Dream Weapons present: WALK WITH ME IN BEAUTY C90

I was compiling a similar, but darker mix and this one is mostly made out of the considered tracks that felt too outright beautiful to fit within that context. I’m not all that seasonal in my music listening habits. But it’s in the midst of summer here, so it felt appropriate to share the «nicest» among the two, first. Ninety minutes of wintery melancholy and longing instead of straight up gloom. Basically a collection that combines Modern Classical, Ethereal Folk with elements of Ambient/Electronic (perhaps bordering on New Age at times). 21 out of 24 tracks are taken from 2024-2025 releases, and the remaining three were released in 2022-2023. For some reason I find that somewhat pleasing in itself -Moahaha 

1 Adrian Lane - Pigeon Angel
2 Annelies Monseré - Floods
3 Akira Umeda & Metal Prayers - Ice Maidens Myriad Dream
4 Grabek - The Awakening
5 Loopsel - Det vi inte får
6 Dag Rosenqvist - Decemberljuset
7 Federica Deiana - Leaves
8 Brueder Selke & Midori Hirano - Scale A
9 Raphael Rogiński - Šilinis Viržis
10 Colin Andrew Sheffield - Testament
11 Grischa Lichtenberger - Stranger Things 2
12 Johan Carøe - Sorrow

13 Valentina Magaletti - A Ghost Again
14 Svin & Arhus Sinfonietta - Elegi II
15 Lydia Clapperton - Diane
16 Laura Cannell - Ad Celestum Armoniam
17 marucoporoporo - Conceive the Sea
18 Olga Anna Markowska - Train Ride Home
19 Otto A. Totland - Marka 
20 Malcolm Pardon - The End
21 Troth & Jon Collin - Whispering Sand
22 Western Skies Motel - Fountain
23 Farah Kaddour & Marwan Tohme - Kayfa Taltaqi el-Qulub
24 Sofie Birch & Antonina Nowacka - Love Object

Here

or 

Dream Weapons present: XMAS DELIGHTS XIII C60

Ernie says "Christmas season begins shortly after the end of the big meal on Thanksgiving. Be there or be square" - so I'll follow his lead. Although over here Thanksgiving was actually two months ago. I didn't even notice - or know. All "we" do is to decorate the altar with ribbons of corn and other crops from the fields, so I gladly discard our local traditions in favour of a little Americanization.

-Anyway I'm glad I'm not particularly superstitious, as it's time for my thirteenth collection of delights for the festive season! I always think my latest will be my last. But it's the same procedure as last year. Same procedure as every year. My seasonal compilations are always drenched in nostalgia. They aim at capturing the spirit of an idealized Christmas that only really exist in fiction. Or perhaps you recognize the feeling from looking at faded family photographs, alternatively a grainy video taken by your parents - while the younger you meet Santa, open a present... Or some other childhood highlight. Perhaps not. Either way, I once again present to you another variation of cozy oldies, lighthearted latin/easy listening gems and the likes, for the first half of my selection. Followed by heartwarming folksongs, and some classical/early music stunners on the less festive, but no less christmassy B-side of things -Moahaha

It may take a while till I return with another mix. So I might as well wish you a wonderful December - and I hope that 2025 will be a shockingly awesome year for all of you (and for me)!

1 Jack Conner - Angels We Have Heard On High
2 Martine Bijl - In Den Zomer Van Het Jaar Nul
3 Geoff Bastow - Yule Train
4 Harpers Bizarre - Snow
5 Eduardo Zurita - Jaleo Navideño
6 De Carina's - In een Slee
7 The Waikiki’s - Waikiki Christmas
8 Heaven & Earth - Home for Christmas
9 Yasunori Nakajima and The Latin Rhythm Kings - Blue Christmas
10 Paulette Rollin - La Symphonie De Noël
11 Roy Smeck and His Island Quartet - Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer
12 Len Ranle - Christmas Bells 

13 Chickie Williams - Wintertime In Maine
14 Tracy Moore - Silent Night
15 Pete Seeger - Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming
16 Ronnie Gilbert - Borning Day
17 Ethan James - Quem Pastores Lauduere / On Christmas Night
18 The Young Tradition with Shirley and Dolly Collins - Is It Far to Bethlehem
19 Margit-Anna Süß - Variations pastorales sur un vieux Noël 1-3 (Noel Nouvelet)
20 Divna Ljubojević - Polijelej
21 Zola Van - Coventry Carol: the Holy Innocents
22 The Singers Unlimited - It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

Here 

or

Link to all previous twelve Delights + a direct link to three newly reuploaded Pre-DWp's, Here Vol. I-V. Underneath are the streaming versions for 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 & 2016's Xmas-mixes:

 

Dream Weapons present: LUX IN TENEBRIS C60:

Light in Darkness/Lux in Tenebris is a phrase taken from the Gospel of John. «The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it». Light and dark. Great art usually has a bit of both, eh?

