Mix Annotations - The Universe Peoples
Hi Friends!
As 2024 closes and 2025 opens, so too does the annual Draiser fundraiser campaign. (Don’t worry, I’m also getting sick of the name.)
In 2024 we raised $2444. I think this is a great number. It’s $420 more than our goal (nice), and also, 444 is a special set of numbers. According to dictionary.com, 444 is considered to be an angel number that represents clarity, evolution, decisiveness, and stability. What more could we ask for as we go into a new year!
Since 2015 we’ve raised just over $30,000. Down below is the link for Draiser 2025, which is up and running now. As always, any and all contributions are appreciated.
The title for this mix comes from an Alan Watts quote. He says:
We do not "come into" this world; we come out of it, as leaves from a tree. As the ocean "waves," the universe "peoples." Every individual is an expression of the whole realm of nature, a unique action of the total universe.
This is from The Book (1966), which I recently tried listening too. Even though I couldn’t focus on it much, this quote jumped out. In doing a little more digging, I came across the first Out of Your Mind session, where he expands on this idea, saying, “As I wave at you and say, Yoohoo!; the world is waving at me with you and saying, Hi, I'm here.”
I haven’t listened to it in a long time, but I think this is the same as the cosmic joke that Deepak Chopra outlines in You Made It Weird #217, which had a profound impact on me back in 2014. It’s pretty much what Watts is saying, where we are each a branch of this universe looking at and interacting with other branches of this universe, and ultimately we are just the universe looking at itself, saying “hi” to itself.
Anyways, here’s the link to the latest mix:
ANNOTATIONS
Furio Di Castri, Paolo Fresu - Brooklyn This was on a Spotify playlist, as I was trying to find other tracks in the ballpark of the Pharoah Sanders one.
Pharoah Sanders - Love is Everywhere Close personal friend. I think this was probably played a lot at The Beguiling back in the day.
Horsegirl - 2468 This is their new single, so I’ve just been seeing it in the new music spaces.
Spastic Joy - Lebensborn This is on Numero Group’s Cold Wave & Minimal Synths playlist.
Blondie - Mr. Sightseer This is also on Numero Group’s Cold Wave & Minimal Synths playlist.
S. Janaki, K.p. Brahmanandan - Ezhupaalam Kadannu This is on a compilation called Bollywood Nuggets (which is vinyl-only, but someone made a YouTube playlist of it if you’re interested). I was looking for bollywood music compilations and this was one of the first things that came up. Music (or culture in general) from India is something I would like to get more familiar with.
Carl Didur - The Handyman Burns it Down Close personal friend.
Ofege - It’s Not Easy This song is in Episode 1 of The Agency. Their music person is really working hard to find cool stuff for the soundtrack, and they’re pulling tracks that are way too good for such a straightforward spy show. The Agency is like the fourth show off the top of my head from 2024 that was spy-centric. There was Slow Horses, The Day of the Jackal, Black Doves, and Shetland‘s spy storyline. I wonder what’s in the culture that’s making espionage so hot right now.
Haley Heynderickx - Foxglove Close personal friend. Been waiting for this album for a while!
Saccharine - Foolishly Saccharine was one of Exclaim’s 8 Emerging Canadian Artists You Need to Hear in November 2024.
The Sheiks - Eternal Love Gosh, Jamaica to Toronto is by now a foundational text. I’m so lucky to have heard this when I was 17. Sonic Boom has a big window display of the album cover right now, in promotion of the vinyl reissue from Light in the Attic. Must cop for Lakers fans.
Poly Styrene - Dreaming Close personal friend.
Green-House - Sunflower Dance Green-House is one of those artists that I connect with “getting really into bandcamp.” They were probably on some ambient music list a few years back, and I’ve just been grabbing their stuff ever since.
Gil Trythall - Wichita Lineman Truly unknown. There’s no way of knowing how I heard this song.
Jóhann Jóhannsson - Odi et Amo Close personal friend. Rip.
Dorothea Paas - Locked Close personal friend. Still alive.
While space allows, I’m stashing my recent mixes and annotations in a Google Drive folder, which you can visit here: The Archive
DRAISER 2025
As always, here's the link to this year's fundraiser. The goal is a modest $2025, but I will increase it if we go over. It would mean a lot to me if you considered donating: tinyurl.com/Draiser2025.
Even if you’ve already donated, please consider sharing it with your friends and family.