| STAR'S END Fundraiser - 1 June 2014 | ||||||
It's fundraising time again at Public Radio Station WXPN. This Spring 2014 listeners are being asked to please phone in and pledge their financial support to STAR'S END. Surely we all know why this is asked; Public Radio exists through the support of its listeners and periodic on-air fundraisers are the most sensible method for stations to meet their fiscal goals. On-air fundraisers are also a good opportunity for listeners to make themselves known to the programs they frequent.
So there is the case for why you should support STAR'S END. But now a larger question looms, why should you even listen to STAR'S END? What is it about this music that merits your support? STAR'S END is a unique radio experience. Airing continuously in its time slot since 1976 this program has been offering the most unique presentation of Spacemusic for almost 40 years. But beyond the show's legacy and its innovative approach, why do we want people to hear the range of works it presents? What can it do for us? What is the hope of this music?
So why is it that we should listen to this music? Put simply, because the best of it asks us to be greater than what we are. And why is it that you should support STAR'S END? Because compared to other genres there are so few people in the world who care to listen to this music, or who can even comprehend its potential. If you are a STAR'S END listener you are unique, possibly enlightened by the power of music - and must comprehend the part you play in this quietly amazing enterprise.
There will be Special Thank You Gifts Available to those calling in with a donation (please tune in for details). -Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END - 30 May 2014 | ||||||
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Thank You Gifts
Special premiums are available for those pledging by phone on the 06.01.14 broadcast of STAR'S END, including albums from labels/artists DiN, Saul Stokes, Wayfarer Records, Slobor Media and Airborn Music.
The CD premiums pictured were donated by the artist/label and available (in limited quantities) as thank-you gifts to those making a credit card pledge by phone during the 06.01.14 fundraising broadcast of STAR'S END. More traditional premiums furnished by WXPN will also be offered during this broadcast and throughout the Spring 2014 Fund Drive.
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| Sleek Nucleus by Saul Stokes | ||||||
Saul Stokes makes Electronic Music that sounds like it is coming straight out of the wall outlet. Over the years he has become known for his concerts of sonic improvisation and albums of complex atmospheric energy. His work has always been, and continues to be, based on crafting original sonic elements and forms into beautiful realizations of texture and consonance. More recently Stokes has been embracing his internal contrasts. On Sleek Nucleus (54'42") he produces music that registers in both the body and in the mind. Sleek Nucleus is front-loaded with catchy, engaging tracks - but although this CD's songs may be easier to grasp, this accessibility in no way represents a scaling back of ambition. While overlapping rhythms push Sleek Nucleus to the dance floor, for all its heat and beats the most interesting elements transpire quietly. His one-of-a-kind aural ideals bring a unique aesthetic to the field. This album is full of infectious rhythms, kinetic throbbing and subliminal pulse, but the thoughtful listener will also find grainy tones, chirping modulations and fascinating timbres amidst Stokes' melodic sound designs. Never succumbing to formula, Stokes uses ideas and imagination as maps. He is the musician who speaks most directly to our contemporary condition, but has always been too far out there and unclassifiable to gain the following he deserves. Not one of his works are less than perfect.
• Saul Stokes - Sleek Nucleus single CD $75.00 Credit Card Pledge
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| Awaken the Electric Air - Matt Borghi & Michael Teager | ||||||
There is more than one reason to take part in a live to air broadcast concert on STAR'S END Ambient Radio. Most participants think that it is a good way to get their music out to thousands of radio listeners, which it is - or that this activity is just the thing to do after a stimulating performance at The Gatherings Concert Series, held earlier in the evening within the nearby church sanctuary of St. Mary's Hamilton Village. But Matt Borghi & Michael Teager used their late-night session to further explore and build upon that which was presented on their studio album Convocation. This activity surprisingly yielded the quite magical Awaken the Electric Air, an album from the recording made on STAR'S END of 20 October 2013. Borghi & Teager were the third of three distinctive live sets produced on STAR'S END that night (also appearing were Dave Luxton and Vic Hennegan). Tasked with filling the 4:00AM to 5:00AM hour Borghi & Teager's music created the perfect atmosphere and mood to compliment this most deep and searching zone. Routing his electric guitar signal through a myriad of delays, reverbs and effects Borghi strummed, plucked and rubbed the strings of his instrument into a vast wash of gently undulating sound. Through this timbral front Teager contributed various saxophone and flute lines, beautifully reverberating into the soundfield and providing a sparse melodic narrative to bring the listener back from the slow thoughts of dreaming reverie. No synthesizers or computers were used during this realization, therefore Awaken the Electric Air possesses a rare textured density, unusual compared to the flattened spaces of digital music. In their serious play Borghi & Teager lift the audience to a different place. A night time companion, small of gesture, large of heart, this album is subtle and in places moving - as it rescues us from the darkest corners of our own being.
