2019 mixes (V): Sean Conrad

Greetings, dear follower! Today we resume our 2019 mix series for a special mixtape made by Sean Conrad ~ an artist and label curator whose work must be familiar even to our least frequent readers. Through the years, Inner Islands label remains one of our most beloved labels simply because it shares the same aesthetics and feeling we always tried to carry on here on Microphones. Some of the most soulful ambiences and gentle new age hymns are being released at Inner Islands and under Sean's main aliases ~ Ashan and Channelers, among many others which you can always explore through Discogs. Sean's mix features tunes radiating love and light, joy of the being here on this planet and simply experiencing being a human with all its ups and downs ~ as an ongoing project of neverending evolution. Hope you'll enjoy it! ~ piedpaper

Tracklist:

0:00 ~ Malibu ~ Nana (Like A Star Made For Me) (Joyful Noise, White Label Series, 2019)
3:38 ~ Julianna Barwick ~ noon (Commend, 2019)
07:21 ~ Jogging House ~ Traverse (Dauw, 2019)
12:47 ~ Emily A. Sprague ~ Synth 2 (RVNG, 2019)
20:17 ~ Wanderwelle & Bandhagens Musikförening ~ Before The Rain (Semantica Records, 2019)
23:43 ~ H. Takahashi ~ Pollen (Where To Now? Records, 2019)
31:30 ~ Green-House ~ Peperomia Seedling (Leaving Records, 2019)
34:47 ~ Andrew Pekler ~ Hy Brasil (Faitiche, 2019)
39:20 ~ peafowl - part two ~ (Self-Released, 2019)
47:17 ~ Jefre Cantu-Ledesma ~ Joy (Mexican Summer, 2019)

channelers ~ video & album premiere

Each time I see the news from Inner Islands my days turns into a little celebration. The music this label releases resonates so deeply with my perception of the world, that it feels almost impossible. Of course there are always some space for interpretations and subjectiveness but some things don't need an explanation. They just emerge somewhere between the sounds, between the flips of the tape, in the soft humming of endless water streams shown in this amazing video which label's boss Sean Conrad shot in American deserts and over expanses of Iceland... When the beauty arises, it touches hearts directly, without need in words. That's why we love music so much - it can be pure beauty, without strict material form, just flow of vibrations from one soul to another. It needs just few instruments or voice to appear and an open ear to be heard.

channelers ~ space makes clearing (inner islands, 2016)

 «Reverence for the cycles of life, for the ever-changing sky, for the yearning that drives one forward, for the acceptance
that keeps one still». inner islands

On the different paths life makes through the space and time there are always cycles, seasons, changes which unfold like an endless spiral. With every new turn we may feel something like deja vu, considering the ability of our minds to forget everything quickly, to think in one dimension. To regain the experience of past cycles in the present, to make them significant and changing, we create rituals - may kinds of them. Starting from morning tea and social interactions and up to religions and annual celebrations. And once again our minds are failing, forgetting the meaning, flattening the experience... So the only way here is awareness, which unavoidably leads to self-invented ceremonies, practices, to the clear feeling of your own unique path. While listening to the music created by any of Sean Conrad's projects this feeling on the uniqueness appears with every album, showing the perception of the world, which may be shared, but at the same time remains thw whole in itself. Like any river is created by the thousands of streams, the Inner Islands is a bright torrent of personal world perceptions, created by many artists and Sean's ability to maintain that stream is amazing. There is a place for many forms and crossroad for many path, but still this unique universe of sound keeps its doors open for any resonating soul. And its essence is always changing, moving with the sun and moon, growing, unfolding... Archipelago of the tiny whirls of creative energy, forming something bigger and powerful than its part taken separately. Each album of Ashan or Channelers seems like a private ceremony, which concentrates the overall aura of Inner Islands. Gathering of winds and waters, celebration of new cycle, which begins with every new batch of sounds released to the world... It may seem unimportant, but this is the thing of such intimate creations - it becomes bigger, when you inside of it. Like gazing at the drop of water, which reflects the whole sky. Each song here is a drop. And each tiny moment of silence between them is the passage from the inner to the outer. It's simply fascinating.

listen ~ buy

matthew barlow / ashan

matthew barlow ~ hatha (inner islands, 2016)

