Convergence Zone

Tag: #synthwave

  • Episode.059 – Summer Solstice Special – 2024

    Jim Causey

    Join me for the Convergence Zone Summer Solstice special – six hours of regional and global progamming.  Inspired by the playlists I’ve crafted for psychedlic therapy, we’ll take a trip beginning in a summer party, continuing into deep space, and rising with the will to create a more compassionate world – for others and for ourselves

    Including new music from Afrocop and a re-release by Brass Clouds, along with an excellent live piece by the late Norm Chambers; I’ll also have FCS North, marine eyes, Tangerine Dream, Mount Maxwell, Visible Cloaks, Siren and the Sea, Terminus Void, Pabellón Sintético, and so much more

    Join me in the Convergence Zone – Tuesday night at 10:30 pm, and Thursday night at 11pm – 90.7 KSER Everett, 89.9 KXIR Freeland, streaming around the cosmos at kser.org – archive and more in bio

    KSER archive and playlist link (opens in new tab)

    Hello Meteor – Breeze Bay – 00:00
    Jan Hammer – Crockett’s Theme – 05:04
    FM Attack – Fade Away (with Julian Sanza) – 08:40
    Small Black – Tampa – 14:41
    Orbital – The Girl With The Sun In Her Head – 19:56
    Style King of the Week – Cheapcross – 30:24
    FCS North – Blue White Blue – 33:15
    EarthtoneSkytone – Chichachick – 44:20
    Pat Metheny – Bright Size Life – 48:03
    Afrocop – Rare Belief – 52:48
    Mildlife – Return To Centaurus – 58:17
    Matthew Halsall – Earth Fire – 01:07:49
    Rachel Therrien Quintet – Why Don’t You Try – 01:13:23
    Herbie Hancock – You’ve Got It Bad Girl – 01:18:31
    Charles David Denler – Reflections on the Eternal – 01:25:40
    Pabellón Sintético – Lightness and brightness – 01:28:10
    Paul Speer & David Lanz – Eagle’s Path – 01:36:52
    Ralph Towner – Nimbus – 01:44:14
    Checkfield – Through the Lens – 01:50:34
    Eric Tingstad/Nancy Rumbel – The Merced – 01:55:11
    Clannad – Newgrange (2003 – Remaster) – 01:58:16
    Dead Can Dance – The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove – Live from Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA. September 17th, 2005 – 02:02:11
    Shannon Hayden – Zero Resistance – 02:07:07
    Portishead – Roads – 02:12:25
    Mount Maxwell – Littlefolk – 02:17:05
    Brass Clouds – Bow Out – 02:24:58
    David Arkenstone – Valley In the Clouds – 02:28:43
    St∆er – Manifold – 02:32:44
    Redshift – Soft Summer Rain – 02:48:11
    Vangelis – Opening – 02:58:14
    Vangelis – Conquest Of Paradise – 02:59:34
    Tangerine Dream – Cherokee Lane – Live From U.S.A Tour 1977 – 03:04:23
    Max Richter & Ben Russell – Constellation 1 – 03:20:37
    Terminus Void – APEIRON Pt 1 & 2 – 03:27:37
    Chuck van Zyl – Ganymede – 03:39:25
    Norm Chambers – Music for the Dome (excerpt) – 03:59:25
    Sin Fang – Missed call – 04:28:03
    Max Richter & Ben Russell – Constellation 2 – 04:35:30
    Laraaji – Bethlehem (Glimpse) – 04:51:23
    Siren and the Sea – The Large Floating Vessel – 04:57:15
    Loscil, Lawrence English – Ultramarine – 05:01:15
    Gallery Six – The Summer Banquet – 05:06:21
    Visible Cloaks – Lapis Lazuli – 05:12:44
    Benoît Pioulard – Flowers growing from me [for GRM] – 05:21:55
    High Plains – The Dusk Pines – 05:27:58
    marine eyes – doorways – 05:34:00
    Colin Chin – The Alluvial Plains – 05:37:50
    Will Ackerman – The Golden Hour – 05:45:01
    Masako – Brooks and Cascades – 05:49:52
    ODESZA – This Version Of You (feat. Julianna Barwick) – 05:54:45

  • Episode 055 – first aired 05.21.24

    Jim Causey
    first aired 05.21.2024

    On this week’s episode of Convergence Zone, I’ve got new regional music from MIDI Janitor, Afrocop, Dark Chisme, and ACTORS; I’ve also got regional ambient music from Oregon’s Richard Ahlstrom and Julianna Berwick, and from Vancouver’s Mattesque