-So what I’ve compiled for you is mostly contemporary classical music originating from sometime in between 1947 up to the present era. I’ve come to learn that 20th century Eastern European composers speaks to me the most. No place else than behind the former Iron Curtain do I find all this soul crushing beauty in spades. But east or west, everything included here touches me deeply -Moahaha

 1 Sulkhan Tsintsadze - Didavoi Nana
   Georgian State String Quartet
 2 Herman Galynin - Suite for Piano: II. Intermezzo
   Fernanda Damiano
 3 Peteris Vasks - Balta Ainava (White Scenery)
   YuEun Kim, Mina Gajić, Coleman Itzkoff
 4 Anne Vanschothorst - Higher She Flies Without Feet!
   Anne Vanschothorst
 5 Henri Dutilleux - Sonate for Oboe and Piano: I. Aria-grave
   Caleb Harris
 6 Wolfert Brederode - Ruins 1
   Wolfert Brederode
 7 Johannes X. Schachtner - Bach.Choral.Exerzitien: VI. Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten (BWV 691)
   Patrick Stapleton

 
 8 Bohuslav Martinů - String Quartet No. 7, H. 314: II. Andante
   Stamic Quartet
 9 Tõnu Kõrvits - Stalker Suite - II. The Room
   Duo Gazzana
10 Valentin Silvestrov - Winter Evening
   Elene Gvritishvili, Alexey Pudinov
11 Balys Dvarionas - Élégie for Violin and String Orchestra
   Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
12 André Jolivet - Chant pour les piroguiers de l'Orénoque
   Heinz Holliger
13 Maija Einfelde - Sonāte - Meditācija Altam Un Klavierēm: II. Allegro Energico
   Andrejs Senakols & Veneta Miķelsone
14 John Bence - Michael, Archangel of Hod
   John Bence 

Here

or

Dream Weapons present: THERE IS DEATH IN THE POT C90 (2011)

 

If some of you «regulars» have stumbled over any of my pre-DWp mixtapes, its bound to be either my first mix ever (titled Dark Sweets) or this one. My second and final C90 shared at a mythical place in cyberspace that existed in the great era of Mp3’s. Yes, before streaming, Spotify, Tidal etc… there was सølγ שаябlɛş. Well, at least it meant a lot to many of us music nutters back in the days.

-A first out of many self portraits done with music made by others. After listening to these ninety minutes of music, you’ll know me better than you would after having actually spent an hour and a half with me. This was what I wrote when There is Death in the Pot was originally shared back in 2011:

I have these childhood memories of watching films or whatever on TV, when I was too young to understand the essence of what was actually going and why. I still carry the strong emotional impact these experiences had on little innocent me. They’ve shaped my preferences and psyche just as much as things that happened in real life. 

So I wanted to recreate a kind of fictional or impressionistic version of eras past. A mixed up adventure of castles, exotic travels, strange languages (Even english was a foreign language. It still is) and bygone cultures, dark forests, beautiful maidens, horses, warriors, pilgrims, drunks, impressive sideburns and death. Add all the confusing grown up stuff such as forbidden love, hate, sex, evil, perversions and funerals. Hundreds or maybe thousands of artificial memories melted into one pot -Moahaha

A: There is Death

1 The Martin Best Consort – Now I Can Delight in Love/E’l Pare E’l Mare
2 La Famiglia Degli Ortega – Arcipelago (full version)
3 Peter, Paul and Mary – Flora
4 Conventum – Le Piège
5 Atrium Musicae et al. – Stella Splendens (Danza Sagrada I)
6 Egisto Macchi – Con Moto
7 Kalenda Maya – Lita Karin
8 Continuum – Dance of Destruction
9 The Sun Also Rises – Death
10 Ony Wytars Ensemble – Düdül
11 Armando Trovajoli - Ammuri, Ammuri (2022-bonus)
12 Andre Hossein – Flash Back
13 Paolo Renosto – Daghe e Scudi (Vers. Veloce)
14 Yma Sumac - Jivaro

