Tag: #darkwave

Episode 043 – anniversaries and Grammys

Post author By Jim Causey
Post date 02.10.2024

first aired 02.06.2024

Convergence Zone arrives Tuesday nights at 10:30pm PT on 90.7 KSER, 89.9 KXIR, streaming around the world at kser.org – archives at https://www.mixcloud.com/farpointer

Nakhane – Do You Well (feat. Perfume Genius) – 00:00
LCD Soundsystem – Get Innocuous! – 01:37
ACTORS – L’appel Du Vide – 08:11
The Cure – Just Like Heaven – 11:57
Ladytron – Ladybird – 17:23
Kraftwerk – The Model – 21:47
Lemonade – Ice Water – 25:25
Depeche Mode – Enjoy The Silence – 2006 Digital Remaster – 31:09
Destroyer – It Just Doesn’t Happen – 35:34
Hibou – Amethyst – 40:35
Holy Ghost! – Epton on Broadway, Pt. 1 – 44:43
Holy Ghost! – Epton on Broadway (Part II) – 49:10
Massive Attack – Blue Lines – 2012 Mix/Master – 52:15
Style King of the Week – Eerie Blvd. – 56:37
Little H Collective – Avalanche Pass (radio edit) – 01:00:22
Soft Mirage – Courtyards of Atlantis – 01:06:45
Andreas Vollenweider – Night Fire Dance – 01:11:42
Pat Metheny Group – The First Circle – 01:16:23
Vijay Iyer – Tempest – 01:26:31
Matthew Halsall – Calder Shapes – 01:33:42
Colin Chin – The Alluvial Plains – 01:40:40
Arin Aksberg – Homecoming feat. Sam Rosenthal – 01:49:21
Eydís Evensen – Dreaming of Light – 01:55:52

KSER archive link

Tags #ambient, #convergencezone, #darkwave, #gothic, #kser, #newage, #radio, #spacemusic, #synthwave

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Episode 041 – Remembering Iasos

Post author By Jim Causey
Post date 01.29.2024

first aired 01.23.2024

Convergence Zone arrives every Tuesday night at 10:30 pm PT on 90.7 KSER, 89.9 KXIR, and streaming around the world at kser.org

KSER playlist link – Episode 041

Destroyer – Savage Night at the Opera – 00:00
The The – Slow Emotion Replay – 03:14
Pure Bathing Culture – Devotion – 07:01
Slowdive – kisses – 10:20
Tori Amos – Caught a Lite Sneeze (Remastered) – 16:11
Cocteau Twins – Ivo – 20:31
Soft Release – Find You Later – 24:24
Joy Division – Transmission – 28:18
Hello Meteor – The Northern Rim Archipelago – 33:32
Zak Vortex – Afterhours – 36:50
FM Attack – City Lights – 40:09
Hollan Holmes – Order Out Of Chaos – 43:24
Palancar – Voice from the Outer World – 49:00
Norm Chambers – Patternmusik – 52:37
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – Check Your Translation – Hrishikesh Hirway Remix – 58:11
Cool Maritime – Secret of the Megafauna – 01:01:11
Bruce Mitchell – Dharma – 01:06:41
Iasos – Rainbow Canyon – 01:10:06
Iasos – Lagoon Night – 01:15:04
Iasos – Ulura Lagoon-S – 01:17:51
Constance Demby – Om Mani Padme Hum – 01:23:31
Extraworld – Trireme Approach – 01:32:36
Hello Meteor – Device Security – 01:38:45
Robert Rich – Galvanic Response (Live) – 01:43:52
Steve Roach – Spirals of Compassion (Live) – 01:52:05

Tags #ambient, #convergencezone, #darkwave, #kser, #newage, #radio, #spacemusic, #synthpop, #synthwave

Best Of Specials

Top music of 2023

Post author By Jim Causey
Post date 01.04.2024

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

Tags #ambient, #bestof2023, #convergencezone, #darkwave, #gothic, #kser, #newage, #radio, #spacemusic, #synthpop, #synthwave

Best Of Show Playlists Specials

Best of 2023 – Part 1

Post author By Jim Causey
Post date 12.26.2023

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

Tags #ambient, #bestof2023, #convergencezone, #darkwave, #gothic, #kser, #newage, #radio, #seattle, #spacemusic, #synthpop, #synthwave