«Just being, without striving. A place of stillness». inner islands

Focusing on sound healing practices, Matt Barlow took a vacation with his renowned Twin Springs Tapes label and started recording more and more music, which takes new turn in unfolding American New Age music. His latest tape for Inner Islands gives you not only the opportunity to relax and get nice background music for 30 minutes but also the possibility of deepest meditation on the nature of music. Combining simple drones with electronic melodies and contemplative flute playing, this tape reflects the idea, which I run through my haed so many times, while listening to some good ambient records - you don't need to be focused, to perceive everything in this flow of aural sensations, but at the same time, staying out any activity in mind and environment you actually start feeling everything so clearly! I think this state cannot be achieved by means of intentional focusing, so this state feels much more natural and I'm always so childishly happy when it happens. Of course, not only music can bring it, nature can too - bird songs, streaming water, whisper of the leaves... And you can actually hear and feel same energies in these two compositions. There is nothing supernatural about it, but still I have no other word than magic.

listen ~ buy tape
 

ashan ~ death is new life (heavy mess, 2016)

 «Sean Conrad (Channelers, Orra, Inner Islands) returns as Ashan with a collection of new songs exploring where the physical meets the spiritual and how the two influence and dialogue each other». heavy mess

For the new label run by Braeyden Jae (former boss of Inner Islands label), Sean Conrad (current Inner Islands mastermind) put an exclusive recording which brings to light new facet of his Ashan alias. Usually taking place somewhere far from city hum and electricity circuits, Ashan (almost) always was about instrumental psych-new-age jams, self-invented mantra singing and celebration of simple joys of life – this time Sean takes electric guitar, some distortion and drums, blending the rock music benefits with Ashan's usual sound. You already curious how it sounds? Okay, just hit play on Bandcamp and read further. And I'll continue playing this on repeat, each time wondering how same energy can take so many forms. This is obviously same Ashan I used to and behind all those walls of sounds, electronic drones, krautrock beats and psychedelic solos I hear same magic, that once entered this complicate world with "To Return To" album. Folk music can take many forms and I suppose that there is nothing hard for experienced artist as Mr. Conrad to transform his music into powerful rock outfit without losing primary inspiration. Actually this is fun synchronism between to friends – putting softest side of Braeyden Jae's music at Inner Islands and heavier side of Ashan on Heavy Mess. Consider this as "anti-unplugged" album and simply enjoy it!

listen ~ buy tape

ashan

ashan ~ ancient forever (inner islands, 2012)

"Ancient Forever is the newest offering from Ashan. exploring the deep energies of the Earth, the hidden beings, and the magicks that bind us all. essentially, this music has been about getting in touch with life in all its forms and formlessness. much love and intention went into it and i'm very excited to finally be sharing it after a year since its creation. peace!" sean

 ~ released 10 November 2012.
 music and art by Sean Conrad. additional vocals on Forest Hair by Rosa Beach-Mason.
mastered by Knowself ~

"pronounced ah-shahn. the vibration of creation, of harmony, of unification, and of love. used as a greeting, blessing, and an expression of love. to be spoken or said mentally to attune oneself to the rhythms of the universe."

have a listen ~ buy the tape

 planting trees ~*~ forest hair

kaliska / ashan

kaliska / ashan ~ night spell / white light (inner islands, 2012)

" ...when approaching a recording I try to be as honest with myself as possible, only keeping what really needs to be on the record. I want to make music that is totally open and honest, music that comes from a loving place. I want my music to feel human. I guess my intention in creating the music could lead to the organic feeling you have experienced" braden

"Ashan music is a new channel being explored by sean conrad, previous explorer of gkfoes vjgoaf. Ashan is to be a place for healing, loving, and openness. the music of Ashan is to be given and received with an open heart. it is teaching from 'the gentle way', the way of Ashan. i have a feeling or experience that i want to share with others. from my heart and spirit. it comes out as sounds and images mostly. it’s really just energy. i feel love for this world of individuals and want to express that." sean

la emoción de volver a escuchar algo nuevo de inner islands, de saber que de un momento a otro recibirás un mensaje en tu correo y te despertarás con dos canciones tan bonitas... lo verdaderamente mágico de estas dos nuevas canciones de kaliska y ashan es que de alguna manera, y aunque suene a tópico, sintetiza a la perfección la mayoría de ingredientes que braden y sean han ido cocinando y regalando, de forma literal, como gkfoes vjgoaf, wyld wyzrdz, ashan o kaliska: night spell y white light están llenas de matices y guiños a su propio mundo, esa sensación única de euforia y felicidad que sólo dos personas tan especiales pueden transmitir... nadie suena como ellos, el sello inner islands

listen & buy

the range of light

"Follow your heart
You will be free
Free just to love
Free just to be"

click

ashan

ashan ~ to return to (inner islands, 2012)

