syndae - podcast on fine electronic music

[treibklang]

So this is it. The end. The final show for 2017, two days before we are done with the year. It saw 44 episodes of syndae, well received by you my dear friends. And I am grateful you listened in to it. So much great music this year. Hence, a big thank you goes to all the artists out there producing all this cool music. More thank yous go out to all the labels and musicians supporting my show by submitting their music. I couldn't do what I do without you. And ... well, this should not become a thank you letter. Of course, big, big thanks to my wife for being so patient with me when spending so much time listening to music and visiting events. So, this will be my goodbye for 2017. I felt it needs a bit of party-worth tracks, and those I got. Hope you will have me again in 2018. And for tonight, enjoy the music by Step High (Celestial Colors), Essence Project (Chapter 1), Le Peuple de L'Herb (Music to get High to / by Youth), Tron Sepia (The Theoretiker), Rudolf Heimann (Tiefenrausch), Kinza (Sei shin Byoin).

The final party on
https://www.syndae.de/episodes/787-episode-415

Yours, Stefan

[treibklang]

Are you having any resolutions for 2018? A kind of silly tradition where one resolves to changes and break them rather sooner than late. Always! Okay, maybe not. I don't do resolutions anymore, but maybe they help some of you. So the holidays have passed, a new year is born, except for some Asian countries celebrating on the new moon of the first lunar month. No fix date here. I always wondered what the point of celebration would be, as it really only is about incrementing a counter. Well, maybe it's because the earth's trip is back to the start, having a great journey on the circular road around the sun. However, life is always better with some great music. Hop in to syndae and listen to the fine tracks by Wonderfeel (Lao Dreaming), Cosmic Trigger (The Hallucinatory Mountain), Jazzyspoon (Achluophobia / Compilation), Chuzausen (Attempt to Communication), Meta Meat (Rien Ni Personne Vol. II & III / Compilation), Aevin (Snowflakes VIII / Compilation).


Follow the path to happiness on
https://www.syndae.de/episodes/788-episode-416

Yours, Stefan

[treibklang]

The great thing about the internet is that you can access information world wide from your home or on the road or simply anywhere nowadays (well, mostly anywhere). One of the many reasons I put up a podcast on electronic music, so people around the globe can find and inform about our beloved ambient and electronic music. Why do I consider this important? Because of the biggest problem given by the internet: It's huge! Finding the music you are demanding for might be quite an undertaking. I see podcasts and also radios as a hub for pointing to great music you like. Of course, you can stream away with modern services. Great if they serve your taste in sound, they don't serve mine. One reason for me to listen to several wonderful podcasts on my type of music (well, except for syndae). And to be of service to you, here comes a brand new edition of the show. The new year only is two weeks old and there are quite a bunch of new releases available or planned for the near future. Enjoy some of these gems tonight coming from moonbooter (Cosmosonic), Lone Cosmonaut (Geräuschkörper / Compilation), René van der Wouden (Assurance), Stan Dart (Supernova), Tastenklang (Polyphony), Robert Scott Thompson (Telemetry).


Listen to the world on
https://www.syndae.de/episodes/789-episode-417

Yours, Stefan

[treibklang]

This week the storm Friederike hit most of Germany, it also stopped by at our home and was so kind to tear down two firs. Well, not sure horizontal trees are so cute, but hey, that's nature. What better to listen to at such time than music which takes itself back and leaves much space for travelling the mind and enjoying the wonders of life? So here we are, with our tiny little being in the vast and gigantic universe. Isn't it strange that we consider ourselves so important? Nature definitely could not care less, even more the universe. And I think it is up to us to enjoy our short time we spend here and marvel at all the wonders around us. One of these wonders definitely is the existence of music, brought to you in this edition in form of tracks by 4T Thieves (Circles), Bridge to Imla (The Radiant Sea), Janne Hanhisuanto (Synastasia), Fish Don't Like Milk (The X-Mas Compilation 2017), Cousin Silas (Twang 008), Peter Davidson (Music for Elevators Vol. 5, Part 4).


It's all around us at
https://www.syndae.de/episodes/790-episode-418

Yours, Stefan

[treibklang]

There's a major milestone ahead: 10 years of syndae. This summer, in August, syndae celebrates its 10th birthday. What started out as a tiny project to support the Electronic Circus festival turned into more the 400 episodes of electronic and ambient music delight. I am quite proud of keeping up with the (nearly) weekly show. And thus I will enter new territories. In fact, I plan to release a pressed CD around syndae's birthday. And therefore I invite any artist to submit a track to be considered for the album. The complete set of rules can be found at the website, as there is a base theme to be taken into account. Yes, I am really curious about how this turns out. And meanwhile, this edition will cover quite some ground in styles one can listen to on syndae. Have awonderful time with tracks by Blinky Blinky Computerband (Dystopia), AeTopus (Totem Totum), Jazzcomputer.org (The Ambient Way), Eagle (The Lost Kosmonaut), Tatyana Kalmykova & The Living Earth (Craters: Suavjarvi / TEMS Compilation), and The Ghost of 3.13 (Even Though it Feels Like Home).

