Sounds from Innerspace

innerspaceboy · 07-03-2019, 05:09 AM

Supplemental Note:

On June 11th I shared the sheet music for MFA which I'd reworked into a 10" x 13" framed piece for my new office, and shared it to a Brian Eno group on FB along with the newly-acquired Oxford Keynote book by Lysaker.

A fellow member of the group by the name of Kirk McElhearn thanked me for putting the book on his radar, and ended up contacting Lysaker for a 30-minute interview session for his podcast, The Next Track.

That interview is now live and listenable here: https://www.thenexttrack.com/156

OccultHawk · 07-03-2019, 09:24 AM

Recently I’ve been reading essays by Willard Van Orman Quine and Martin Heidegger and one idea I’m taking away from both of them is that there’s an ethereal period in both our ontological as well as our epistemological understanding of something new while we’re determining the right language to describe what it is. Ambient music is definitely in that ethereal zone. All you have to do is go to the descriptions from the artists themselves and it’s almost painful to witness first hand their desperate attempts to bridge the gap linguistically. Considering the impact music has on culture, finding a way to attach the correct langauge to ambient music is potentially a positive cultural revolution in the making.

innerspaceboy · 07-03-2019, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

Recently I’ve been reading essays by Willard Van Orman Quine and Martin Heidegger and one idea I’m taking away from both of them is that there’s an ethereal period in both our ontological as well as our epistemological understanding of something new while we’re determining the right language to describe what it is. Ambient music is definitely in that ethereal zone. All you have to do is go to the descriptions from the artists themselves and it’s almost painful to witness first hand their desperate attempts to bridge the gap linguistically. Considering the impact music has on culture, finding a way to attach the correct langauge to ambient music is potentially a positive cultural revolution in the making.

Well said! I tried reading Roger Scruton's The Aesthetics of Music which examines the art form from the perspective of modern philosophy, but it just didn't grab me. The linguistics of it, however, might be of greater interest.

Thanks for sharing!

innerspaceboy · 07-06-2019, 03:49 PM

I've been an avid fan of the Hearts of Space radio program for many years. The show's producer and presenter, Stephen Hill has been showcasing the finest in ambient, space, and contemplative music for over thirty five years.

Their label has issued almost 150 albums and in 2001 they launched an online streaming service where members have access to the complete broadcast history of the program, complete with playlists and the ability to enable or disable the narration segments.

As of the date of publication of this article, I maintain a complete archive of all HOS program broadcasts from their premiere on January 1st, 1983 to program 1,219 which aired on June 28, 2019. I also have the official HOS poster framed in my office.

You can imagine my delight at discovering that in 2018, Valley Entertainment, (the company that bought Hearts of Space Records in 2001), issued a limited edition double LP of the music from the first-ever syndicated broadcast of the show.

Originally issued on compact disc in 2008 under cat # 2-HOS-11500, this special vinyl edition was released Sept 21, 2018 in honor of the 35th anniversary of the program.

From the official release page:

Quote:

Best of Hearts of Space,No.1: First Flight appears on vinyl as Hearts of Space celebrates the 35th anniversary of the airing of this - its first ever show. This double-LP pressing is a limited edition of only 500 pieces and features the music of original broadcast including Academy Award winner Vangelis with Irene Papas and Grammy Award winners Kitaro and David Darling. Other artists include Russian composer Thomas De Hartmann, instrumentalist Deuter, and pioneering ambient musician Michael Stearns.

“You have in your hand something of a classic. This was the kickoff program of the nationally syndicated Hearts of Space Public Radio show in January 1983. It's perhaps the best example of the creative mix of contemplative jazz, classical, electronic, world and new age music that remains the central innovation of the program. Far from the chaos of digital music today where everything is accessible but uncurated, First Flight is an enduring, transcendent experience.”

- Stephen Hill, Producer – Hearts of Space

______

After ten years as a local Bay Area program Hearts of Space emerged in January 1983 with syndication to 35 non-commercial radio stations. The program is now syndicated on over 200 NPR stations and boasts the second largest footprint of any current show on NPR. From the beginning, the program's success has come from consistently high production quality and sensitive, knowledgeable music programming. The program has defined its own niche -- a mix of ambient, electronic, world, new age, classical and experimental music. Artists and record companies around the world recognize Hearts of Space as the original, most widely heard, premiere showcase for "contemplative music, broadly defined." The Best of Hearts of Space: First Flight is the first show aired from January 1, 1983. The show features what are now premier names in the format including Academy Award® winner Vangelis with Irene Papas, Grammy® Award winner Kitaro and Grammy® nominated David Darling. Other artists include Russian composer Thomas De Hartmann, instrumentalist Deuter, and pioneering ambient musician Michael Stearns.

