The Signal: EP114 – On repeat, forever, a music mix to last ’til everything we know is dust and gravity surrenders. All other mixes can be shuffled off to homes, to play with every lost dog, to watch every soap opera, to eat spaghetti on the same day every week.
As with the previous 113 mixes, this one is available for a limited period of time. The image above links to a page where you can download it. It’s 45 minutes of music, and this time out we’ve got: a choral group team-up featuring artists from Tuva and Bulgaria, electronica, hip hop, rock from Australia, surf music from Spain, reggae from Argentina, pop in Portuguese from San Francisco, and meditations on forever. If you want to know details, you’ll find the tracklist in the id3 tags.
01. A super team-up that I didn’t even know existed ’til I went out wandering for yesterday’s Record Store Day. Two of my favorite vocal groups, from two completely different parts of the globe, teaming up! A musical miracle.
02. From a giant pay-what-you-want compilation on Bandcamp. Recommended! Send ’em some money. You get a lot for what you give.
03. If anyone knows why this track sounded instantly familiar to me, maybe because it’s in a music mix somewhere, let me know, ’cause it’s been bugging me.
04. I really like this singer’s laid-back delivery. So of course I had to use the next band’s screaming as a segue out of it.
05. Revisited the offerings from one of my favorite labels out of San Jose this last week. This band was the biggest find. The guy who runs this label finds amazing punk-y rock that scratches a real itch for me. That said… this song sure ends abruptly, doesn’t it?
06. If anyone can’t place where they know that melody from, feel free to ask. I was thrilled to recognize it, myself, especially since the song title doesn’t give any clue where they lifted it from.
07. Argentinian reggae/rocksteady! How cool is that? Every man is an island. Every man knows
08. A sample from Kendrick Lamar’s last album.
09. In order to make these mixes exactly 45 minutes, there always comes a point when I have a hole in the mix to fill and I have to look for songs that are the exact size, down to the second. And usually that’s when serendipity steps in and magic happens. I find songs I never really listened to before, or something falls in that’s thematically perfect. In this case, it’s a singer who worked with the Tuvans from track 1!
10. More music from Spain. I was listening to Spanish ska when I came across this one.
11. There’s a whole “dark folk” genre out there full of goth country tunes like this one. Been dipping my toe in there as well. So here we go! There’s nothing waiting for us, folks!
12. If the last track was a bummer, the hope is that this one salves the wound a bit. It’s only dying. No big deal.
And there we have it! We were grooving along and then things got a bit dark. I had a birthday recently. That might have something to do with it.
Anyway, if you dig the mix, let me know. Leave a note in the usual drop spot. Underneath the third tree in the forest your parents tell you not to go into. Make sure you wear red while you’re out there. Don’t kick over any fairy rings. If you feel like you’re being watched, just hum. The tune doesn’t matter.