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Halloween Special 2023

Post author By Jim Causey
Post date 12.26.2023

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

Tags #ambient, #convergencezone, #darkambient, #darkwave, #gothic, #halloween, #kser, #newage, #spacemusic, #synthpop, #synthwave

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Episode 030 – Terminus Void “Aperion” premiere

Post author By Jim Causey
Post date 10.27.2023

first aired 10.24.23

This week on Convergence Zone I’m thrilled to share the worldwide radio premiere of the new LP “Apeiron” by Terminus Void — and excerpts from my exclusive interview with project creator J. Ronald Smith. We spoke about his influences, the themes captured on this debut record on Groove Unlimited, and the story threaded through the musical layers on “Apeiron”

Also – brand new local music from AeTopus and from Pure Bathing Culture, as well as by Wild Nothing, , and Driftmachine; and celebrating local tour stops by Eydis Evensen and Loscil with Lawrence English

I’ll also pay tribute to Norm Chambers, the prolific Seattle composer, performer, and music curator

Convergence Zone arrives on Tuesday night, 10:30pm Pacific time, 90.7 KSER and 89.9 KXIR — streaming around the world at kser.org, TuneIn, and other fine radio services

Tags #ambient, #convergencezone, #darkwave, #kser, #newage, #radio, #spacemusic, #synthpop

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Convergence Zone.028 – AeTopus album premiere

Post author By Jim Causey
Post date 10.18.2023

first aired 10.10.23

We’re getting deeper into Spooky Season tonight on Convergence Zone

I’ll have the broadcast premiere of “Relic”, the first single from AeTopus’s upcoming album! The project of Bellingham veteran electronic musician Bryan Hughes; he’s joining forces with Spotted Peccary Records with this new LP

Regional darkwave artists Soft Release and ACTORS have local shows coming up, and I’ve got songs by both of them; also brand-new synthwave from King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (!)

More new local music from Mount Maxwell, loscil & lawrence english; the new re-release of Hiroshi Yoshimura’s influential ambient installation work from 1986 “Surround”; and music from the new compilation “The NID Tapes”, an archive of early electronic music from India recorded between 1969 and 1972

Convergence Zone arrives tonight at 10:30pm Pacific on 90.7 KSER, 89.9 KXIR, and streaming at kser.org, TuneIn, and more

Tags #ambient, #convergencezone, #darkwave, #gothic, #kser, #newage, #radio, #spacemusic, #synthpop, #synthwave

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Episode 025 – Fall Drive 2023

Post author By Jim Causey
Post date 10.18.2023

Fall Drive 2023 – first aired 09.19.2023

first aired 09.19.2023

KSER’s Fall Membership Drive Converges with the final week of summer, and the 25th episode of my program, Convergence Zone

nearly half a year celebrating the musical atmospheres of the Pacific Northwest — and beyond…

please join me Tuesday night for a celebration of the show so far and the power of radio to unite us all — and please consider supporting the show with your donation at KSER.org. I’d appreciate if you mention Convergence Zone in the comment field

Ahead of the Long Dark, we embrace joy through new music, great regional artists, and look ahead to an array of live shows in the area

Brand new progressive ambient from Chronotope Project; the gorgeous new single from Pure Bathing Culture, it’s called ‘The River’; the new debut single from darkwave duo Soft Release, the “fortuitous convergence” of Carolyn B. from Mt Fog and Andy S. from Select Level

David Arkenstone returns to the region and his tour kicks off on Friday in Monroe, Washington — I’ll have more excerpts from our conversation about his band and his brand new album, ‘Winterlüde’

Lots more from friends of the show like Terminus Void, Erwilian, Rudy Adrian, Dreamstate Logic, Siren and the Sea, Chuck van Zyl, and a celebration of Tangerine Dream’s return visit to Seattle by playing their famous song ‘Phaedra’ in its entirety

Convergence Zone arrives for the KSER Fall Membership Drive – Tuesday,September 19 at 10:30PM PDT on 90.7 KSER-FM, 89.9 KXIR-FM, and kser.org

