Recently, I have been at the coast for a short vacation. It was quiet at first, as going for journeys just has started again after lockdown. So great to have a change in scenery after all these months. My wife and I enjoyed the nature and the sea up in the north eastern part of Germany, at least until the hords rolled in to the end of our time up there. Still, people seem to be tense. Surely because of the strange times we are in. And actually, it's not as difficult as in other places. Looking out in the world, some things are not right. Some people seem to have the impression to be more important than others. And there is no justification for hatred at any time. As one of my favourite novelists puts it: Everybody counts or nobody counts. So, stay safe, my dear friends in sound, in health and everything else. As of this show, for your mental well-being, you get very much enjoyable music served by Ben Blackett (Portals), John Gregorius (Full of Life), Divine Matrix (Helios), Ian Boddy (Behind the Sky Presents: Portals), Eleon (Rendezvous), Catalin Marin (Art of Darkness).

So, last time I was talking about trees and ambient music. There is another style of electronic music that is quite similaro with respect to building up its beauty: traditional electronic music of Berlin School. These simply take their time to come to a point, or multiple points. And often times with sound arcs not to be expected. Well, if we are back to trees, you can see them bend and twisted occasionally and usually never growing straight up. Long lasting sequences build the thread here on which you get hooked. And most of tonight's tracks are excerptional due to their extensive length. Take all of them, provided by Ivan Black (Our Drowning World), Elrox (Era), Bob Hedger (2020 Karma Cafe Jam Sessions Vol. 1), RadioSilence (RadioSilence III), Fratoroler (Different).

Trees are fascinating creatures, none like the other but still the same. A tree takes several years to grow and its blossoms come and go. Some even exist for hundreds, some rare ones several thousand of years. Imagine being a tree that old having seen the world around you change quite a lot. Well, a tree does not see much of the world though, as it does not move. But it would be fascinating anyway. Why am I talking about trees? No particular reason, actually. Ambient music, however, does share some features with trees. For once, an ambient track usually grows over time, it simply takes a while until it unfolds and shows its beauty. Unlike popular music which quickly shows its hooks and lines repeatedly, as if to get over with it. So, this edition does not provide quick and busy stuff but evolutionary aural journeys in form of tracks by Blue is Nine (A Pool Appears), Mark Seelig (The Disciple's Path), Anantakara (Serenity Despite the Storm), Michael Brückner (Servant of the Secret Fire).

There is a saying that some people cannot seen beyond the end of their nose. Well, for music, would the limit be the helix of their ear? However, when I started syndae back in 2008, it was about musical styles from within my comfort zone. Meanwhile, for once I broadened my own taste in sound but also sometimes visit the outer rim of ambient and electronic music that is well known to me and people I know. Tonight, I am up for some sounds and rhythms you do not hear that often on my show. And it's also great as I like a change in style so the show stays interesting and actually my mind visits different places. Well, it's no radical change tonight and definitely very cool music by Weldroid & Room of Wires (The Deep Blue Knight), Amotken (Life's a Glitch), Ombra Obscvra (La Nit Eterna), Ben Cox (Consciousness, and Other Tricks of the Light), Erratic (Acre, Aged 10), Soul Flask (The Cassandra Complex).

When thinking about tonight's edition, I coincidentally stumbled upon the photo used as teaser. It depicts quite perfectly the association to the music picked for this show. Cyberpunk is a genre that mixes modern technology with an adventurous age. The stories told are most gripping and fascinating, providing a playfield for the most unusual inventions in a not so technological advanced time of history spiced with todays knowledge of the possible and beyond. Kind of the same holds for modern takes on traditional electronic music, as you will get to hear. One can think of it as the artists looking back on the golden ages of the 70s and 80s and having their take on a historic musical view with modern knowledge. The time travellers telling their stories tonight are Remy (The Other Side), Space Art (Entrevues), Lisa Bella Donna (Portals), The Garwin Project, TM Solver (Oxymoron).

Last weekend, we had a fantastic online live show with ATB sending from the Planetarium of Bochum. Quite a number of artists are going "on-air" this way recently to entertain and get in contact with their fans and audience. On the other hand, several live events had to be cancelled for this year. Watching a live stream surely is great, but not the same. Still, I and I think many others enjoyed the show. And there is another one coming up tomorrow (that is May 2nd) with Stefan Erbe doing a premiere stream on his album Nachtlichter. And surely we have several more fresh releases these days to celebrate and listen to, some of which you will get listening to tonight's podcast edition. Chilling times are on with tracks by Yaary & Scholl (Delta Evolution), Juli Morán (LibitVm), IcingWolf (From Inside), Backstage Gurus (Mediterranean Odyssey), Stefan Erbe (Nachtlichter).

U.F.O.s! No, not really. As there are very few airplanes around recently, those bright shining and fast moving objects to be seen at the night sky a few days ago were very eye-catching. A chain of sattelites crossed our hemisphere and made lots of people wonder. And they really appeared to be very fast, well, meant for high speed internet, that's why. Haha. Ok, seriously. What would it be like to live on such a sattelite or the ISS for a while? I'd guess mostly quiet and peaceful? Or would there be lots of debris pelt against the hull making it sound like hard rain hitting the roof of ones home? Well, I am sure one would find some comfort in listenting to some music of tonight's edition. But no need to rocket into space, you can listen comfy sitting in your favourite chair. Have some ambient moments with tracks by Jarguna (The Morning Star), Mäläskä (First Day of Spring), Bernhard Wöstheinrich (Wishes Follow One), Eisenlager (Anime Comp), Cousin Silas & Glove of Bones (Cousin Silas & Friends Vol. 8 Pt. 1), Whalt Thisney (Quiethism).

I recently watched a video tutorial about mixing music. Well, there are gazillion of such videos out there, and I merely watch some for fun. The one I picked this time was making its point on not overdoing it, not throwing in all the EQ, Filter, Limiter etc. one owns, but to carefully find the right balance between all instruments involved. And he recommended one easy test: head bobbing. So when you are listening to your song and your head keeps bobbing to its flow, you got the mix right. Now, it's a bit oversimplifying, but I can live with the "if it feels right, it is right". At least for you it is. And following this advice, I chose to have several tracks tonight to test the head bobbing thesis. So best to pick up your favourite headphones, and start bobbing with Stefan Erbe (Nachtlichter), Youth & Gaudi (Astronaut Alchemists Remixes), Sonic Jay (Digital Family Vol. 8), Javiis (Reality), Nikavo (Yummy Miami), K.I. Companion (Music for Cars).