For this month’s Psilicon Dreams episode, I again explored the fringed edges of the psychill genre. With two cups of bounce, 4 oz. of squigglies, one-and-a-half wobbles (minced), a dash of sub-oontz, and a sprinkle of psydrops (to taste), Psilicon Dreams 14 is a set of grade-A, peak-hour downtempo, meant to get those heads a bobbin’.

Like what you hear? Let me know! And don’t forget you can grab lots of other mixes from my downloads page. You can also subscribe to the Splendid Beats Podcast and never miss another splendid download!

Tune in every second Saturday at 9am US PST/12pm US EST/5pm UK/18:00 Central Europe to catch the newest episode of Psilicon Dreams on Digitally Imported radio.

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Download » Crispy - Psilicon Dreams 14 (February 2011) (1hr 20min, 183MB)

Tracklist ::
01. Grouch – Chops [purchase]
02. SeventhSwami – The Art of Letting Go [purchase]
03. Nagual Sound Experiment – Systema (Coopers Theme) [purchase]
04. Globular – Squabbling Gods [free download]
05. Hol Baumann – Benares (Vârânaçî edit) [purchase]
06. LuneCell – Alkaloid [free download]
07. Shiloh – Bleed [purchase]
08. Greg Hunter and Mauxuam – Hydra.phonica [free download]
09. Mr Projectile – I Am Back [purchase]
10. Invisible Allies – Turquoise Rain Chant [purchase]
11. Tipper – Neuron Huskie [purchase]
12. Sonoio – Not Worth Remembering (Ricard Devine Mix) [free download]
13. Shpongle – Walking Backwards Through The Cosmic Mirror [purchase]
14. Tripswitch – Strange Parallels [purchase]

Standard Podcast

The Monster Planet audio archives are making their way onto Soundcloud. Please enjoy these momentary snippets of our aural misadventures.

Latest tracks by Monster Planet

Here’s my favorite image from the fantastic series of Dia-de-los-Muertos-meets-pop-icons letterpressed images by Jonathan Koshi. Check out the full set here.

Followers of my Psilicon Dreams mix series should recognize the Sun In Aquarius name. I regularly feature his new releases, as they just push all my bassy-psychedelic-ambient-glitch buttons like few others do. And look what I found! A Sun In Aquarius live set. I do love hearing how an artist strings their tracks together to make a set. About the set he says, “A recording taken from my live set at Earth Freq Festival 2011, without the live sampling i perform over the top.” I’m sure that live sampling adds an extra layer of slippery goodness to his music, so it’s too bad that didn’t also get recorded. He must be mixing that stuff in at the main board and this recording is straight from his computer. Still a damn tasty mix, nonetheless, so stap on your snorkels and prepare your mind grapes for a squishin’. SiA is taking us deep with this one.

Voice: Bill Hicks (16 December 1961 – 26 February 1994)

“Life is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you go on it you think it’s real because that’s how powerful our minds are. The ride goes up and down, around and around, it has thrills and chills, and it’s very brightly colored, and it’s very loud, and it’s fun for a while. Many people have been on the ride a long time, and they begin to wonder, “Hey, is this real, or is this just a ride?” And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and say, “Hey, don’t worry; don’t be afraid, ever. Because this is just a ride….But it doesn’t matter, because it’s just a ride. And we can change it any time we want. It’s only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings of money. Just a simple choice, right now, between FEAR and LOVE.”

Spotted at Paradise Engineering.

I have a new uplifting, mid-tempo, nostalgic-romp of a track, Quintessence, featured in Solipsistic Nation’s Twitter Mix 3. As of this moment, that is the only place where you’ll be able to hear it, so download the mix, or use the player below, to give it a listen.

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Solipsistic Nation is consistently one of my favorite podcasts, so I highly suggest adding it to your subscription list and let the weekly episodes exploring “the best of all genres of electronic music” flow your way.

For January 2011′s episode of Psilicon Dreams, my monthly mix for Digitally Imported’s Psychill channel, I decided to honor one of my favorite record lables, Ultimae Records, by crafting a set entirely of music from their vast catalog of powerful and well-crafted electronica. Nearly every episode of Psilicon Dreams has contained a track or two from Ultimae, and after a recent purchase of several of their newer releases, it was an easy choice to just go all in this round. This mix is but a wee sampling of their expansive catalog, so I can’t encourage you enough to do some exploring of your own. You seriously can’t go wrong with anything with their name on it.

And of course, what would a tribute to Ultimae be without a cover in their iconic style. It looks like they’ve changed it up for their most recent releases, but that heavy black letterbox look with abstract photography made for an instantly recognizable CD.

Like what you hear? Let me know! And don’t forget you can grab lots of other mixes from my downloads page. You can also subscribe to the Splendid Beats Podcast and never miss another splendid download!

Tune in every second Saturday at 9am US PST/12pm US EST/5pm UK/18:00 Central Europe to catch the newest episode of Psilicon Dreams.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download » Crispy - Psilicon Dreams 13 (January 2011) (1hr 14min, 170MB)

Tracklist ::
01. Sync24 – Memloop [purchase]
02. Solar Fields – Unite [purchase]
03. I Awake – Inferno [purchase]
04. Malik Trey – Sleepy Shadows [purchase]
05. Hol Baumann – Breathe [purchase]
06. H.U.V.A. Network – Indigo Room (Live Version) [purchase]
07. Sundial – Together, We Are? [purchase]
08. Scann-Tec – ASD [purchase]
09. Asura – Erase [purchase]
10. Cell Featuring Aes Dana – Switch Off [purchase]
11. Aes Dana – Heights [purchase]
12. Solar Fields – The Stones Are Not Too Busy [purchase]
13. Asura – Regenesis [purchase]

Crispy - Psilicon Dreams 13 (January 2011)

As I work towards completing my first album, I’m keeping most of my new music secret (or for live sets only) at the moment. However, I would like to share this new slice of deep, ethereal ambient techno with you all. Enjoy!

Hear and Know by Leave Trace

Here’s a perfect unofficial video, by the sharp-eyed Neil Krug, to my favorite Boards of Canada song, “In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country“. Mr. Krug’s sun-drenched ’70s vibe perfectly pairs with BoC’s nostalgic sound. Go spend some time exploring his portfolio and enjoy.

Spotted at Abduzeedo.

Rotary Signal Emitter – Side A from The Wire Magazine on Vimeo.

Rotary Signal Emitter – Side B from The Wire Magazine on Vimeo.

Sculpture present a flattened zoetrope on the surface of a vinyl record. The Victorian zoetrope, invented in 1834, was a three-dimensional object that consisted of a spinning cylinder with vertical slits through which still images appeared to move.

Sculpture’s animation requires the use of a video camera to convey its magic, but as can be seen from their videos the effort is well worth it. Just the knowledge of the latent potential contained within the vinyl surface serves to enhance the experience of the music and the spinning disc, even to the naked eye, is a hypnotic spectacle.>

What a spectacular idea and execution! Full details can be found at Hardformat.