• Borghi & Teager - Awaken the Electric Air single CD $75.00 Credit Card Pledge | ||||||
| The Wind Blows Summer From the Trees - The Glimmer Room | ||||||
 
UK synthesist Andy Condon releases music under the name The Glimmer Room. Those familiar with his work know it to always be full of interesting musical ideas, a variety of energy levels and an excellent narrative arc. On
• The Glimmer Room - The Wind Blows Summer From the Trees CD $75.00 Credit Card Pledge | ||||||
| Soul Ascending by George Wallace | ||||||
The musical releases of George Wallace have followed an interesting decades-long arc. His cassette Sacred Earth (1985) may be said to have born Wallace into innovative music prominence. A noted New Age release, it was more a progressive homage to the environment and natural lands. His Communion (1988) came later and allowed him to further explore Contemporary Instrumental music. So after many years of accomplished work, we now see George Wallace's Soul Ascending (67'17"). With spacey influences like Michael Stearns and Jonn Serrie Wallace's compositions mingle just as nicely among those by multi-instrumentalists Jade Warrior and Mike Oldfield. As much a student as he is a master Wallace uses the techniques of the prominent to assert his own identity. Soul Ascending feels like a window into a realm we all too often neglect to notice. The 12 tracks on this CD span an interesting range of styles and intensities. There are wonderful passages presenting a relaxed and unpressured atmosphere. Ceremonial synth chords, atmospheric lead lines and ringing bowls offer subtle depths and graceful stillness - yet there are other areas where thunderclaps, chanting monks, primeval rhythms and overdrive guitar heighten our attentiveness to new ideas. Of course there is nothing wrong with a little abstract meandering, especially from a musician as accomplished as Wallace. These landscapes offer gong blasts, glittering sonic effects, howling wolves and rolling, rumbling electronic harmonies that push the listener along on a current of sound. As diverse as it is, the pieces on Soul Ascending all flow together powerfully. Whether you think of this music as Ambient, Space, New Age or World Fusion, it is hard not to respond to it.
• George Wallace - Soul Ascending single CD $75.00 Credit Card Pledge | ||||||
| Elemental by Ian Boddy | ||||||
Ian Boddy's music consistently sounds fresh; seeming to exist in an eternal now. Continually coming up with new ideas and approaches on each release he is involved in, Boddy is always redefining his relationship with Electronic Music. His innovative contributions to Electronica retain fragments of a time gone by and make for a daring and passionate vision of a present constantly slipping into the past. His album Elemental (52'11") possesses more than just the tricks and technology of its time. Its eight songs of innocence and experience cast a wide resonance - one that speaks from the past to the present. This work emits a significant amount of energy by way of swinging drum grooves and throbbing electro-rhythms. Boddy's deliberate and dramatic pacing construct these forms gradually, adding layer upon layer of enticing arpeggios and coarse-grained loops to a point just prior to where production and tech power would outshine the subtle emotion of this disc. Separating the power tracks are ambient stretches of stark intimacy. In these regions Boddy sets an altogether different mood. Complex synth modulations and uniquely manipulated sound samples lead the listener to a cool introspective space. From these chilled out regions the listener may notice the many peaks and depressions on Elemental, and how Boddy, using a keen musical sense fueled by pure curiosity, ably navigates.
• Ian Boddy - Elemental - single CD $75.00 Credit Card Pledge | ||||||
| Fuzzy Music by Dave Luxton | ||||||
Dave Luxton provides great music for mind travelers. Fuzzy Music (50'34") contains 12 small tracks about one big subject - The Cosmos. Often thought of as a vast unfeeling infinity The Universe as portrayed by Luxton becomes a salvational force. Fuzzy Music offers fresh testament in a genre continually thought to be ten years ahead of its time. Exploring the strange magic at the heart of the listening experience Luxton crafts subtle nuance then summons stratospheric power. Choosing dark soundscapes loaded with intriguing textures he moves the mood to a purer plane - with passages so soft so as not to ruffle the vulnerable listener. Overtly electronic Fuzzy Music's synthesized chords move wondrously outward. We hear its foundational drones supporting twinkling effects and vaporous melodies. Along with pushing the keyboard based sounds through space Luxton also plays electric guitar - his fluid leads ringing through the backbone of night. The atmosphere lightens and darkens as the listening experience extends into dramatic sonic imagery and tender elegiac laments. A moving tribute to those of us in tune with forces bigger than ourselves, Luxton's music is a celebration of the wonder of existence.
• Dave Luxton - Fuzzy Music - single CD $75.00 Credit Card Pledge | ||||||
| Markus Reuter & Ian Boddy - Dervish | ||||||
Powered by their passion for sound, noted touch guitarist and looper Markus Reuter along with storied electronic musician Ian Boddy, craft disparate influences into a seamless work. Their album Dervish contains studio realizations characterized by faceted rhythms, strange modulations, harmonious melodies and unfolding sonic atmospheres. Whether it's unstructured floating layers of repeating chords or the interlaced rhythms of popping synthesizer tones and plucked strings grounded to tumbling electronic percussion, each piece develops rapidly and represents an elegant synthesis of the human and the technological. Their sounds positively glow as every tingling detail is meant to stimulate the imagination. The duo embraces themes of machinery and power as well as the streamlined classic motifs of Ambient Music. The success of Dervish success lies in the psychological drama between Boddy's writhing, gritty rhythms and treatments and Reuter's ethereal and blessed textures and melodies. Such variety makes their music hard to define, but this kind of holistic approach can only come from artists with maturity gained through years of experience.
• Markus Reuter & Ian Boddy - Dervish - single CD $75.00 Credit Card Pledge
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STAR'S END broadcasts every Saturday Night/Sunday Morning from 1:00AM til 6:00AM (ET) on:
and live on the world wide web at: http://xpn.org | 
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