Exciting view ahead at
https://www.syndae.de/episodes/792-episode-419

Yours, Stefan

[treibklang]

Recently I started watching a TV series, rather a comedy I think, maybe with some embedded commerce criticism. It's usually not the kind of shows I tend to watch, but I expected something different alltogether when reading about Mr. Robot. Now, this series still cought me, because it is not the ordinary kind of comedy, some crazy hacker with big memory issues trying to free the world from an evil corporation. The computer stuff made me watch it in the first place. Well, I found the show quite odd, so I stayed onto it. And in the end I think this is what I am also often looking for in music: The out of the ordinary kind. Stuff that is off-beat. Music that surprises me and does not comply to my expectations. To me, the tracks on tonight's edition are such kind of music, and I hope you enjoy the experience of listening to them as much as I did. Have a fine 30 minutes run with Colten Tyler Williams (Radiance of Resistance), Forrest Fang (Scenes from a Ghost Train), Steppe-Scape (The Great Steppe Live), MacroNoise (Various Species), Uwe Gronau (When Every Word Was Singing), Walt Thisney (Galactic Voodoo).

Sound a la surprise at
https://www.syndae.de/episodes/793-episode-420

Yours, Stefan

[treibklang]

30 minutes. Only thirty of these short fragments in time. That's all I have for my show. Not really the perfect setting for ambient music, is it? Similar to Berlin School, ambient tracks usually tend to be long and evolving. And that is also the point why I like this kind of music. It's not repeating in itself, like popular music does. There is development in the acoustic scenery presented by the artist. And the best thing about the music is, you can here it in two different ways. Either as music in the background, which does not sink in, does not disturb your activity. Or you could listen carefully and let the music drive your thoughts. Crazy stuff. So, either way, on syndae I can only give you glimpses of these fine tracks. I hope nevertheless you find the time to listen to the music the way you want. On this edition you will find music by NoizeFilter Music (Ambient Road), Numina (The Chrome Plateau), Infinite Third (Listen(ing)), centrozoon (217 IV), Adeptus Mechanicus & Lutz Thuns (For a Lifetime).

Thought's good company at
https://www.syndae.de/episodes/794-episode-421

Yours, Stefan

[treibklang]

Today I watched a short talk on editorial content generation. If you follow the developments in AI these days -self driving cars, bots beating a chess master, and so on- you won't be surprised to find that the same exists for generating texts and videos. Well, syndae is all about music. So I thought, what about automated music generation? A short Internet search tells me they are onto it. And I am not talking about algorithmic approaches. Projects exist which use artificial intelligence for analysing existing music and extracting patterns in notes, styles, and sound. And, blimey, based on the results these programs are able to generate new music. What I did not find (yet?) is something like Alpha Zero, which learns about harmonics and creates new compositions seemingly out of thin air. But I am quite sure there will be such a thing soon. For now, let's stick to artistic music originally created by humans. Tonight's tracks are very much danceable, composed by Obri (Afterglow), Bratenschneider (No Time At All), DR-42 (Dossier Bordeaux 2017), Silicon Slave (Ad Nauseam), Futurum Sonat (eARTh), Jozef Nemcek (Black Hole Collision).

There are no robots on
https://www.syndae.de/episodes/795-episode-422

Yours, Stefan

[treibklang]

When I was a kid, I loved playing games of many sorts. It started with board games like Ludo or later Checkers. I tried chess, but never got into these strategy games. When I grew up, the first video games and finally computers came around (yeah, I am that old). It was fun playing pong. But later on adventures I liked most. Getting older, I somehow lost interest in games. Occasional some computer game, but in the past years nothing at all. Well, to make a non-story short, my gaming interest changed a lot over the years. But when it comes to music, since my youth it quite stayed the same. My musical taste broadened and varied, of course, but I still love those electronic treats from the 70s and 80s. One more reason to come back to this kind of music on syndae. But make no mistake, the music on this show is not old but brand new. There is a different in sound, and the tracks feel more fresh, but their ancestry is undeniable. Join me for some fantastic modern traditional EM on this show with tracks by P'Faun (Sp'roque), DASK (Sol), Klangzaun, Glen Alexander, Perceptual Defense & Syndromeda (Live at Cosmic Nights 2017).

