From day one on, Bernd Scholl aka moonbooter was present on syndae. By that time, nobody could imagine how long this podcast would last. And now its edition 550, and we still have thes how, and we still have Bernd as regular guest. In tonight's special edition, we will talk about his brand new album, about his label, the situation for him and artists in general in these demanding times and more. And of course, you will get fantastic music in tracks by moonbooter (Beyond the Neon Lights), Wellenfeld (The Journey of Voyager 1), Faber (Floating Waves), Harald Nies (The Flow of Energy), and Frank Duval (If I Could Fly Away).

Yay, it's Black Friday! So what could I give you for this money saving day? Hey, I give a 50% rebate on this episode. So you will get one hour of fantastic music with only half as many talkovers than usual for free. Isn't that something? Oh, well. Are you on shopping tour today? Hunting the best sales deal out there? So, I was curious, where the phrase came from. It seems rather mundane to refer to the massive crowd that built up on the day after Thanksgiving, opening the Christmas shopping season. No interesting story in there, really. What is interesting though, and actually exciting, is the excellent music you will find on this edition. So put on your headphones or turn up your amplifier for great sounds provided by Time Traveler (Sky Falter), Ron Boots & Synth.nl (BorkHavn), Stefan Erbe (Breathe), Primal Scapes (Entertain), Curious Inversions (Requiem for a Neural Network), and Christopher J. Wray (Berlin).

It was a dark night in the 1970s, when some mysterious guy opened up a music studio in a Berlin school to enable freaky drug addicts to play music using instruments powered by electricity ... Nah, it wasn't. But would make a nice story about the origins of this style of music, nowadays often known (or confused) with sequencer driven electronic music. Berlin School, one of the earliest main sources for the then famous and new electronic music scene, actually has its roots in Berlin. We all know its pioneers like Klaus Schulze, Edgar Froese, Christopher Franke, Günter Schickert, Manuel Göttsching, Dieter Moebius, Michael Rother, ... Well, and many more. It was originally an exploration of these new kind of instruments and what one could accomplish using them for sound creation. There definitely are some variations on Berlin School, some when reviving the old 70s style in the early 90s and bringing it up to date with new developments in technology and musical experience. And, yet again, younger and current artists are picking up the scents and bring it back to modern life. Now, this is not meant as a history podcast, but to relish the music. Enjoy the modern way of Berlin-ish school music with tracks by Klangzaun, Mythos (Berliner Schule Sequencing), Däcker (Pareidolia), Cloudwalk (Realm of Jupiter), Nations of the Reverbs (Fractures), Steve Roach (Tomorrow).

Thinking about tonight's edition, I thought about the term chill out and where it comes from. I could think of some situation, where you are getting hot because of anger or being uptight about something. Then you need to chill out, i.e. cool down. But I could not find any evidence to that origin. The general meaning though is to calm down and relax. And it's quite a young phrase, some claim it's from the 1970s, others put it to the 1980s. Well, if you know more about the origin of "chill out", let me know in the comments on social media or send me a message or mail. What I found interesting though and did not know before, to chill out also means to spend time with your friends. And that's perfectly fitting for syndae, spending time with all of you to listen to fantastic music by Eleon feat. Jeff Pearce (Chillscapes Vol. 1), Der Waldläufer (Daolai), Stefan Erbe (Breathe), Wellenfeld (The Journey of Voyager 1), Ivan Black (The Skirmish), D-Echo Project (Flavour), Rose (Quarantine in Warm), moonbooter (Beyond the Neon Lights), Rombreaker (Summer Pain), Toffo (The Matter of Life), In Vitro (Modulandi).

What a week! Especially nerve wracking for all hour friends in the US. For whatever happens next, I only hope the best for you guys over there. So all the right reasons to relax a bit and clear one's mind for all the things coming up. Tonight, you will get treats in harmony and melodic sounds, easy listening material for the soul's pleasure. So, if you feel in need of some chilling but cheering tunes, this is the place. Or if you simply like great and beautiful music, join in and listen to the wonderful tracks by Divine Matrix (Beachcombing), Robert Fox (House Of Chimes), Kevin Keller (The Front Porch of Heaven), Roberto Sass (Equinox), Deep Imagination (My Silent Celebration), Chris Field (Beneath The Sun), Mike Clay (Imaginary Edges), BlueMonk & Michael Whalen (Karmic Dreams), Evenfall (Monsoon Winds), Leaving Richmond (Visions), Richard Souther (Waiting in the Wings).

Yes, I know. Everyone's jumping on the Halloween train these days. Well, so will I. Because there is such a great dedicated compilation by Legacy of Thought, I had to pick this up. And also I found more tracks, which are more or less suitable for this occasion. It's not one genre alone tonight, but very much some rather dark sides of electronic music paired with ambient segments. So, best to put your masks (or rather headphones) on and take some deep listening time to the excellent and frightening tracks by Stefan Erbe (Breathe), Myth and Ivan Black (Gehenna), Ombra Obscvra (La Nit Eterna), Otarion (Prayer from the Deep), Kliment (Eastern Depths IV), Corticem (Planetarium), Rïcïnn (Nereïd), RoboKnob (Eastern Depths IV), Dan Terminus (Last Call For All Passengers).

Quietness in my job? No traffic on the roads? No. Just the need for some serenity has driven me to relish some cool ambient music and share it with you on tonight's edition. It's this time again, and it's always a great idea to give one's mind a rest from the outer world and contemplate, fetch up with all the thoughts wandering in one's mind. And maybe create some new and unexpected ideas. Maybe the sounds and noises to be heard can tickle your neurons to make new connections or revive some long forgotten ones. Have a wonderful and peaceful time with tracks by Time Being (An Ocean Of Time), Seramind (Embedsave), Sam Rosenthal & Projekt Artists (Tim, where are you now?), A.D.S.R. (UNO), Janne Hanhisuanto (Icescapes), Time Away (Gehenna), Swartz (Nighttide), Alnocys (Alnocys 2).

There is a bunch of shows for finding great, wonderful, super, hyper, next star singers. Not that I follow those shows or ever hear about the winners of them. But, where is the "Next Top Composer" show? Or a "Instrumentalists Have Talent" program? Well, just wondering. Would you be interested in such a show? A kind of competition for composers or instrument talents or actually to find new "stars"? Or do you think they would only server the same popular music styles as other shows? Leave a comment with syndae's channels. Or don't and simply relish the non-tv talents providing such great music and which you will always find via syndae. And there is a bunch of them on this edition, brand new stuff and great old treats by Wellenfeld (The Journey of Voyager 1), Substan (Requiem for a Neural Network), All Notes Off (Rise and Decay), Optionica (Biomechanics), Organic Prizmo (Eighth Listen), Dlaivison (Aeon), F.D. Project (Time to Remember), TK (Vertigo), Peru (Forlian).