Episodes

Since short after the start, several of the cool tracks on syndae come from netlabels. They have been around for quite some while now, providing a platform for independent artist to publish and distribute their music. Most times, these netlabel offerings are free or name your price albums, so you can usually give what you think the music is worth. And it definitely is worth something. The quality of many of those releases are really good and the music spans various genres, so it never gets boring. On the 14th of July they celebrate Netlabel Day. Quite a bunch of publications from Netlabels on this day. And tonight, we feature a fitting collection of them.

It's been a not too busy week, with so many people being on vacation these days. But it is always a good choice to have some rather peaceful music at hand. Either if one stayed at home, had a workful week, or being far away and relishing the scenery. Ok, it's not the most serene edition you heard on syndae, as I could not resist to throw in some beats. But that's the fun of it, isn't it? Having 60 minutes of drifting and lifting music with turns and twists in between.

These times are so complex and chaotic, it's incredible. Last week I mentioned the storm over Western Germany (which also hit Belgium quiet hard). I did not mention thatmy wife and I were on the way south on the road, when the rain got so strong that I could barely see the next car in front of me. Luckily, we decided to stop and return home. Not all of you were so lucky. For example Bernd "moonbooter" Scholl, who suffered quite some loss. If you like to support, buy at MellowJet's bandcamp page, which will also support the artists of the label. Well, also a bit "chaotic", at least style-wise, comes tonight's edition of syndae.

One week and one internet fluke later, here comes a brand new edition of your beloved show. As always, I am really happy about the music to be on this edition, a mix of good old friends and brand new names. Well, I have been quite lucky otherwise, had some nice little vacation with my wife and started a new job with cool new colleagues. Looking forward to the rest of the year. And wishing all those a heads up who weren't so lucky in the last weeks heavy rainfalls, which was quite close to my place, too. Hope you will all be fine.

Once and again philosophers raise the question, whether everything you experience is simply an illusion made up by your mind. Whatever that mind might be then. Recently I saw a science report on how we perceive our environment. All fact based science, but in the end it leaves one with the question, whether life actually is an illusion. Most of what we experience is what the brain makes out of it. Especially, as it does have no proof whatsoever about all the visual, aural, or nasal stimuli it gets. So it gets trained by what it makes out of it and builds up on what others tell (or what it thinks they tell and what it means). One can get crazy thinking about this all. So, whether the music you hear on this show is actually the same others will hear, you will never know. But you will definitely find out if you like it.

Relax, let’s do it. Even if Frankie won’t go to Hollywood. It’s definitely the time of the year to go for recreation and leave all the stress behind. I bet you’ve earned it, too. So, lean back, drop into your hammock and rest. Now, a couch will do fine as well. Or a bed. Or… Ok, the important thing is to listen to great music that has the chill factor. and there is quite a bunch of those on tonight’s edition.

When I grew up, there was no internet (yeah, I am old). The only source of music were radio and tv (and concerts of course). Coincidentally, at the same time the electronic music movement grew up, which caught my intention in the 80s with the one and only Schwingungen radio show. Yes, this kind of music was played on public radio by the time. Listening to Berlin School music nowadays definitely reminds me of those good old radio times. And actually these times are kind of the reason for me doing this podcast. So how not to celebrate this style once and again at syndae? Tonight's the night, and it's all freshly released music as well. From artist picking up the baton from the past and pushing it into the modern times.

The past days were so hot, there is no way I can play beat driven music tonight. Ambient it is. And there is a good reason to have it on the show anyway, which kind of has two parts tonight. The first half will have some cool recent and brand new albums whereof I have tracks for you.

Did I tell you that I am following a bunch of channels on Youtube? Ah, yes, I did. Well, there is that one music channel with an "old dude", actually quite a successful producer and musician himself, who occasionally also has some stories on younger musical history. Something that caught my ears was him saying that while back in the 70s and 80s artists and bands tend to compose their music themselves. So it was about one, two or three people involved in creating a new song. And those songs were rather complex as well, with unusual chord progressions and therefore more complex melodies. Nowadays, though, songs are rather simple, most having a typical chord progressions like I-V-vi-IV. The crazy thing is, that many of those songs are written by more than a handful of people, and one often sees 9 to 11 songwriters named for just one simple song. Strange worlds. And I can tell you, not at all with music in ambient and electronic you will get on syndae. For sure the advantage of mostly independent artists.