My good friend and accomplice in exploration of beautiful music, Peter van Cooten, returns to Headphone Commute to showcase some of his favorite selections from 2011. And what a great way to start off the year! Here is an introduction from Peter:

This mix obviously found its name from the lovely intro (and outtro) track by Nest.

In-between, there are many moments of ‘stillness’, too… Moments you may slowly drift off into the drones, letting your mind wander… to be pulled back again by some of the post-classical ‘anchors’ in this mix from A Winged Victory For the Sullen, Human Greed, Vladimír Gódar, and Maya Beiser (member of Bang on a Can, with a stunning cello performance of the Djivan Gasparyan composition ‘Memories’).

Most of the tracks featured in this collection were released in 2011. But this mix is not intended to be a “Best of…” overview. That would result in a selection with an entirely different atmosphere (and much longer, because one hour would not be enough to cover all the great releases I have enjoyed in 2011).

Perhaps there’s no better way to start off a new year than to offer a small opportunity to retreat from current society’s turmoil, and to find some time to ‘cocoon’ to the sounds (and the sometimes fascinating depths) of ‘Stillness’. Some word of warning, however: if the title suggests that this mix only contains warm, comfortable and pleasurable sounds, be prepared for some surprises.

I never said that “Stillness” always meant “Comforting”…

ambientblog.net

Tracklisting
[start time][sample length][artist – title] [album details]
00:00 05:55 Nest – Stillness
Body Pilot, 2011, Serein SERE 11.3
04:04 02:07 Electricity
private collection, 2011, not on album
04:44 02:33 I8U – Toluene
Surface Tension, 2011, Murmur Records MMR10
06:32 01:29 Cliff Martinez – I’m Sick
Contagion Soundtrack, 2011, Watertower Music WTM39266
07:09 05:01 Esther Venrooy – Vessel
Vessel, 2011, Entr’acte E104
08:43 03:34 Leah Kardos – The Waiting
Feather Hammer, 2011, Bigo and Twigetti
11:15 03:02 Lance Olsen – The Creature that Drank Sound
Au Clair de La Lune, 2009, Infrequency IN005
12:05 08:10 Bass Communion – Cenotaph
Cenotaph, 2011, Tonefloat TF115
18:16 02:45 A Winged Victory for the Sullen – A Requiem for the Static King
A Winged Victory for the Sullen, 2011, Kranky KRANK157
20:33 03:57 Vladimír Godár – Postludio – Mantra
Querela Pacis, 2011, Pavian Records PM0050-2
23:16 06:27 Human Greed, Michael Begg, Colin Potter – Deshret
Fortress Longing, 2011, Omnempathy OMIC2
28:13 03:10 Carbon Based Lifeforms – System
Twentythree, 2011, Ultimae Records, INRE047
30:27 02:07 Kirill Platonkin – Stellar Seeds (Original)
Purified by the Fire, 2011, ADX 035
30:51 06:02 Sister Waize – Side Time Down
A Dawning of Wonder, 2011, self-released
36:17 02:16 Spectra Ciera – Unlit Pathway
Underpass, 2011, Feedback Loop Label FBL020
37:02 02:21 Justin Bennett – Tiergarten 1
Wildlife, 2008, Spore Records Spore 2007
38:26 03:16 Jacaszek – Windhover
Glimmer, 2011, Ghostly International, GI-147
40:50 03:01 Tom Lawrence – Moore’s Well
Water Beetles of Pollardstown Fen, 2011, Gruenrekorder GRUEN 087
41:51 04:08 Pascal Savy – Reflective Shadow
Liminal, 2011, Feedback Loop Label, PHBL02
44:39 02:53 Jan M. Iversen – Wolfsburg (Long)
Standalones, 2010, TIBProd 100
45:28 01:03 Paul Schütze – Sacred Agents
New Maps of Hell, 1992, Big Cat UK Records ABB 104 CD
46:57 00:49 Chris Watson – El Divisadero
El Tren Fantasma, 2011, Touch TO:42
47:16 01:47 Chris Watson – Sierra Taramuhara
El Tren Fantasma, 2011, Touch TO:42
48:12 01:31 Israel Martinez – There Were People II
El Hombre Que Se Sofoca, 2011, Sub Rosa SR319
48:53 04:46 Maya Beiser – Memories (by Djivan Gasparyan)
Provenance, 2011, Innova 778
52:28 05:32 Penjaga Insaf – Alam Semsta
Sama Sadja, 2010, Power & Steel PAS 27
57:12 02:47 Nest – Stillness
Body Pilot, 2011, Serein SERE 11.3
1:00:00 end

[ S T R E A M ] | [ D O W N L O A D ] | [ P O D C A S T ] | [ i T U N E S ]