Tags #ambient, #convergencezone, #darkwave, #gothic, #kser, #newage, #radio, #spacemusic, #synthpop, #synthwave

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Replay: Convergence Zone.004

Post author By Jim Causey
Post date 08.01.2023

(Replayed July 25, 2023 – first aired April 4, 2023)

It’s a time of transition in the Pacific Northwest, from the season of stillness to glimpses of light and warmth. Celebrated through the ages, whether through the revival of Osiris, the rise of the Aten, the passion of the Christ, or the Hareland Ley feasts of the goddess Ēostre

On this week’s Convergence Zone, we honor these transitions with music for death and rebirth — and we also honor the music of Ryuichi Sakamoto, who died on March 28, 2023 at the age of 71

10:30pm PDT 4/4/23 – 90.7 KSER | Independent Public Radio

Artist	Song	Album	Label	Show Notes
Dreamstate Logic	Andromeda Terminal	Starbound		Brand new music from Seattle! project by Colby Sixx
Dennis Russell Davies dir. Stuttgart Orchestra	Act I: Prelude: Refrain, Verses 1-3	Philip Glass; Akhnaten	CBS Masterworks	1984 premiere of Philip Glass opera
David Bowie	Lazarus	Blackstar	ISO Records	Final album released two days before Bowie’s death
Lycia	A Failure	In Flickers	Projekt	Darkwave from 2018
Small Black	Tampa	Cheap Dreams	100% Electronica	wistful chillwave found-footage vibes
Future Islands	Born In a War	As Long as You Are	4AD	Synthpop from 2020
Georgia	Running Up That Hill	Seeking Thrills (The Ultimate Thrills Edition)	Domino	Covering Kate Bush
Pure Bathing Culture	Black Starling	Night Pass		Portland new agey-dream-pop
Ryuichi Sakamoto	fullmoon	async	Milan	partially recorded in Bastyr University Chapel
Ryuichi Sakamoto	20220302 sarabande	12	Milan	January 2023 release
Ryuichi Sakamoto	20220304	12	Milan	sketches for piano and electronics
*end segment one*
Craig Padilla & Marvin Allen	Onwards and Upwards	Weathering the Storm	Spotted Peccary	New! guitar & synth homage to Kosmiche Musik
Ryuichi Sakamoto	20220302	12	Milan	sketches for piano and electronics
Ryuichi Sakamoto	20210310	12	Milan	January 2023 release
Electric Youth	Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence	A Tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto – To the Moon and Back	Milan	Toronto synthpop ‘remodel’ of Ryuichi Sakamoto
Terminus Void	Discovery	Origins Unknown		Seattle synthesist J. Ronald Smith
Peter Gabriel	In Doubt A Different Drum	Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ	Real World	i/o: The Tour Seattle October 8
Arushi Jain	I Feel Incomplete Without Sound	With & Without	GHUNGHRU	Opening for Suzanne Ciani Seattle May 20
Suso Saiz	…Un Hombre Oscuro	Odisea	Music From Memory	On tour with Age of Reflections
Locsil	Equivalent 7	Equivalents	Kranky	Vancouver artist Scott Morgan, featuring samples from work created for Glenn Gould retrospective w/ Sakamoto-san

first aired April 4 2023, replayed July 25 2023

I was already contemplating death and resurrection as I produced this week’s episode of Convergence Zone – and then my friend Nick texted me the sad news that Ryuichi Sakamoto had passed away.

Sakamoto-san’s impact — from his time in Yellow Magic Orchestra, his work in film scores and acting, and his prolific creations as an ambient and neoclassical artist — is impossible to do justice in words, at least as few as I can summon here. But I can try and share some of his recent pieces, including one produced in part during his time recording as Bastyr University in Kenmore, WA.

His final album, “12”, dropped in January, consisting of solo sketches that Sakamoto-san recorded in his home over the past few years on piano and electronic instruments. In several, you can hear him breathe as he begins to play.

Hearing Ryuichi Sakamoto breathe and create — on a quiet and cool early Sunday, on the day I was stunned by his death — was painful and exquisite. I am so grateful for what he left us all.