B: In the Pot

15 The Rahbani Brothers – Al Mahatta First Ouverture
16 Manos Hatzidakis & Dmitra Galani – Se Pelagisio Mnima
17 Marie Laforêt – Pour Celui Qui Viendra
18 Jacques Thollot – Watch Devil Go
19 Stelvio Cipriani – Hot Skin
20 Turid – Vargen
21 Catharsis – En Revenant De La Noce
22 Yao Su Yong – 臉兒紅,心兒笑
23 Giorgio Gaslini – Tema Del Maniaco (#3)
24 Tafo Brothers & Nahid Akhtar – Jeenay Ki Rah
25 Uakti – Passo Da Lua
26 Shuji Terayama - あゝ初恋 (2022-bonus)
27 Le Groupe Orchidée – L’Une Chante, L’Autre Pas
28 Ensemble Havadià - Finale
29 Lalo Schifrin & Rose Marie Jun – Aria
30 Bruno Nicolai - Giano 

Here / Here

or

Dream Weapons present: ANTIQUES & COLLECTABLES C60

As always I followed my muse and this time I was led to compile an(other) exquisite Baroque/Classical era mix for you. One hour of immersive instrumental works with densely woven textures made of harpsichord, viola da gamba, theorbo, glass harmonica(!), violins et cetera. I tend to associate these olden soundscapes with dusty cobwebs, old master paintings, haunted castles and lamenting ghosts - which probably explains the old school doom metal cover art -Moahaha

-Classical playlists will always be a bit of a mess, as there’s so much info/text for each track - so I got to leave something out. But you can always google your way to further info.

1 Jean-Baptiste Lully / Harmonia - Gavotte in B-minor
2 Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach / Mahan Esfahani - Sonata in Bb, H32 - 2 Andante
3 Johann Gottlieb Naumann / Bruno Hoffmann, Gustav Scheck, Emil Seiler & August Wenzinger - Andante & Grazioso in C Major: (Tempo di Menuetto) II
4 Luigi Boccherini / Fabio Biondi & Europa Galante - Quintetto: IV. In Re maggiore g. 448: IV. Fandango
5 Anonimous / Les Voix Humaines - The Lancashire Pipes en mi majeur
6 Georg Friedrich Händel / London Baroque -  Sonata in G minor, Op.2 No.5 HWV 390 - II Allegro
7 Johann Abraham Peter Schulz / Ingeborg Emge - Largo in C Minor for Glass Harmonica

8 Joseph Nicolas Pancrace Royer / Csonka Fruzsina - La Marche Des Scythes
9 Arcangelo Corelli / Accademia Bizantina - Sonata No.12 in re minore "Follia" - II. Variazioni 2-7 (Allegro)
10 Henry Purcell / Chelys Consort of Viols - Fantasias & in Nomines No. 16 in G Minor, in Nomine a 7, Z. 747
11 Evaristo Felice Dall'Abaco / Insieme Strumentale di Roma - Sonata in sol minore op. I nº 5 per violino e continuo. Allegro
12 Dario Castello / Lorenzo Ghielmi, Enrico Onofri, Margret Köll - Sonata Prima A Sopran Solo
13 Joseph Bologne / Orchestre de Chambre Bernard Thomas - Concerto pour violon No. 1 en do majeur, Op. 5 : Andante moderato
14 Antonio Soler / Diego Ares - Preludio No. 3 in C Major
15 Christoph Willibald Gluck / Alessandro De Marchi & Hofkapelle Munchen - Danza degli spettri e delle furie

 Here / Here

 or 

This mix is very much related to Pérolas Barrocas from 2016 (you finally got your wish, Liquid Store).

Dream Weapons present: UP ABOVE, DOWN BELOW C60

 

 

Whenever the world feels like an ugly, stupid, cold and evil place - which is quite often really… the beauty of music is always there to help me «out of the darkness and into the light*». Now here's a dozen heart-worn-on-their-sleeve-songs and a handful of complementary instrumentals. Originating from different centuries, cultures and environments, yet still sharing a common ground in mood, mode and general loveliness. All gently melancholic folk music in one way or another, but with a few modern classical and early music excursions. So dear friends, time to start our healing process and let music be your shrink, life coach or drug. Try it! The first hour is free! Sorry, got a bit carried away there. But its a nice little mixtape -Moahaha (*inspirational quote: Pantera - Cowboys From Hell)

 

