Category: Specials

Categories
Show Playlists Specials

Episode 049 – Spring Equinox, Spring Pledge Drive

first aired 03.12.24

KSER archive and playlist (opens in new tab)

Tuesday, March 19 marks the vernal equinox, the beginning of Year Two for Convergence Zone — as part of KSER’s Spring Drive for 2024

KSER brings news from around the world and music programmed by human DJs – a mix you can’t hear anywhere else. We need your support to make this possible – donate today at kser.org – click the big red DONATE NOW button, click the link for desktop mode, and you can mention my show in the Comments field if you value the mix of ambient atmospheres from the Pacific Northwest and beyond 🙂

For this Spring Equinox edition – I’ll have a surprise from my friends at Beacon Sound Records in Portland, along with regional music for the transition – by Select Level, Hello Meteor, Pure Bathing Culture, Terminus Void, AeTopus, and George Winston

Brand new music from Rudy Adrian, Steve Roach, David Helping & Jon Jenkins, Christian Fiesel, and more

Anniversaries from Depeche Mode and The Cure

Convergence Zone arrives on the spring equinox – Tuesday March 19 – 10:30pm PDT on 90.7 KSER, 89.9 KXIR, streaming at kser.org

Select Level – The Race – 00:00
Pure Bathing Culture – Devotion – Acoustic – 02:51
Slowdive – shanty – 05:49
The Cure – Pictures Of You – 12:37
Soft Release – Find You Later – 20:13
Midnight High – Perfect Sun – 25:23
Caroline Polachek – Butterfly Net (feat. Weyes Blood) – 30:17
Hello Meteor – The Move After Organization (Shining Tiger) – 35:46
Depeche Mode – Enjoy The Silence – 38:56
Depeche Mode – Sibeling – 43:21
LIGHTSPEAR – Traffic – 46:40
Cartas de Japón – Ostende – 51:29
AeTopus – Memento – 01:00:24
Lori Goldston & Stefan Christoff – Around points of convergence – 01:08:14
Lori Goldston & Stefan Christoff – Solar in duet – 01:11:24
David Helpling – A Treasured World – 01:23:07
Rudy Adrian – The Belt of Orion – 01:28:50
T. R. Jordan – On Air – 01:36:00
Mount Maxwell – Lozenge with Two Lines and Blue, 1926 – 01:40:11
Terminus Void – Waiting on Infinity – 01:46:40
Steve Roach – This is Why (excerpt) – 01:51:20

Categories
Show Playlists Specials

Episode 045 – 50th Anniversary of Tangerine Dream’s “Phaedra”

Tuesday, February 20 marks the 50th anniversary of Tangerine Dream’s masterpiece, “Phaedra”, released on Virgin Records in 1974. 

Convergence Zone airs on that very date, and I’m thrilled to honor this vital album — a crackly original vinyl copy introduced me to the Berlin School of space music many years ago, as it surely has with so many others over the decades.

“Phaedra” was a surprise sensation on release — despite virtually no airplay, the album reached #15 on the UK album charts and stayed there for 15 weeks.   “When Phaedra went into the LP charts, it was one of the great moments of my life,” said famed BBC Radio 1 presenter John Peel to an audience at London’s Rainbow Theatre in 1974, where he was introducing Tangerine Dream.

The album features the band’s strongest lineup, with Edgar Froese, Christopher Franke, and Peter Baumann — it defined the sequencer-driven form they realized throughout the 1970s during their golden age on Virgin Records.

This week on Convergence Zone I’ll honor “Phaedra” with tracks from the album along with homages, interpretations, and distant inspirations by Amon Tobin, Bernhard Wöstheinrich, Suzanne Ciani, Caterina Barbieri, Perge, Redshift, Alvin Curran, Panabrite, and more

Convergence Zone revels in the legacy of Tangering Dream and the 50th anniversary of “Phaedra” – Tuesday February 20 at 10:30pm PT on 90.7 KSER, 89.9 KXIR; streaming at kser.org

KSER playlist + archive link (opens in new tab)

Norm Chambers – Music for the Dome (excerpt) – 00:00
Tangerine Dream – Phaedra – 03:58
Hélène Vogelsinger – Incantation – 20:24
Ron Boots – Where Are They Now? – 26:30
Tangerine Dream – Mysterious Semblance At The Strand Of Nightmares – 37:30
[‘ramp] – salomon’s road – 47:41
Tangerine Dream – Movements Of A Visionary – Remastered 2018 – 58:19
Redshift – Bombers in the Desert – 01:05:55
Perge – Anfa (Part 1) – 01:16:15
Bernhard Wöstheinrich – Pixel (excerpt) – 01:31:57
Lisa Bella Donna – Inner Space – 01:46:15
Steve Roach – Seeking – 01:52:43
Tangerine Dream – Sequent “C” – 01:58:24
Norm Chambers – Music for the Dome (excerpt) – 02:00:54