Making the right moves on
https://www.syndae.de/episodes/796-episode-423

Yours, Stefan

[treibklang]

So we were at a Persian restaurant recently. Haven't been for a while. The have an appetizer on the menu which simply is to die for: Kashke Bademjan. Really, I could jump right into it. And I am usually no big fan of eggplant dishes. So it's definitely all about the recipe that makes it special and surely one of my favourites. Ok, what's that to do with syndae? Well, the main point is that a composition does not have to consist of my favourite instruments or sounds to be on syndae. More than that I don't have to explicitely like a song to have it on the show. As long as it is interesting and somewhat unique and I see a potential for it to be of some listeners likings, it goes on the playlist. It might be the complete track that catches my ear, or maybe a detail. And I hope you listen closely and always find some music you enjoy as well. Tonight I am very easy with you listeners, very much likable music and melodies to come, playing tracks by Ian Boddy & Erik Wøllo (Meridian), Kalpataru Tree (Rhythmic Fractals of Earths Imagination), Harald Nies (Axial), aAirial (Wanderings EP (extended)), Curious Inversions (Iterations), Jesper Sørensen (Dark Star).

Delicate appetizers on
https://www.syndae.de/episodes/797-episode-424

Yours, Stefan

[treibklang]

It is a bit confusing that ambient music actually is not about ambience. If you listen to the music, it mostly is rather serene, quiet, unobstrusive. And it is rather meant this way, to stay in the background and create a specific atmosphere for people, to support an easier mood. The goal of a podcast, however, is not to make you turn a deaf ear. You can still run it in the background, although my voice might disrupt your focus. But you can also listen closely and dive into the details of the fantastic sound sculptures the tracks offer your mind. On this show you will hear music by Brian Eno (Ambient 4: On Land), Ken Elkinson (Music for Telecommuting Vols. 3 & 4), NoizeFilter Music (Fragments), Wolfgang Gsell & Lutz Thuns (Friends of Ambient 27), Eisenlager & Martin Neuhold (Concrete Manipulation Improvisation), and Wolfproject.

Music for earpods on
https://www.syndae.de/episodes/798-episode-425

Yours, Stefan

[treibklang]

So last week we celebrated the serene world, and I don't want to wake you up the harsh way. Thus we go a bit forward tonight, but ont too fast. And when I am in the need for being aurally comforted, dub and chill material most times is a good choice in my ears. It's always great to simply lean back, close my eyes and fall into the patient grooves and moves of this kind of music. No more words necessary, I think. Take your seating position, and enjoy tracks by Illocanblo (Mercury), Jim Black (Yoctosecond), NOID (TEMS. Craters: Suavjarvi), joergmueller (Heavy Dub Vol. 3), Giriu Dvasios (Gydantis Lietus), Protyv (Amso).


Dubbious joy giver on
https://www.syndae.de/episodes/799-episode-426

Yours, Stefan

[treibklang]

I'm not sure what one may expect from the first day of spring, well, I didn't expect to see the world around covered in snow. Crazy times. Like stopping before a railroad gate and expect a train to pass by ... ok, well, consequently there will be a train passing, just takes endlessly before it does. Or coming to halt at a traffic light in the midth of nowhere late at night, waiting for minutes watching empty roads in all directions. Well, or when the clock is set one hour forward for summer time, which is happening this weekend over here. It all feels like you are wasting your time. Not so with syndae of course, where you will get the finest electronic music, no doubt. Like the tracks you will get in this edition, thankfully served by Obri (Afterglow), Nearfield (Mars (Reissue)), moonbooter vs. BatteryDead (Live Muenster 2017), Faber (Monumentum), Kri Tik (North Capital), Inside Out.

No time to waste on
https://www.syndae.de/episodes/800-episode-427

Yours, Stefan

[treibklang]

Not everybody celebrates Easter, although it outgrew its religious meaning similar to christmas. The term Easter Egg got even more popular, not for the festivities but as a hidden feature in computer games, movies, and more. To me, electronic music and relatives are quite a collection of Easter Eggs within music in general. With only a few exceptions, most people rather listen to the ever repeating popular and furbished mirror-bright artists. Well, they miss out a lot, as to be heard on tonight's edition with extraordinarily fine tracks by Vangelis (Direct), Otarion (Under Surface), Ian Boddy & Erik Wøllo (Meridian), Dreams Beat (Dreams Beat), Eagle (The Last Kosmonaut), and Jarguna (Pareidolia).

Angelic discoveries on
https://www.syndae.de/episodes/801-episode-428

Yours, Stefan

[treibklang]

Space, the final frontier. When thinking about drifting through the vast emptiness -imagine there only is about 4E-21 percent of matter in the universe- it's mostly some languorous or serene sound that comes to mind with respect to music. At least to me. Although there is the genre of space music, which, well, yes, does somehow fit to travelling through space, but it's not my first thought. So, when thinking of space in general, and this does not have to be outer space, it could simply be a large plain, some field, usually a peaceful and serene sight, it's either something majestic or ambient reflecting my impressions. And ambient it is for tonight's edition. The one time, where 30 minutes seem quite short for a show. And thus, there are only three tracks on tonight, composed by The Long Light (Hiraeth), Jeff Greinke (Before Sunrise), and Jaja (Music For Space Observation).

Sounds like stardust at
https://www.syndae.de/episodes/802-episode-429

Yours, Stefan