    More new music from the debut solo album by Beth Gibbons, lead singer of Portishead – and from Liam Boyle; and we will celebrate International Goth Day with A Covenant of Thorns and Rue Oberkampf

    New Age classics from AELOUS, David Arkenstone, and Kay Gardner

    Convergence Zone arrives Tuesday nights at 10:30pm PDT on 90.7 KSER-FM, 89.9 KXIR-FM, streaming at kser.org – archive links in bio

    KSER archive link (opens in new tab)

    MIDI Janitor – Far Speak – 00:00
    Echo of the Low Light – Disco – 04:02
    The Handsome Family – Far From Any Road – 08:21
    Still Corners – The Dream – 10:54
    Rue Oberkampf – Glycine – 16:41
    School Of Seven Bells – Heart Is Strange – 21:14
    Dark Chisme – Beautiful Obsession Killer – 26:15
    ACTORS – In Real Life – 30:31
    Cold Cave – Night Light – 34:10
    New Order – Temptation ’87 (2023 Digital Master) – 38:39
    Peter Gabriel – This Is The Picture (Excellent Birds) – 45:29
    Afrocop – Elegantly Deceitful Simulation – 49:34
    Beth Gibbons – Rewind – 53:33
    Dead Can Dance – Ariadne – 57:49
    Robert ÆOLUS Myers – All Souls – 01:00:23
    David Arkenstone – Firestix – 01:04:03
    Richard N. Ahlstrom – RIDE THE NIGHT SKY – 01:07:55
    Pat Metheny Steve Reich – Electric Counterpoint – Fast (movement 1) – 01:13:35
    J. McFarlane’s Reality Guest – Sensory – 01:20:15
    Kay Gardner – Fountain Of Light: Transpersonal Chakra – 01:24:43
    A Covenant of Thorns – Alone In A Crowd – 01:30:18
    Liam J Boyle – Arrival – 01:33:45
    Perge – Ascent – 01:40:45
    Julianna Barwick – Nebula – 01:47:08
    Mattesque – This City Softly Cries Blood – 01:52:39
    Nosnar – Black Shadow in a Clear Light (excerpt) – 01:57:00


  • Episode 054 – Robert Smith’s 65th Birthday

    Jim Causey

    This week on Convergence Zone, I’ve got new music from Domenica Diavoleria, somesurprises, FM Skyline, Ascendant, Marine Eyes, and darungara

    More regional sets with WMD, Omni Gardens, Daryl Groetsch, Hello Meteor, and more

    I’ll also celebrate birthdays for Jónsi and Robert Smith

    KSER playlist and archive link (opens in new tab)

    Somesurprises – Be Reasonable – 00:00
    ACTORS – L’appel Du Vide – 06:41
    Frankie Rose – A Reflection – 09:41
    Frankie Rose – Play for Today – 11:46
    The Cure – A Forest – 15:21
    CHVRCHES – How Not To Drown (feat. Robert Smith) – 20:12
    Dark Chisme – Beautiful Obsession Killer – 26:01
    Sisters Of Mercy – Dominion Mother Russia Medley – 31:05
    Pastel Beach – Point Cambria – 39:03
    FM Skyline – Fresnel – 42:26
    Hello Meteor – Nightly Review – 45:13
    Cartas de Japón – Camet – 49:55
    Ascendant – Astral Nexus – 01:00:04
    Norm Chambers – Viper Street – 01:08:04
    New Frontiers – Emergent Evolution – 01:12:01
    WMD – Jenny Llewellyn – 01:18:00
    Sigur Rós – Gold – 01:22:22
    Domenica Diavoleria – Tress – 01:27:45
    Antonio Zepeda – Brisa – 01:32:01
    Marine Eyes – night palms sway – 01:37:08
    Loscil, Lawrence English – Sienna – 01:41:35
    Daryl Groetsch – Above the Shore (Radio Edit) – 01:45:18
    darungara – Leaving Home – 01:50:27
    Soothsayer (aka Omni Gardens) – V – 01:51:13
    Thom Brennan – Elysian Fields, Pt. 1 – 01:55:32

  • Episode 053 – Total Eclipse 2024

    Jim Causey

    In April 2024 I experienced the total solar eclipse – this week I return to the Convergence Zone with new music from SUSS, and I’m also premiering new music from Michael Whelan’s upcoming album “Watercolor Sky”, along with a special limited release by Lisa Bella Donna, “Total Eclipse” – and a new release from BC artist Nova Pon and New World Ensemble