"hello friends, getting to the good stuff! today, this full moon, marks the release of the first album by ashan, 'to return to'. inner islands has wonderfully released this album digitally and on cd. it is about messages of love, listening to the heart, giving is receiving, celebration, and many ineffable things. so i shall say no more and let the music speak for itself." sean conrad

hace unos días, sean nos envió un correo alertando de la inminente publicación de su primer disco rebautizado como "ashan", coincidiendo con la luna nueva de febrero. ana habló de hacer una crítica pero como la cascada de adjetivos grandilocuentes que le hemos regalado a su música se ha secado, hemos preferido para esta ocasión tan especial hablar con el propio sean, acercándonos un poco más al hombre tras el nombre. parafraseando al propio sean, dejemos que música y respuestas hablen por sí solas.

microphones in the trees (trees) :: what music was in your house when you were little?

sean :: my dad playing the piano. like rachmaninoff, bach, chopin, rock ‘n’ roll stuff. and we’d listen to madonna, jewel, the beatles, and around christmas this series called ‘celtic christmas’. 

trees :: what moves you to make music?
sean :: lately it’s been because i have a feeling or experience that i want to share with others. from my heart and spirit. it comes out as sounds and images mostly. it’s really just energy. i feel love for this world of individuals and want to express that.  

trees :: what would be the ideal effect of your music upon the listener?
sean :: whatever they take away from it is ideal. 

trees :: do you have a ghost story?
sean :: my current understanding of ghosts is that they are clusters of energy that might not have a physical form, but we know they’re there because we can sense energy. i think our (as humans) psychic abilities are pretty underplayed for the most part though. but with ghosts.. i’ve definitely felt presences in my bedroom as a kid, often sitting in my desk chair. i told it to go away and it did. but sometimes it would return and i’d have to ask it again. 

trees :: do you believe in another life (s) beyond the one we're living?
sean :: i think there are beings that exist in different dimensions that aren’t like this one. like how our world/dimension is created by our senses (touch, sight, etc), i’ll bet there are other dimensions based on other senses. there could be “aliens” on our planet but we can’t perceive them with our 5 senses. perhaps with our psychic sense we can. 

trees :: how mystical are you?
sean :: 0%. i’m not at all mystical. totally real and true. i don’t want to mystify anything in my life. but there’s another sort of idea about ‘mysticism’ that has to do with magick and spirituality, which seems different to me. i’m way down with magick. earth is a very magickal place. i’m seeing it more and more every day. it almost seems like humans forgot about their magick and their power to consciously work with energy. for instance, there is a lot of magick in intention and pouring your energy into making something happen. that manifestation is magickal to me. 

trees :: a memory of your childhood.
sean :: learning how to ollie on a skateboard in front of my parents’ house with my friend harrison. it was a cloudy day in the mid-afternoon. 

trees :: what do you think about the consciousness of non-human animals?
sean :: they are certainly conscious beings.. if that’s what you mean? 

trees :: yes, for sure. i know they're conscious and sentient beings like you and me. what about eat them?? i mean, most of time i hear people who loves animals (specially dogs, cats, horses, dolphins, panda bears, etc...) but at the same time they could eat a cow, or a pig, a turkey, etc... i can't understand the way they separate their moral value. i always think human animals suffer moral schizophrenia.
sean :: hehe, i like your term. yeah. i think it’s a lack of compassion on both ends. it seems when people have a lack of compassion for themselves that is the limit of their compassion with others. if we can not show ourselves love then it is much harder to do so for some creature we have never met and probably never will meet. also, i don’t think that most people know about factory farming and what really happens there… 

trees :: favorite films and why?

sean :: princess mononoke is one of my favorite films. it speaks many volumes about animals (including humans), spirits, magick, ignorance, awareness, intention, way more, and the interaction between all those. there’s so much to say, hehe. this is perhaps not the best place to get into it. but if you’ve seen it then perhaps you know what i’m talking about. if you haven’t, and that sounds interesting, then perhaps check it out. 

trees :: hehe i know what you talking about!! princess mononoke is a great film absolutely. i love all studio ghibli's films but my favorite could be "my neighbor Totoro". have you seen? i've got a soft spot for cats =)
sean :: indeed i have seen it! it’s one of my favorites as well. earlier today i was just talking about the scene where the cat-bus is walking on the telephone wires. and just a couple days ago i was standing in my garden with my partner rosa recalling the ritual that totoro and the girls do to grow the trees. 

trees :: where "gkfoes vjgoaf" & "ashan" names came from?
sean :: ‘gkfoes vjgoaf’ came from trying to think of band names, coming up with nothing, and then surrendering to the energy i was working with and saying, “what are you called??” and then closing my eyes and typing, “gkfoes vjgoaf”. but now i feel like i’m dialoguing with different energies. ‘Ashan’ is a word/force that my dad’s friend bo gatewood came across while doing some channeling work. it means, “the vibration of creation, of harmony, of unification, and of love. used as a greeting, blessing, and an expression of love. to be spoken or said mentally to attune oneself to the rhythms of the universe.” that’s an excerpt from a book called ‘Ashan: The Gentle Way’ that flowed through bo. it came before i was born and my parents named me ‘sean’. i think they were subconsciously dialoguing with ‘Ashan’. so it feels like a pretty homely name to me. maybe like a deeper version of my given name.