Categories
Best Of Specials

Top music of 2023

Compiling a list of some of my favorite albums and singles from regional artists and beyond, along with links to buy the albums

You can find music from these albums and much more on my
Best of 2023 Playlists for Spotify and TIDAL, as well as in two “Best of 2023” episodes of Convergence Zone (archive links below)

Albums from PNW Artists
Omni Gardens, Golden Pear, Moon Glyph
Mount Maxwell, Littlefolk, Hotham Sound Recordings
Hello Meteor, Earth Journos
FM Attack, Cosmic
AeTopus, Cup, Spotted Peccary Records
Terminus Void, APEIRON, Groove Unlimited
Dreamstate Logic, Latent Images and Distant Dreams
Pure Bathing Culture, Chalice
Saloli, Canyon, kranky
Erwilian, Cascadia
Paul Ellis, Music for the Space Between Atoms, Cyclical Dreams
Methods Body, Plural Not Possessive, Beacon Sound
Brass Clouds, Escape Vessels, Bathysphere Records

Singles from PNW Artists
Echo of the Low Light, Disco
Soft Release, Find You Later
Little H Collective, Avalanche Pass
LEATHERS, Fascination

Albums from other regions
Suzanne Ciani and Jonathan Fitoussi, Golden Apples of the Sun
Frore, Biome
Siren and the Sea, Gravity Wave
Various Artists, The Stone Tape: analyzing a ghost by electronic means
Eydis Evenson, The Light
Pabellión Sintetico, Mies van der Rohe’s Dreams
David Arkenstone, Winterlüde
One Arc Degree, The Forest and the Milky Way
Various Artists, The NID Tapes: Electronics Music from India 1969-1972
Caterina Barbieri, Myuthafoo
Ryuichi Sakamoto, 12
Chuck van Zyl, Gwynedd
Ki Oni, A Leisurely Swim to Everlasting Life

Spotify playlist: Top music of 2023
Best of 2023 part 1 – first aired 12.12.2023
Best of 2023 part 2 – first aired 12.26.2023
Categories
Show Playlists Specials

Winter Solstice 2023

first aired 12.19.2023

Humans have honored midwinter since times immemorial, with feasts and festivals, rituals and magic –   The festive season can be a time for connection and ecstasy as well as melancholy and isolation, and these moods inspire musicians from our region and around the world

This week on Convergence Zone, music for the solstice and inspired by the season — from Michael Stearns, Erwilian, Clannad, David Arkenstone, Benoît Pioulard, Carbon in Prose, George Winston, Steve Roach, the Fischersund project, and more

Convergence Zone arrives on Tuesdays at 10:30pm PST on 90.7 KSER in Everett, 89.9 KXIR in Freeland, and streaming around the world at kser.org, TuneIn, and smart speakers everywhere

KSER Playlist (opens in new tab)

Fleet Foxes – Can I Believe You (Solstice Version) – 00:00
Pure Bathing Culture – 2000 Miles – 04:02
Caroline Polachek – So Cold You’re Hurting My Feelings – 07:01
Future Islands – Last Christmas – 10:11
Cocteau Twins – Frosty The Snowman – 14:51
Sally Shapiro – Holiday – 17:13
Khruangbin – Christmas Time Is Here – 24:38
Clannad – Newgrange (2003 – Remaster) – 28:04
Friedemann – The Man From Caesarea – 32:10
Erwilian – Whiteout – 37:19
Ralph Towner, Jan Garbarek, Eberhard Weber, Jon Christensen – Winter Solstice – 48:10
Jose ‘Juicy’ Gonzales Trio – O Tannenbaum – 52:55
David Arkenstone – Darkening Skies – 54:35
Low – Little Drummer Boy – 58:32
Ryuichi Sakamoto – MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE – ELECTRIC YOUTH REMODEL – 01:03:24
Michael Stearns – Corridors of Time – 2022 Remaster, Film Printmaster Stereo Fold-down – 01:05:47
Paul Ellis – Blue Ice – 01:13:45
Dreamstate Logic – Transmissions From Alcyone – 01:16:51
Steve Roach – Kingfisher Flight. – 01:23:20
SUSS – Winter Was Hard – 01:30:20
Luke Wyland – Pendulum (Live) – 01:33:27
Sin Fang/Kjartan Holm/Fischersund – In The Bleak Midwinter Re-Imagined – 01:39:03
Mount Shrine – Moon’s Distrust – 01:42:17
Benoît Pioulard – The accident of nature – 01:48:00
Carbon In Prose – The Cold Sea – 01:53:20
Fischersund – Heims Um Ból Re-Imagined – 01:56:10
SUSS – Winter Was Hard, Reprise – 01:58:28