    More music for the eclipse from regional artists like Bart Hawkins, Dreamstate Logic, and from legendary figures like Mark Banning, Steve Roach, and Suzanne Ciani

    Recent releases from Rudy Adrian, Transponder, Mathias Grassow & Heikki Lindgren, Avi C. Engel, and much more

    KSER archive & playlist link (opens in new tab)

    Dreamstate Logic – Andromeda Terminal – 00:00
    Bart Hawkins – Bell Curve Blips (excerpt) – 08:24
    Transponder – Prelude to Prophecy – 12:50
    Hello Meteor – The Northern Rim Archipelago – 18:52
    SUSS – Flight – 22:50
    Arbol Perenne (Gabo) – Preludio S:N – 28:39
    Suzanne Ciani – Eclipse – 30:36
    Suzanne Ciani – Eclipse – 32:13
    Michael Whalen – Watercolor Sky – 35:39
    Doug Cameron – The Journey – 42:20
    Pat Metheny Group – Phase Dance – 47:00
    Avi C. Engel – The Oven Bird’s Song – 56:20
    Dead Can Dance – Rakim (Live) [Remastered] – 01:01:12
    Lycia – A Failure – 01:07:05
    Drab Majesty – Induction – 01:12:03
    Drab Majesty – Dot in the Sky – 01:14:27
    Small Black – Tampa – 01:19:56
    Turn On The Sunlight – Miles and Miles of Ocean (feat. Laraaji) – 01:24:40
    Arbol Perenne (Gabo) – Era Venus – 01:27:24
    Nova Pon & Turning Point Ensemble – Symphonies of Mother and Child – V. Eternity’s Sun Rise – 01:30:51
    Rudy Adrian – Reflections on a Moonlit Lake – 01:41:58
    Lisa Bella Donna – Dawn Of a New Age – 01:46:55

  • Episode 052

    Jim Causey
    first aired 04.09.2024

    This week on Convergence Zone – brand new music by Mt Fog, Shannon Hayden, Arushi Jain, The Home Current, and Still Corners

    Great regional stuff from Camp of Wolves, Loscil, Conjure One, Visible Cloaks, and much more

    Convergence Zone arrives Tuesday nights at 10:30pm PDT on 90.7 KSER, 89.9 KXIR, streaming online at kser.org

    KSER archive link (opens in new tab – NOTE: stream failed halfway through the show)

    Camp of WolvesThe Beckoning Hand Was In Reality, Flame
    Mt. FogDrifting
    Tune-YardsHypnotize
    DeafheavenGreat Mass of Color
    Midnight HighDo It To Me
    Death Cab for CutieNorthern Lights (feat. Lauren Mayberry of CHVRCHES)
    ChromaticsCeremony (feat. Glass Candy)
    ACTORSIn Real Life
    Caroline Polachek & Oneohtrix Point NeverBillions
    Shannon HaydenAfter All
    Flying LotusYour Lord
    The Home CurrentBecause Tangled
    Arushi JainImagine an Orchestra
    Tineidae & Sole MassifData Stream Conjunction
    Echo of the Low LightShipwreck
    GwennoNYACW – The lonely summer-mix by JDBRADFIELD
    Still CornersSecret World
    Conjure OneManic Star
    MICADOSculptures in Glass
    Visible Cloaks, Yoshio Ojima & Satsuki ShibanoAtelier
    Andy Sells & Noel Brass Jr.Further Latitude
    LoscilFirst Narrows
    Drab MajestyYield to Force

  • Episode 051 – guest host: David Haldeman from Dead Electric

    Jim Causey

    Guest DJ David Haldeman

    Host of Dead Electric -A radio show playing vintage synth, space, and new age music from the 70s and 80s. Friday nights at 10:30 p.m on KSER!

    Thank you David for another fantastic show!

