| STAR'S END Fundraiser - 8 February 2015 | ||||||
Why should you listen to STAR'S END? What is it about this music that merits your interest? STAR'S END is a unique radio experience. Airing continuously in its time slot since 1976 this program has been offering a unique and consistant 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?
Spacemusic makes the very world it travels through. Establishing a continuous flux in perfect proportions it makes our minds move in ways it ordinarily would not. By its careful design Ambient and Spacemusic organizes the brain in a way beyond that of everyday experience. These incoming sensations are interpreted and absorbed by listeners according to our own individuality. While other more mainstream audiences will share a common experience, the STAR'S END listener must come up with their own personal meaning. Thinking for ourselves - is this not the ultimate expression of our humanity?
On Public Radio we are doing things found no where else in broadcasting. With a contribution you are doing your part to keep this wonderful thing going - and in your listening space every week. Thanks You to those who tuned in, and then phoned in with a donation to the STAR'S END Fundraising broadcast of 02.08.15. 39 listeners called in with $7484 in donations, which yielded a new show high. You're the difference between having STAR'S END merely survive and making it thrive. Thank You!
Thanks also goes to: Ken Anderson, Art Cohen, Walt & Cindy Crowder, Chuck Nixon, Rich Stankiewicz and Jeff Towne for their great volunteer efforts in handling phone room duties throughout the 02.08.15 fundraising edition of STAR'S END. There were Special Thank You Gifts Available to those calling in with a donation made with a credit card. Many Thanks to all the artists and labels who pitched in their resources to help STAR'S END with fundraising. -Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END - 8 February 2015 | ||||||
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Thank You Gifts
Special premiums were available for those donating by phone on the 02.08.15 broadcast of STAR'S END, including albums from labels/artists DiN, Saul Stokes, Wayfarer Records, Slobor Media, Bryan Carrigan, Hollan Holmes, Airborn Music and Synkronos 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 02.08.15 fundraising broadcast of STAR'S END. More traditional premiums furnished by WXPN were also be offered during this broadcast and throughout the Winter 2015 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 - Convocation - 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 | ||||||
| Synkronos Music - The Ministry of Inside Things | ||||||
   
The Philadelphia based Spacemusic duo The Ministry of Inside Things exist outside the confines of the recording studio and in the realm of the live performance. As MoIT, Art Cohen (guitar) and Chuck van Zyl (synths) continue a tradition of bringing an otherwise methodical studio based artform out into the spontaneity of the performance environment. Their third CD Ambient Elsewhere feels dark and isolated when compared to their two earlier releases. While Everlasting Moment explored the edges, dynamics and tension of space and atmosphere, and Contact Point embraced the more unified themes of cosmic, biospheric and macrocosmic interaction, Ambient Elsewhere moves through a strange new territory in-between and outside of traditional Spacemusic. Drawn from a range of chilling themes, this album sonifies wintertime, desolate landscapes and the midnight of the soul. Moving through the timbral badlands of the empty quarter, their music offers up a courageous intimacy. Always bringing their own influences and innovation to the music process, MoIT produces a sound that is uniquely individual and personal. • Synkronos Music Label Three-Pack includes one copy each of Ambient Elsewhere (2CD), Contact Point and Everlasting Moment (2CD) by The Ministry of Inside Things as a Thank-You for a $180.00 or $15.00/month Credit Card Pledge | ||||||
| Solid States - Rain Falls in Grey - Radio Massacre International | ||||||
 
On 9 November 2002, Steve Dinsdale of Radio Massacre International got to say something that every Brit band dreams of... "Hello America". Thus marked the beginning of RMI's 2002 bi-costal USA concert tour which took them to ProgWest 2002 and the ALIENAIR radio show in southern California and then on across the continent to the northeastern USA and The Gatherings Concert Series and STAR'S END Ambient Radio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Solid States is the audio document of this ambitious expedition, drawn from several hours worth of concert recordings and compiled into a double CD set. "West" (77'20") is the first volume in this collection and opens with a live composite version of "Wrecks" (19'12"), originally found on RMI's "Frozen North". After a moody opening of ethereal guitar textures, melotron pads and building sequencer cyclings, this piece reaches critical mass mid-way as the bass synth tones roll in and Gary Houghton's guitar takes off, dueling with Dinsdale's soaring synth leads. The remaining pieces from the west range from classic RMI deep space improvisations and atmospherics on up to a warped-out set placing Houghton's unrestrained guitar bravado alongside Dinsdale's explosive forays into conventional rock drumming. "East" (78'50") includes three tracks recorded live in the church sanctuary used by The Gatherings Concert Series as well as "Nov(embers)" (32'02"), edited down from the original two and a half hour STAR'S END set (2:00am to 4:30am). The pacing befits the material and this piece uncoils in a wandering and languid fashion. While Dinsdale and Houghton are often noted for their virtuosic work with RMI, it is Duncan Goddard (more often than not, his back to the audience) who is the hub of this great ticking, grinding musical machine. Enigmatic in his stance, Goddard casts a long shadow. He is the architect and engineer behind RMI's music, spontaneously composing the multi-layered sequencer patterns and rhythms as proficiently as fixing a malfunctioning theremin or adjusting an errant looping delay; all on-the-fly, often in the shadowy contrast of the concert stage. At once, separate from and absorbed by the music, Goddard exists somewhere between the audience and the performers - within that brief moment - known to listeners and musicians alike - lasting but an instant yet stretching into infinity.
• Radio Massacre International Two-Pack includes one copy each of Solid States (2CD) and Rain Falls in Grey by Radio Massacre International as a Thank-You for a $120.00 or $10.00/month 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 - Chiasmata 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 | ||||||
| Conundrum - Praposition - Moire by Berhnard Wöstheinrich & others | ||||||
  