This limited edition double LP is catalog no. 1-HOS-11500 and is another proud addition to my archive.

"Safe journeys, space fans, wherever you are."

innerspaceboy · 07-06-2019, 07:46 PM

Obligatory related post.

innerspaceboy · 07-07-2019, 03:57 AM

The privilege of hearing exclusive private releases can sometimes be the most rewarding and fulfilling musical experiences in an archivist’s life. And so it is with this brand new edit. The history and context of its composition is cryptic and shrouded in mystery, with very few search results on the internet, (I count three in total at the time of this drafting), which make the honor of receiving a copy all the more exciting.

From the very little information available publicly, it seems that this was originally released in an unknown number of exclusive edit singles, (at least 39 as evidenced by what members have compiled and contributed to theritesofmu wixsite at https://theritesofmu.wixsite.com/klf...he-past-puzzle). It appears that the new complete(?) cut titled, "Welcome To The Past (Unedited)" was issued June 30th and distributed directly by the artist via private email in WAV format.

One of the previously-issued segments have been filed on Discogs here:

https://www.discogs.com/The-KLF-Welc...lease/12381982

But the new complete (?) WAV now has an entry of its own:

https://www.discogs.com/The-KLF-Welc...lease/13822393

The WAV's Discogs entry sheds little additional light on this mysteriously wonderful release. It has what appears to be placeholder artwork as I've found no record of official art for the track, but the Discogs entry does provide a few other pieces of information.

First, it confirms the total run time of the track to be 41:47 (corroborated by the WAV file I received), and bears the style tags of "ambient," "synth pop," and "trance." It also offers a catalog number as part of the unofficial (but intensely professional) series, with this entry marked as “KLF 000RE.”

Distribution is denoted as UK and Europe, but with my understanding that this was a non-physical digital release issued via email I would say that the UK and Europe designation serves more a point of origin rather than an official region for the release. (I am in the US.)

But on to the track itself. The KLF Recovered & Remastered series is infamous and highly-prized for good reason, with several titles outshining even the original incarnations by Bill and Jimmy, themselves. Live From The Lost Continent is the greatest concert that never was. This Is Not What Space Is About and This Is Not What Chill Out Is About are each a pure triumph of the art of remixing and are powerfully epic listening which transport the listener to new worlds of experience.

Welcome To The Past (Unedited) is no exception to the incredibly high standard of production and musical cut-up artistry maintained consistently throughout the continuing Recovered & Remastered saga. It is frankly astonishing how much dynamic and fresh content its creator has been able to construct from the finite bank of the KLF's catalog. He effectively breathes new life into their music and meticulously and masterfully assembles an array of seemingly innocuous samples of sirens, trance beats, and train station field recordings into a seamless and transportive opus of provocative proportions.

The final minutes of the mix are evocative and stirring, tugging wistfully at the heartstrings of every KLF devotee who has followed their zenarchistic madness from 1987 to the present day. Perhaps it is silly to romanticize trance music built upon discordian mythos and mayhem, but Welcome To The Past is an exquisite specimen of remix culture and a pure and proper celebration of the legacy of The KLF.

Five stars. Pure joy. “This is what the KLF are about. Over and out.”

innerspaceboy · 07-16-2019, 07:34 PM

Another Underworld classic has arrived at Innerspace Labs! "Glory! Glory!" is a single from the Mk1 era before they changed their sound and released their epic Dubnobasswithmyheadman LP.

Their singles from this period were released between 1988 and 1989, and the Sire label singles featuring b-sides not found anywhere else in their catalog were issued exclusively in Germany and Australia.

I've researched all 53 variations of these single, compiled a list of all edits and b-sides and have been collecting them for years.

The Sire Singles b-sides include the following:

Glory Glory (7 pressings)

Shokk The Doctor
Glory! Glory! (Live - Full Length Version) - same as "Glory! Glory! (Live)"

Underneath the Radar (17 pressings)

Big Red X
Underneath the Radar (Edit)
Underneath The Radar (Instrumental Version)
Underneath The Radar (12" Remix)
Underneath The Radar (7" Remix) - 4:43 and exclusive to the Sire ‎– PRO-CD-2942 US CD Promo Single
Underneath The Radar (Dub)
Underneath The Radar (8:00 Remix) - same as 12" remix
Underneath The Radar (6:00 Dub) - same as "(Dub)"
Underneath The Radar (Edit From Shep Petitibone Remix) - 4:40 and exclusive to the Sire ‎– 927 937-7 European 7" single manufactured in Germany - NOTE: This version has the same runtime as the track listed on Sire ‎– PRO-CD-2942 called 7" Remix issued as a promo CD in the US and the Discogs entry lists it as being "Edited By – Shep Pettibone." They are very likely the same track.