    KSER archive & playlist (opens in new tab)

    Track list:

    New Frontiers – Ghosts of Time – 00:00
    The Weeknd – Dawn FM – OPN Remix – 06:39
    The Postal Service – We Will Become Silhouettes (Matthew Dear Remix) – 09:38
    IQU – Under the Cherry Blossom – 16:40
    Sky Cries Mary – Shipwrecked – 20:54
    Theodore Shapiro – Main Titles – 24:58
    Michael Rother – Katzenmusik 7 – 26:19
    Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – Mt Baker – 30:26
    The Decemberists – Once In My Life – 35:26
    Mike Oldfield – The Top Of The Morning – 41:37
    Wisteria Lodge – Mercy – 46:03
    Harp – A Fountain – 51:12
    Moev – Cracked Mirror – 57:37
    John Foxx – Enter the Angel II – 01:03:23
    André 3000 – Ninety Three ‘Til Infinity And Beyoncé – 01:05:34
    Bike Monday – Sweepers – 01:10:43
    David Arkenstone – Far Far Away – 01:14:04
    Steve Roach – Snow Canon – 01:17:54
    Marc Barreca – Saturation – 01:22:53
    Gary Stroutsos – Sea of Serenity: Calming Music for Yoga – 01:28:45
    Damien Jurado – Montesano – 01:31:44
    Pauline Oliveros – Suiren – 01:37:40
    Larkin – Two Souls Dance – 13:47:41

  • Episode 049 – Spring Equinox, Spring Pledge Drive

    Jim Causey
    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

  • Episode 048 – one year of Convergence Zone

    Jim Causey
    first aired 03.12.2024

    KSER playlist and streaming archive (opens in new tab)

    This week marks the one-year anniversary of Convergence Zone’s launch on KSER. I’m celebrating with a special program honoring International Women’s Month — ambient, new age, experimental, and space music by women and femme artists from around the world

    Regional selections including ann annie, Grouper, Raica, Saloli, and Domenica Diavolera

    Legendary figures like Wendy Carlos, Pauline Anna Strom, Suzanne Ciani, Lisa Bella Donna, and Constance Demby

    Music from Faten Kanaan, Mary Lattimore and Julianna Barwick, and Sign Libra

    Convergence Zone- two hours of contemplative music from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond – Tuesday nights at 10:30pm PT on 90.7 KSER, 89.9 KXIR, streaming at kser.org

    Nancy Rumbel – Tree of Life – 00:00
    Faten Kanaan – Trenchcoat – 07:00
    Constance Demby – Waltz Of Joy – 09:10
    Carol Nethen – Island Moon – 13:40
    Sign Libra – Petrichor – Bonus Track – 19:22
    Stephanie Sante – Jade Resonance – 24:47
    Suzanne Ciani – AT&T Logo – 29:35
    Suzanne Ciani – Clean Room – 29:44
    Suzanne Ciani – Hot Streak – 32:34
    Doris Norton – Norton Apple Software – 34:21
    Pauline Anna Strom – Alpine Flight – 38:03
    Wendy Carlos – I.C. (Intergalactic Communications) – 45:32
    Enya – Orinoco Flow – 49:00
    Patricia Wolf – The Culmination Of – 53:25
    Siren and the Sea – Probably Hawai’i – 01:00:00
    Ann Annie – Upstream – 01:03:19
    Lisa Bella Donna – Cosmotopia – 01:06:56
    Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore – Canyon Lights – 01:17:38
    Domenica Diavoleria – Book of Postcards – 01:21:26
    Grouper – Driving – 01:25:24
    Saloli – Nighthawk – 01:29:03
    Suzanne Ciani & Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – Retrograde – 01:36:17
    Raica – Entridam – 01:52:34

  • Episode 047 – upcoming live shows

    Jim Causey
    first aired 03.05.2024

    KSER archive and playlist (opens in new tab)

    new music from regional artists like Hello Meteor, Domenica Diavolera, and LEATHERS

    Getting into some awesome upcoming live performances with music by Alex Johnston, Midnight High, Lane Lines, and Mt. Fog

    Steve Roach is in town next week so I’ll have something from an album you may have heard of called “Structures from Silence”

    Convergence Zone – two hours of atmospheric music from the Pacific Northwest and beyond, Tuesday nights at 10:30pm PT on 90.7 KSER, 89.9 KXIR, streaming around the world at https://www.kser.org