1 Wileńszczyzna - Oj, Zaszło Słonko

2 Agate Simfonia - A Lullaby (From "The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword")

3 Kaoguiamo - Guine-Kaoberdi

4 The Martin Sisters - Piccadilly Billy

5 Wall Matthews (feat. Andrew Williams & Rusty Clark) - The Village

6 Aarti Mukherji - Sab Loke Koy Lalan Ki Jaat Sansare

7 Brigada Victor Jara - Manolo Mio

8 Yovanna (Γιοβάννα) - Ο Tάφος

 9 Rovi - Buccheri
10 Popi Asteriadi (Πόπη Αστεριάδη) - Αφιέρωμα Στον Χορτάτζη
11 Aitana Alberti & Dúo Amanecer - Danza de la Pastora
12 Sylvain Chauveau + Chant 1450 Renaissance Ensemble - Pues que tu reina + Mi libertad
13 Helga Myhr - Du skal ikke døren stenge
14 Maciej Żołnowski - Kwartet Japonski II
15 Maria Joao - Senhora Santa Combinha
16 Chucha Assar - Badiour
17 Abdallah Chahine - Ya Nas Ana Mutt

Here / Here 

 or

-Guine-Kaoberdi is just one among countless gems I've been sent over the years from well... someone I don't know who is, but I know it's a generous person who's got a lot of great, unheard music to share. So do check out Monkey D. Sound's youtube-account.

Dream Weapons present: PÉROLAS BARROCAS C90

Here / Here

or

And now for something completely different, its: The Best Baroque Mixtape In The World...Ever!*

Pérola Barrocas means irregular pearls – which is the original meaning behind the term Baroque. I skipped the obvious genius of the era Bach (+ Handel...and Purcell), focusing rather heavily on the «early music» sounds of the harpsichord, harp, strings, gloomy organ and quite a lot of viola da gamba-drones. Some songs and dances, a few furiously dynamic orchestral assaults but the allegros are largely outnumbered by the adagios.

-Moahaha

1. Claude Balbastre (1724 -1799, FR) La Lugeac

- Ewald Demeyere

2. Antoine Forqueray (1671-1745, FR) Le Carillon de Passy

- Vittorio Ghielmi & Luca Pianca

3. Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643, IT) Interrotte Speranze

- Christina Pluhar, L'Arpeggiata

4. Antonio Vivaldi (1678 – 28 July 1741, IT) Violin Concerto in C major - Allegro Ma Poco

Il Pomo d'Oro, Dmitry Sinkovsky (violin + conductor)

5. Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725, IT) De Tenebroso Tacu

- Gérard Lesne & Il Seminario Musicale

6. Francesco Petrini (1744-1819, DE/FR) Les Folies d'Espagne et Douze Variations

- Sandrine Chatron

7. Gaspard Le Roux (1660-1707, FR) Courante Luthee

- Les Clavecin Reunis: Jan Devlieger & Guy Penson

8. François Couperin (1668-1733, FR) Verse 13 - Adolescentulus Sum Ego

- Christophe Rousset & Les Talens Lyriques

9. Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe (1640–1700, FR) Concert n° 9 Le Suppliant

- Les Voix Humaines, Stephen Stubbs

10. Henry Du Mont (1610-1684, BE) Allemande Grave

- Bernard Foccroulle

11 Giusippe Tartini (1692-1770, SI/IT) Solitario Bosco Ombroso

- Patrizia Bovi

1. Giusippe Tartini ('') Sonate Brainard A3, Giga

- Chiara Banchini

2. Antonio Bertali (1605-1669, IT) Chiacona

- Rachel Podger, Marcin Świątkiewicz, Daniele Caminiti

3. Tobias Hume (1579-1645, UK) Harke, Harke en Sol Mineur

- Jordi Savall

4. Pietro Antonio Locatelli (1695-1764, IT) Il Pianto d'Arianna' - IV. Grave

- Concerto Koln

5. André Campra (1660-1744, FR) Florete Prata (edit)

- Les Arts Florissants

6. Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745, CZ) Sonata No. 6 In C minor - III Andante

- Dombrecht, Ponseele, Ebbinge

7. Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787, DE) Allegro WKO192

- Susanne Heinrich

8. Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677, IT) L'amante Modesto

- Cappella Mediterranea - Leonardo Garcia Alarcon

9. Giovanni Maria Trabaci (1575-1647, IT) Toccata Seconda & Ligature Per L'arpa

- Margret Köll

10. Johannes Schenck (1660-1712, NL) Sonata No. 8 in C-Moll I. Adagio

- Wieland Kuijken, François Joubert-Caillet

11 Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683–1764, FR) Les Boreades - Les Vents

- Le Concert des Nations, Jordi Savall 

*and only?