Tags #ambient, #convergencezone, #darkwave, #gothic, #newage, #spacemusic

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Replay: Convergence Zone.006

Post author By Jim Causey
Post date 07.18.2023

(Replayed July 18, 2023 – first aired April 18, 2023)

on this week’s Convergence Zone, we evoke the turbulent mood of spring in the PNW; brand new music from Frore, and from Active Region — and a new reissue of a rare album by Steve Roach and Michael Shrieve; classics from Jean-Michel Jarre, Kitaro, Dead Can Dance, and Michael Hoenig; synthwave and synthpop from Talk Talk, FM Attack, and Japanese Breakfast; …and lots of surprises

10:30pm PDT 4/11/23 – 90.7 KSER | Independent Public Radio

Artist	Song	Album	Label	Notes
FM Attack ft. Julian Sanza	Fade Away	Deja Vu	Tonite Records	Synthwave project from Vancouver BC (Shawn Ward) – 2013 sophomore album
Talk Talk	It’s My Life	It’s My Life	EMI	1984, second LP
Japanese Breakfast	Be Sweet	Jubilee	Dead Oceans	Sold out performance at ZooTunes on August 20, 2023 with Built to Spill
Break
Steve Roach & Michael Shrieve	Theme For The Far Away	The Leaving Time	Novus	1988 collaboration re-released in October 2022
David Arkenstone	Night Wind	Valley in the Clouds	Narada Equinox	2023 tour in May; dates include Bellevue, Enumclaw, Seattle, Tacoma, Vancouver BC, Victoria BC, Portland…
Richard Souther	The Long Riders	Cross Currents	Narada Equinox	1989 New Age
Break
Dead Can Dance	The Carnival Is Over	Into The Labyrinth	4AD	1993, remembrance of Brendan Perry’s visit to a circus as a pre-teen
Break
Frore	Fern Cluster	Biome	Spotted Peccary	Brand new! Releases on April 21 – label debut from Paul Casper
Pink Floyd	Signs of Life	A Momentary Lapse of Reason	EMI	1987 – First Floyd album w/o Roger Waters…
Pink Floyd	Learning to Fly	A Momentary Lapse of Reason	EMI	…some may call it a David Gilmour solo album featuring Richard Wright and Nick Mason 🙂
Break
Redshift	Shift to Blue (live)	RW Three		2008 concert, at Hampshire Jam Seven festival
*End*	*Segment*	*One*
Active Region	Into the Black	Horizon Dispatch	Exosphere	February 2023 release, project of Peter Brefini
Jean-Michel Jarre	Oxygène, Pt 2	Oxygène	Les Disques Motors	1976 album – perhaps most important album in the history of electronic music?
Break
Mary Lattimore	Silver Ladders	Silver Ladders	Ghostly International	2020, universal acclaim, Bandcamp Album of the day
Andreas Vollenweider	The Glass Hall (Choose the Crystal) – The Play of the Five Balls – The Five Planets Canopy Choir	White Winds	CBS	1984, fourth album with very long track titles
Keep Shelly in Athens	Me Then (B-side)	Philomeno / Me Then (single)	Athenian Aura Recordings	Greek/Australian duo, 2021 single
Break
Boards of Canada	Kid for Today	In a Beautiful Place out in the Country	Warp	2008 EP, Scottish brothers Mike Sandison + Marcus Eoin
Cool Maritime	Apex	Big Earth Energy	Western Vinyl	Seattle musician Shawn Hellfritsch; 2022 album
Kitaro	Hiten (Flying Celestial Nymphs)	Silk Road (Vol 1)	Canyon	Soundtrack for 1980 Japanese TV documentary series
Vangelis	Theme from Antarctica	Antarctica: Original Soundtrack	Polydor	Koreyoshi Kurahara drama – 1958 Japanese scientific expedition to the South Pole
Break
Michael Hoenig	Hanging Garden Transfer	Departure from the Northern Wasteland	Warner Records	German composer, collaborated with Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Ash Ra Tempel; this was his debut album (1978)
*End*	Convergence	*Zone*	*006*	*Please support KSER with your donation*

First aired: April 18 2023; replayed July 18 2023

Tags #ambient, #convergencezone, #darkwave, #gothic, #kser, #radio, #spacemusic, #synthwave