    Michael Weber – Itamae – 00:00
    Michael Weber – Omakase – 01:16
    Mt Fog – Ingot in the Dark – 04:45
    Hello Meteor – Talking Skies – 11:13
    Hello Meteor – Weird Dreams Last Night (Cryosleep Hangover) – 13:57
    Midnight High – Avenue – 16:29
    FM Attack feat. Vandal Moon – Séance – 20:51
    New Order – Ceremony [Alternate 12″ Version] – 25:07
    LEATHERS – Crash – 29:32
    Boy Harsher – Give Me a Reason – 34:08
    LCD Soundsystem – Someone Great – 39:24
    WMD – Ambrose – 45:51
    Lane Lines – Time & Space – 51:49
    LIGHTSPEAR – System – 55:49
    Alex Johnston – Back And Forth – 59:12
    Style King of the Week – Mt. Hope Reservoir – 01:03:13
    EarthtoneSkytone – Chickachick – 01:08:03
    Signer – 338 – 01:11:50
    Thom Brennan – Wavemaker Pt 2 (excerpt) – 01:17:32
    Steve Roach – Structures From Silence – Live 2019 – 01:30:19
    Domenica Diavoleria – Fun Forest – 01:35:08
    Secret Pyramid – Part VII – 01:46:03
    Noel Brass Jr. – Threaded from a Distance – 01:55:31

  • Eleven Picks for Bandcamp Friday – March 1, 2024

    Jim Causey

    For the March 2024 Bandcamp Friday, I’ve selected 10 records that I’ve been listening to on repeat, including several from artists that you can see live in March! there’s no better time to support great artists than today, when Bandcamp waives their revenue share. Click the links to pick up this great music and find links for their upcoming live shows!

    Swimming Lessons | Midnight High (bandcamp.com)

    Seattle’s Nik Singleton and Luke Dumke have forged a crystal-clear pop sound with a synthwave edge – they’re reminding us to believe in perfect nights that never end.
    On Sunday, March 3 they’re wrapping up the Freakout Weekender at Belltown Yacht Club in Seattle

    Santa Clara | Cartas de Japón (bandcamp.com)

    Driving beats and soaring pads from Lucas Tripaldi, Esteban Menash and Pablo Bilbao making me taste the salt air at the Atlantic Coast of Argentina

    Feel | Garden of Magic (bandcamp.com)

    Single from Toronto’s Daria Morgacheva that wraps you in a dreamy world of sensory bliss – who needs the metaverse with gorgeous tracks like this?

    Night Supply | Hello Meteor (bandcamp.com)

    Hello Meteor transports us to a sleek, future version of the Pacific Northwest, filled with efficient machines and cozy vibes; there’s no better place to begin exploring their prolific output than with “Night Supply”

    Cancelled Plans | Lane Lines (bandcamp.com)

    Lush dream-pop from Seattle’s Mandi Kime; lush harmonies exploring the pain and healing of a a breakup when the world came to an end, sentimental but never cloying. Touring this Spring including dates in Bellingham, Portland, Seattle, and at Everett’s Black Lab Gallery on Fri. March 8

    Disco | Echo of the Low Light (bandcamp.com)

    The Seattle collective returns with cinematic noirgaze that conjures aching, bittersweet memories of things that were bad for us but wish we could experience just one more time

    Structures from Silence – 40th Anniversary Remaster | Steve Roach (bandcamp.com)

    Steve Roach returns to Seattle and Portland on March 15 and 16, touring for the 40th anniversary of his ambient masterpiece “Structures From Silence”. This album never feels dated, and has served me for decades when I need to calm my racing mind to be productive, or as a timekeeper while I rocked my infant daughter back to sleep.

    Spells of Silence | Mt Fog (bandcamp.com)

    Seattle’s Mt. Fog summons magical spaces that feel like whimsical haunted houses, where the spirits play rinigng synths and Carolyn B.’s vocals tear the veils between worlds. Their Forest Cats tour includes a date in Everett on Friday March 9, along with shows in Bellingham, Tacoma, Portland, and of course Seattle


    Balm of Gilead | INTERVALES (bandcamp.com)

    Seattle’s Alex Vittum reflects on the early days of the pandemic and his transition from California to the Pacific Northwest with this collection of ambient textures and field recordings – at intervals soothing and soaring

    Vestige House | Corey Holms (bandcamp.com)

    Graphic designer and analog synthesist Corey Holms carved out time along the coast of the Strait of Juan de Fuca – transforming his struggles with burnout during the gloomy winter of 2020 into a weaving masterpiece of sequenced countermelodies that ironically ignite calm focus and creativity in the listener

    Invisible Sounds: For Kenny Wheeler | Ingrid Jensen & Steve Treseler (bandcamp.com)

    Paying tribute to the late trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, Ingrid Jensen and Steve Treseler convened a scorching quintet with sets at Seattle’s Royal Room and in Robert Lang Studios; sometimes flying, sometimes whispering, always astounding