Taking over Episode 61 are two longtime friends of the site with two markedly different hours of music. The first is a drifter, courtesy of FLORA founder Jamison Isaak (Teen Daze). Equal parts pastoral and cosmic, the mix feathers unreleased material from his British Columbia-based label with the sounds of contemporary New Age, jazz, and ambient practitioners and pioneers (Hiroshi Yoshimura, Laraaji). There’s an appearance by Japanese artist and Orchid Tapes-alum Atsuhito Omori aka Ex Confusion, a rippling Melody As Truth-released collaboration between Suzanne Kraft and D.K, as well as フジネットワークシステム (Fuji Network Systems), whose trail since 2016 has all but vaporized (now abstractly related to Bedlam Tapes).
The set closes under the care of Gigi Masin. The Italian minimalist composer and Music From Memory vet prefaces the piano work on his 2018 self-release KITE: “This collection contains some songs that I’ve made in the past few years, written to talk about dreams and love while waiting for new colors and new music. It’s like looking back at a garden of roses and flowers, hoping the next lawn is just as beautiful and bright.”
In short time FLORA has bloomed a bounty of relaxation recordings. Isaak’s 2018 EPs 1 and 2 were recorded primarily on piano (such as the uplifting “Us” below), while his latest tape, Spring Patterns, splays out with meditative guitar loops (full stream further down). These generous and gorgeous sets are suited for golden hours somewhere, under a tree or beside a window, paused and watching the shadows move.
Hour two is “a journey through pastures and depots, liveries and bayous, parlors and front porches, barnyards and haylofts” with Patient Sounds (intl) head M. Sage. We can picture our host grinning at his living room turntables, pulling spontaneously from a collection amassed in travels: undisclosed country-folk and blues compilations and dusty dollar bin nuggets, both old and new, showcasing distinctly American — Southern, Western, Appalachian — songwriting traditions (from Connie Converse up through Daniel Bachman). Full tracklist N/A, but it’s easy to imagine a few Polish cowyboys, Rocky Mountain resort hustlers, moonshiners, and lonesome crooners.
Hour One: FLORA Mix
??? – forthcoming on FLORA
Hiroshi Yoshimura – Soto Wa Ame – Rain Out Of Window
フジネットワークシステム – 1に向けて
D.K. / S.K. – Burn
Hiroshi Yoshimura – Deep Echoes
Laraaji – All Of A Sudden
Ex Confusion – Lilac In July
Pat Metheny Group – If I Could
Jackson Milas – December 21st
John Klemmer – Waterwheels
???
Gigi Masin – KiteHour Two: Southern Exposure by M. Sage