trees :: introduce us braden J mckenna (wyld wyzrdz, coyote dreamer, inner islands) and tell us his favorite breakfast :)
sean :: braden’s favorite breakfast is a deep one ;-)
it’s hard to introduce through words. i feel like i was introduced to braden through playing music together. the day we met we had a really deep jam with our mutual friend, stag hare. i also go really deep with braden’s music. i’m excited for his new energies, Coyote Dreamer*, to be released into the world. he also runs a music label/family, called Inner Islands. it’s rooted in love, peace, and coming from the heart and spirit. he’s a spirit friend for sure.
and back to totoro, braden's family has a cat named catbus. hehe.

* coyote dreamer - the path we make, will be released on cd, april 16th 2012. check inner islands for updates!

trees :: way to spend a sunday morning? 

sean :: today is sunday. i spent the morning sharing a coffee with two great friends and going deep. it was wonderful! 

trees :: i think dreams are mirrors of ourselves, with our desires and our fears, do you think they have a determinate role in our lives?
sean :: i dunno about a determinate role. but for me they’re totally just extensions of our waking life. just not so much basis in the limitations we normally put on the possibilities of events and physical forms. i like what you said about mirrors of desires and fears.

trees :: imagine your house is burning in flames and you only could save 5 records, what would they are?
sean :: at the house i’m living at right now i don’t even have 5 records. just a couple gkfoes lp's. i’d probably let them burn though.

trees :: physical detachment rules??
sean :: are you asking if i have rules about physical detachment? if so, not specifically. but i do like to keep things simple. i’m living in melbourne, australia at the moment and all my records are at my parents’ house in los angeles. there is much abundance in the world though. it’s up to us to let it in. so many beautiful things to breathe in and breathe out.

trees :: neil young recently said: "piracy is the new radio, because it's how music gets around". are you agree? 

sean :: that makes sense. music gets around so many ways. 

trees :: favourite tree to put a microphone and play some notes.
sean :: i’ve never done that. but it sounds like fun!

trees :: how did you know the song of my soul?
sean :: sometimes i know the song for my soul. i didn’t know that i knew the song for yours??

trees :: haha, i've got a theory about relationships. i think some people are connected through invisible red threads. no matter where they live, finally they meet because "they have to". causality, not coincidence. i think we're talking because "we have to". i'm wrong?
sean :: i don’t believe in coincidence, other than that is co-incidence. all things are happening together in harmony :-)

trees :: thanks!! i feel like we were talking in the "real world"

sean :: this has been wonderful talking! muy bonito!

pues eso, bonito muy.

 download "gentle magick" & "how sweetly i am loved"

cover art: sean & rosa

fotos: sean

transcending

va ~ transcending (october, 2011)

01. gkfoes vjgoaf ~ a ritual
02. gkfoes vjgoaf ~ healing dream
03. wyld wyzrdz ~ in wonder
04. ashan ~ peace of joy
05. town & country ~ sleeping in the midday sun
06. wyld wyzrdz ~ through water through time
07. wyld wyzrdz ~ touching stars

download

foto: posartry

gkfoes vjgoaf

gkfoes vjgoaf ~ healings (inner islands 2011)

"I'm writing to let you know that today I've released my last gkfoes vjgoaf album, Healings. It's a c30 cassette, pro-dubbed, beautiful glossy artwork. New Zealand forest images. I just want you all to know how special this release is to me. It's magick is straight from my heart and my desire to share love and good vibes with all. If you don't have a tape player, you can also download a digital version or stream it from the Inner Islands bandcamp page." sean conrad

"holding space for peace, light, and love."

to purchase physical releases visit inner islands and the gentle ways store, to listen to and purchase all tracks and albums digitally visit gkfoes vjgoaf bandcamp

healing dream (mp3)

ashan

"Ashan music is a new channel being explored by sean conrad, previous explorer of gkfoes vjgoaf. Ashan is to be a place for healing, loving, and openness. the music of Ashan is to be given and received with an open heart. it is teaching from 'the gentle way', the way of Ashan. i would love to share these sounds with you anywhere: in the forest, on the beach, in a house, in the street, wherever feels right... i am currently based in melbourne, australia. but i will be doing a gkfoes vjgoaf tour in america this july with Wyld Wyzrdz. feel free to get in touch. namaste." gentle ways

foto: sean conrad

ashan ~ piece of joy

veinte minutos de felicidad