Show Some Emotion (7 pressings)

Show Some Emotion (Remix)
Shokk The Doctor - also featured on some of the "Glory! Glory!" singles

Stand Up (14 pressings)

Stand Up (Extended Dance Mix)
Stand Up (Edit)
Stand Up (Ya House Mix)
Stand Up...(And Dance)
Outskirts

Thrash (3 pressings)

Thrash (Dance Pass)
Thrash (Extasy Pass)

Additionally, "Change the Weather" (3 pressings), "I Need a Doctor" (1 pressing), and "Pray" (1 pressing) were also issued as singles but only contained standard A-sides from the two full-length LPs released during the Mk1 era, Underneath the Radar (1988) and Change the Weather (1989).

Of these 53 releases I am missing four tracks -

Underneath the Radar (Edit) - 3:59
Underneath The Radar (7" Remix) aka (Edit From Shep Pettibone Remix) - 4:43
Thrash (Dance Pass)* - 6:25
Thrash (Extasy Pass) - 5:46

I am actively working on completing the set.

I want to give some praise to Post Punk Monk who has engaged in a similar endeavor with Underworld's even earlier work as Freur. His (or her) REVO Remastering: Freur/Underworld [Mk I] – Stainless Steel Tears [REVO 036] self-produced remaster compilation is exactly the sort of work I'm tackling.*

At the present moment my Underworld collection presently comprises 62 physical releases and artifacts, memorabilia, subway posters, books, prints, magazine articles, DVDs, VHS tapes, etc, as well as 589 digital albums, EPs, mixes, concerts, and other materials. With new material being released every week, they're showing no sign of slowing down.

OccultHawk · 07-16-2019, 08:05 PM

Did you say 589?

innerspaceboy · 07-17-2019, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

Did you say 589?

Yes. I've indexed the entire library using multiple database tools, just as I have for the rest of my digital libraries.

The Underworld collection is organized into the following root folders:

/- Albums
/- Book of Jam (UnderworldLive.com)
/- Compilations
/- Demos, Prototypes & Outtakes
/- DJ Mixes
/- Freur
/- Interviews
/- Lemon Interupt
/- Live Albums
/- Live Albums (Unofficial)
/- Miscellaneous
/- Other Unofficial Releases
/- Remixes
/- Screen Gemz
/- Singles & EP
/- Solo Projects
/- Soundtracks
/- Soundtracks (Unofficial)
/- Underworld MkI MkII and Freur Videos and Concerts

The digital portion of my Underworld library is up to nearly 2700 of their concerts, mixes, and tracks, (8,105 if I include concert videos), all meticulously organized into a categorical folder structure with uniform tagging conventions, but I understand that it pales when compared to those of Yannick and the other mods of the Underworld forum.

I’ll keep at it though. It’s a labor of love, right?

innerspaceboy · 07-25-2019, 07:43 PM

I'm very pleased to share the latest arrival at Innerspace Labs - just in from the UK.

I was among the first 250 worldwide to order Brian Eno's new Extended Edition of Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks, the 1983 album he produced with Daniel Lanois and his brother Roger Eno. The music was originally recorded for For All Mankind, a documentary that includes footage from the Apollo 11 moon landing.

This edition featured a new companion album with 11 new tracks “that reimagine the soundtrack to For All Mankind,” the first time the three musicians had collaborated since the recording of the original album, which was newly-remastered for this release.

The first 250 copies sold out within a few hours of the announcement and included a bonus A2 lithograph of the album art showcasing the lunar surface which I immediately framed for my new office, as well as a digital download of the remastered original album and the new bonus disc so I can enjoy the music wherever I travel.

I'm thrilled to experience an entire new album from the master of ambient music, and it is an honor to be among the privileged few to receive the deluxe edition. Another wonderful treasure for my library.

07-03-2019, 09:24 AM	#732 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,006	Recently I’ve been reading essays by Willard Van Orman Quine and Martin Heidegger and one idea I’m taking away from both of them is that there’s an ethereal period in both our ontological as well as our epistemological understanding of something new while we’re determining the right language to describe what it is. Ambient music is definitely in that ethereal zone. All you have to do is go to the descriptions from the artists themselves and it’s almost painful to witness first hand their desperate attempts to bridge the gap linguistically. Considering the impact music has on culture, finding a way to attach the correct langauge to ambient music is potentially a positive cultural revolution in the making. __________________ 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...p-lighter.html Last edited by OccultHawk; 07-03-2019 at 09:47 AM.

07-16-2019, 08:05 PM	#738 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,006	Did you say 589? __________________ 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...p-lighter.html