Enablers

Enablers are a post-punk band from San Francisco, California which features the poetry/spoken word of Pete Simonelli.

In addition to Simonelli, a published poet and writer who was working as a courier in the band's early years, the band's original lineup included Joe Goldring (guitar, formerly of Swans, Toiling Midgets and [concurrent with Enablers] Touched by a Janitor), Kevin Thomson (guitar, Timco, Nice Strong Arm,Morning Champ, and [also concurrent with Enablers] Touched by a Janitor), and Yuma Joe Byrnes (drums, ex-Tarnation / Broken Horse, Touched by a Janitor).

Enablers' last album, The Rightful Pivot, was released on Atypeek Music, Lancashire and Somerset and Exile on Mainstream in 2015 with European tours.

http://enablers.bandcamp.com/

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1. Joy Division - Disorder

I first heard it in 1983 in Austin TX in a dorm room. Mind fully blown. That bass line?... give me a break, I could skate to it all day in the Texas sun. The freak singer. Shit. I immediately copied and pretty much worshipped Ian Curtis for awhile.

2. Birthday Party - Friend Catcher

Out of my mentor's 7" collection came this fucking screech of guitar and an animal bass riff. I knew right away that I wanted to play guitar like Rowland S. Howard and I still try to on occasion. HERO.

3. Brian Eno - Baby's On fire 

The tune is weird, and lyrically funny enough, but the first time Fripp's solo hits your ears you are done for. I've been getting inspiration off that tone and technique for decades; even tried to straight up copy it with lots of overdrive. Hello? Anybody listening? I'm still waiting for my Fripp "call-out" which can only mean that I am failing.

4. PIL - Pop Tones

From the tape swish intro into the best bass line ever and a totally incomprehensible guitar part this song builds a completely falling down a staircase in slow motion feeling. Evil. This tune is so pivotal for me in so many ways. I don't know Keith Levene and I don't have to; I have this guitar part to thank for many twisty circus riffs.

5. Gang of Four - Damaged Goods

Perhaps one of the most aggressive songs aside from 12XU from that era. That crazy dry-assed production. Raw when turned up. Again, first heard in '83 in a dorm room. I borrowed a guitar shortly after hearing this.

6. Sonic Youth - Tom Violence

This song and this band opened a lot of doors. I was literally about to never play a guitar again until I heard this and suddenly anything seemed possible. My first serious band, "Nice Strong Arm" was oft compared to these greats and rightly so on our first LP. It was truly special to get to open for them.

7. David Bowie - Ashes to Ashes

I taped it straight off the radio in 1980 onto my boombox, missing the first ten seconds or so. The atmospherics were like nothing I had ever heard before and the vocal melody has never left me. I don't know. I can't really listen to it anymore but something about it really wormed into my teenage head.

Multicast Dynamics

Samuel van Dijk is an electronic music producer, sound designer and media artist from the Netherlands, having released electronic music under a variety of projects, namely, Mohlao and VC-118A. With his current project Multicast Dynamics he creates ever-evolving sound textures culminating in intriguing soundscapes while preserving a tranquil cinematic atmosphere.

http://denovali.com/multicastdynamics/

http://www.facebook.com/multicastdynamics

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1. Vladislav Delay ­- Raamat
A soundtrack for vision.
2. Oddworld Inhabitants -­ Fire Free Zone
Ellen Meijers videogame ambient from 1997.
3. Brian Eno -­ Unfamiliar Wind (Leeks Hills)
Warm and dreamy electronics drawing cinematic landscapes.
4. Edward Artemyev -­ Stalker
Incredible soundtrack to a monolithic film.
5. Martin Stig Andersen ­- Mirage
Absorbing acousmatic music from Denmark.
6. M. Von Schommer ­- Untitled 9
Downtown Detroit 3:00AM ­ covered in thick fog.
7. Phalangius -­ Falcklands Flashback: Assault on Goose Green
Eccentric sound adventures played solely on a Roland Juno 6 synthesizer.

Dollboy / Oliver Cherer

Dollboy is the project started back in 2001 by Oliver Cherer. He had been a fan of the early Eno records in my teens and had just discovered the ambient stuff and when he discovered the Laraaji album (Ambient 3).This period produced the first two Dollboy albums, "Plans For A Modern City" and "Casual Nudism", appearances on various compilatons and radio shows, a couple of 7" singles and remixes and acclaimed shows at The Big Chill. Now there's "Further Excursions Into The Ulu With Dollboy". The fifth Dollboy album is a vocal album of twelve songs. It's less electronic, there's more singing than before.

www.olivercherer.co.uk

www.dollboy.co.uk

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1. Miles Davis - In A Silent Way

This has stillness, fragility, boldness, soul and intellectual rigour. It’s been with me since I was 15 but has been a regular touchstone throughout everything I have done in the last 15 years. Still sublime to me after more listens than is healthy.

2. The Jesus And Mary Chain - Just Like Honey

This, in its stark, bare bones simplicity taught me about melody in a way nothing before it did. When I first heard it on Janice Long’s Radio One show it soared and yet when I examined its constituent parts it seemed to be made of nothing.

3. Brian Eno - 1/1 Music For Airports

First hearing this was like being rescued after four years of making very noisy dance music and jolted me (gently) into making a series of ambient records of which I’m still proud. It also led me to making experiments which still occasionally reward with listenable and useable results.

4. David Bowie - Art Decade

This tune, amongst many, many others by Bowie strikes me as the perfect balance of craft, discipline, art, pop, cool and cultural savvy that I’d love to stumble upon one day. It exudes decadence and elegance in equal measure and I have not made my last attempt to steal it.

5. Matching Mole - O'Caroline

This sounds too simple to be this breathtakingly beautiful. How do you do that?

6. Jack Hayter (featuring Suzanne Rhatigan) - Sisters Of St Anthony

I can’t overstate how important my friends are to me as an artistic influence. Jack has a rigorous approach to his words which work, for me, as a bench mark to which I can only aspire. Jack will never include a throw-away line and will agonise over the right words until they are just that – right. This sets him apart.

7. King Creosote and John Hopkins - John Taylor’s Month Away

I came to this a year late and it made such an impact that I’m still working on avoiding the slavish copying of this tune and others from this record.

Michiru Aoyama

Michiru Aoyama is a 29 year old ambient composer from Kyoto. He studied electronic music in Berlin and the result of that journey lead him to ambient music. Fast forward a couple of years and the young producer has managed to showcase an understanding of experimental music that rivals that of already established artists in the genre. His most recent piece, which holds the title In A Dream is a true soundtrack for the ambient aficionado worldwide releases by Shimmering Moods Records

http://michiruaoyama.bandcamp.com

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1. Eric Clapton - Layla
I played guitar this song when university. i played blues music when university.

2. Brian Eno - An Ending

Special ambient. i feel the mystery of the universe.

3. Spitz - スピカ

Japanese rock band. i heard all the songs of this band. Live act is great.

4. Fennesz - Glide

I respect him . i went to germany for hearing his live act.

5. Aiko - 光のさす足下

Japanese girl singer. Cute singer.

6. Aphex twin - Flim

Special rhythm. I think this song is best in his works.

7. Ryuichi Sakamoto - Merry christmas Mr lawrence

Beautiful japanese soul. His piano works is amazing. I like all of his film music works.