Bha Mi Og (When I Was Young)
    Timber Timbre, 1999, Greentrax CDtrax159
  • 1:00:00 End

Download Gathering Clouds Now 100Mb (60:00 min.)
[DTS – Surround Version also available]

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30 Comments

  2. LukePWilkins (via Mixcloud)

    Hello,

    Really quick question; Mixcloud, Ambientblog, Gathering Clouds.

    4.1 thousands listens, versus 2+ for the rest of your mixes.

    Why do you reckon that is?

    1. PvC

      This question has bothered me too. Why do some of the mixes have so much more listeners than others?

      It can’t be the mixes itself, since they all are somewhat the same (which could be another reason, of course 😉 )

      Personally I think that it is due to a radical change in the way Mixcloud promotes new mixes.

      The oldest mixes were put online rapidly one after another, without paying too much detail on promoting them. And since users tend to listen to the newest mixes and forget about the older, they never got much attention.

      About three years ago, that changed. Mixcloud then had a different way of promoting new mixes so that a new one got to a top of a ‘recommended’ list more easily (and automatically), which attracted new listeners easily.
      At that time, all mixes easily gathered 2k of listeners, with some positive exceptions like Gathering Clouds etc – probably because they got some promotion by ‘word of mouth’ or on other blogs too.

      Some time ago, Mixcloud drastically changed the way they promoted new mixes. It’s easy to see when that was: I immediately noticed a drastic drop in listener stats from that moment – new mixes have never even touched the 1.000 anymore.

      I have mailed with them about the way they compile the ‘staff picks’ chart but I never got a clear answer. It is partly hand-picked I guess. There’s also a ‘trending chart’ which helps a bit but the algorithm behind that is not very clear to me too.

      It makes me doubt sometimes… but it is as it is. I’m really fine with being an ‘obscure niche’, since this is what I do….
      So if you enjoy it: please share it with all others that may enjoy them.

  15. Caroline Burger (via Facebook)

    Deze mix is een soort reis. De Haarlemmermeer hebben we in elk geval nu achter ons gelaten…

    Eerlijk is eerlijk, het is een aparte muzikale ervaring. Anders dan een nummertje van De Dijk. Maar als ik moet kiezen…

  16. Kees van den Berg (via Facebook)

    Jongens, jongens, terwijl ik de preek voor zondagmorgen aan het fine tunen ben, luister ik naar Gathering Clouds.
    In één woord: schitterend. In een paar woorden: intrigerend, diep en spacy.