“Je suis une âme solitaire

I did this mix years ago, at a time when I was still trying to find my way through Berlin and trying to figure out my own voice with sound. 2020 has been a destabilizing year for most of us and I find it a good opportunity for looking back at the past, what we’ve done so far and how we feel. Listening to this mix which explored the situation of solitude as a faint narrative background, I found it strangely accurate for the present times. I was always interested in rhythms and the process of catharsis, this year I also rediscovered how blues hold this same power. Beyond the harsh socio-economic conditions resulting from slavery it describes, it is also an outlet to sublimate the wanderings of the human soul.
At times, delving into our wanderings does not necessarily need to be seen as an expression of pure hopelessness but rather of the complex landscape of human emotions and experiences. One has to know their shadow to know thyself. As Eartha Kitt recites in the conclusion of this mix, in her rendition of All by Myself / Beautiful at Forty : “The taste of life has not been so bad / Between the tears and joys I’ve had / For with some good and a little singing / She always allowed me to get up again”.
In the present days I find much hope for possible future positive developments in the fact that I see awareness raising around many social issues, and concepts such as community, solidarity, love, kindness or empathy infiltrating our collective consciousness, becoming increasingly part of a common vocabulary that is more widely used.”

Nico – Le petit chevalier
Art Ensemble of Chicago – Variations sur un thème de Monteverdi
Colin Stetson (ft. Shara Worden) – Lord I just Can’t Keep From Crying Sometimes
Alva Noto – Xerrox Monophaser 2
Colleen – Please Gamelan Again
Tim Hecker – Chimeras
György Ligeti – Vertige (for Player Piano)
Vera Hall – Black Woman
Akira Rabelais – Aposiopesis
Rebecca Pan – Bengawan Solo
Eartha Kitt – All by Myself / Beautiful at Forty

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