Good collaborations can bring out latent voices. On Conundrum (56'43") the duo of Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock and Bernhard Wöstheinrich speak in a language of unexpected affinities and easily traced influences. For Hoffmann-Hoock it is Eastern thought and 60s psychedelia while technology and abstract expressionism inform Wöstheinrich's contributions. Working together on Conundrum the duo manages to combine their individual musical traits into a cohesive sonic statement. Electronic beats, pops and squeaks drop in hard, then relax beneath ethereal guitar leads. The cerebral energy of the rhythms activates the mind as languid melodies play to the heart. Prog-Rock influences inundate Hoffmann-Hoock's guitar riffs. Drifting glissando clouds, slow E-bow solos, breathing chords and straight-ahead liquid leads flow amidst Wöstheinrich's electronica flare. With their hot beats and cool guitar this duo conjures up multi-faceted inventions both cosmically abstract and molecularly detailed.
• Conundrum - 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 | ||||||
| The Spirits of Starlight - Hollan Holmes | ||||||
 
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• Hollan Holmes - The Spirits of Starlight CD $75.00 Credit Card Pledge | ||||||
| Four CD Set - Hollan Holmes | ||||||
  
Phase Shift (64'20"), the third album by Hollan Holmes, more than lives up to the burden of high expectations. A spiritual sequel to his CDs A Distant Light (2011) and The Farthest Fringes (2011), Phase Shift journeys along the strange, twisting paths of a spacey and intensely ambiguous digital landscape. Utilizing great dynamic range variations, crescendos and diminuendos, as tools to create a deeper spatial dimension and psychological impact, Holmes makes music that seems to hang and yet resolve all at the same time. Phase Shift travels from the rhythmically interlocked intensity in the first two tracks, to the slow moving and harmonically complex remaining three movements with some ease. The opening two sequencer pieces risk overload. Brief works of cycling electronic patterns grow in an uncommon hushed intensity. Drifting through the echoing pulsation is a soft reed-like melody. Synthesized to counter the machine precision of the sequencer the wandering lead line rises and softens the minimalistic logic of these pieces. From motion filled music Holmes moves to works with a slowly building sonic range - upon which to rest our thoughts. The remaining three realizations are seemingly tranquil, somnolent ambient meditations. From dreamlike stillness, to fierce brilliance, to pure seduction, Holmes locates new paths and branches of sonic exploration. His music acknowledges the physical power of sound without forgoing the chance to stimulate intellectual responses. • Hollan Holmes Music Four-Pack includes one copy each of The Spirits of Starlight, Phase Shift, The Farthest Fringes and A Distant Light by Hollan Holmes as a Thank-You for a $180.00 or $15.00/month Credit Card Pledge | ||||||
| Five CD Set - Bryan Carrigan | ||||||
    
Have we ever been to a grand exhibition of paintings? of sculptures? Probably. But what about a grand exhibition of sound? Probably not. But the CD Inspired (45'07") may be just that. Realized by Bryan Carrigan, a studio artist with a winning way, this work professes substance over process. Each of the 12 tracks are profoundly thought through yet the full flower of each composition seems a spontaneous arrival. In achieving this tricky task Carrigan makes the listener really want to find out where this music is going, and go along for that ride. Exploring the more refined and elegant timbres of the synthesizer, Carrigan displays his sophisticated compositional sensibilities in the slow and somber followed by tracks full of bright tones, majestic harmonies and jaunty rhythms - a signal of reassurance after periods of beautiful contemplation. Carrigan easily makes Inspired a diverse work. The compositions are ruled by the power of sensual detail so close listening is rewarded with pleasant and unique synthesized sounds, realistic samples of exotic instruments and lovely combinations of the two - which yields lead melodies and harmonic progressions as imaginative as they are expressive. Full of clarity and concision this confidently cool music plays with unforced tenderness and warmth. Inspired is not for a later age but for us right now. • Bryan Carrigan Five-Pack includes one copy each of Inspired, Below Zero, Windows, Focus and Passing Lights by Bryan Carrigan as a Thank-You for a $240.00 or $20.00/month Credit Card Pledge
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STAR'S END broadcasts every Saturday Night/Sunday Morning from 1:00AM til 6:00AM (ET) on:
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