Categories
Best Of Show Playlists Specials

Best of 2023 – Part 1

first aired 12.12.2023

Part 1 of my review of the best music from 2023 – tracks by Hello Meteor, Omni Gardens, Future Islands, Erwilian, Pure Bathing Culture, David Arkenstone, Mount Maxwell, Terminus Void, Dreamstate Logic, and much more

Convergence Zone: ambient soundscapes of the Pacific Northwest and beyond; every Tuesday night at 10:30pm PT on 90.7 KSER, 89.9 KXIR, streaming at kser.org – more information at https://convergencezone.fm

KSER playlist (opens in new tab)

FM Attack – Timeless – 00:00
NAVVI – Clemency – 04:38
Future Islands – The Tower – 09:56
Hibou – Night Fell – 13:28
Echo of the Low Light – Disco – 19:30
Altin Gün – Rakıya Su Katamam – 23:36
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – The Silver Cord – 27:16
Pure Bathing Culture – The Memento – 33:35
Crumb & Melody’s Echo Chamber – Le Temple Volant – 37:22
NCY Milky Band – Aphex Twin – 39:17
Hello Meteor – Earth Journos – 43:59
Saloli – Waterfall – 47:00
Pabellón Sintético – Bauhaus – 51:25
Brendan Pollard – Steel Blue Sphere – 59:31
Dreamstate Logic – Lost But Not Forgotten – 01:02:34
AeTopus – Sundial – 01:11:17
Omni Gardens – Rain Jacket – 01:18:19
Volcano Lazerbeam – At Sea – 01:21:14
Terminus Void – Flow of Order – 01:29:46
Erwilian – Masters in This Hall (Live) – 01:36:15
Makushin – No More Rush Hour – 01:43:20
David Arkenstone – Darkening Skies – 01:49:29
Mount Maxwell – Sky Eye – 01:53:07
Hotel Pools – Metro 地​下​鉄 – 01:58:17

Categories
Show Playlists Specials

Halloween Special 2023

first aired 10.31.23

Episode 031 – I read somewhere that if your program’s 31st episode airs on the 31st day of October —  you’re required to go all-in on Halloween

This week on Convergence Zone, I discard the music of calm, focus, relaxation, and uplift — and plunge into horror and the occult, dark catharsis, tones that unsettle and display, music for liminal spaces and end times
Local darkwave from ACTORS, Soft Release, Lydia, LEATHERS, and A Covenant of Thorns

Brand new folk-horror ambient from the Hidden Britain compilation “Analysing a Ghost By Electronic Means”; excursions into the underworld with Chuck van Zyl and Cryo Chamber

Dark classics from, Молчат Дома, The Cure, Nine Inch Nails, Sisters of Mercy, Boy Harsher, and Bauhaus

The dark tides arrive on Halloween Tuesday, October 31, 10:30pm Pacific – on 90.7 KSER, 89.9 KXIR, and streaming at kser.org, TuneIn, and on the flickering shortwave radio in your undead crypt

Includes excerpts from:
The Lovecraft Investigations, “The Whisperer in Darkness”, BBC Sounds
Numbers stations – The Lincolnshire Poacher, Skyking, and others

KSER playlist (opens in new tab)

Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band – Halloween Theme – 00:00
Soft Release – Broken Number 13 – 01:42
The Cure – Burn – 05:16
Echo And The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon – 12:50
ACTORS – L’appel Du Vide – 18:25
Siouxsie And The Banshees – Cities In Dust – 21:39
Depeche Mode – Rush – 2006 Remastered Version – 26:19
LEATHERS – Phantom Heart – 30:31
New Order – The Perfect Kiss (2022 Digital Master) – 34:18
Molchat Doma – Судно (Борис Рижий) – 39:34
Bauhaus – Dark Entries – 41:47
Nine Inch Nails – Burn – 45:36
The Sisters of Mercy – This Corrosion (excerpt) – 50:26
Lycia – In Flickers – 58:56
Tom Waits – What’s He Building? – 01:02:01
M83 – Car Chase Terror – 01:05:12
B.Michaael – Dying Waves – 01:09:56
The Soulless Party – Vigilamus – 01:13:40
Nicholas Bullen – When They Return – 01:17:30
Buried Marie – White Night – 01:23:25
Chuck van Zyl – News Flash – 01:31:00
Scott Lawlor – Crossing the Veil – 01:48:00