I just love this ambient album by japanese artist Hiroshi Yoshimura. The album was commissioned by home builder Misawa Homes Institute of Research and Development to be played in their newly built living spaces:

Originally released as an album in January 1986, Surround was recorded by Yoshimura as a commission from home builder Misawa Homes, intended to function as an “amenity” designed to enhance the company’s newly built living spaces. A pioneer in the field of environmental music, Yoshimura’s previous works included Music For Nine Post Cards (1982), originally produced to be played back inside a museum space, and designing sound environments for public spaces and subway systems. Surround was recorded almost concurrently with the acclaimed and popular GREEN (1986); the two albums are described by Hiroyoshi Shiokawa in his liner notes as being Yoshimura’s yin and yang.

Listen to Brian Eno's release of the six-CD set "Music For Installations" that contains many rare and previously unreleased tracks. You find the complete 24 tracks YouTube playlist here.

From Brian Eno's official site:

These highly-acclaimed works have been exhibited all over the globe - from the Venice Biennale and the Marble Palace in St. Petersburg to Beijing’s Ritan Park and the sails of the Sydney Opera House.

'Music For Installations' is a collection of new, rare and previously unreleased tracks, all of which will be available on vinyl for the first time. All of the material was recorded by Eno for use in his installations covering the period from 1986 until the present (and beyond). Over this time he has emerged as the leading exponent of generative music worldwide and is recognised as one of the foremost audio-visual installation artists of his time.

For a lenghty review of "Music for Installations", head over to Pitchfork that rated this album eight out of ten.

You can now listen to the full soundtrack for the film "Blade Runner 2049" by Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch on Spotify.

The album sounds very mystic and powerful with that 80's synth vibe, very similar to Vangelis original soundtrack for the first "Blade Runner" film. And that was one of the reasons why director Denis Villeneuve decided to go with Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch instead of Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson. From IndieWire:

"The thing I will say is that making movies is a laboratory. It.s an artistic process. You cannot plan things. Jóhann Jóhannsson is one of my favorite composers alive today. He's a very strong artist," Villeneuve told Al Arabiya English. "But the movie needed something different, and I needed to go back to something closer to Vangelis. Jóhan and I decided that I will need to go in another direction — that's what I will say. I hope I have the chance to work with him again because I think he’s really a fantastic composer."

You can listen to the "Blade Runner" soundtrack by Vangelis in one of my earlier posts.

I've been enjoying Café del Mar's "Chillout Mix 12" (2017) during this week. It has a nice balance between being ambient and upbeat at the same time. Hope you'll enjoy it as well!

It's on YouTube here.

Recently, I watched the movie "Cold in July" (2014) directed by Jim Mickle, in which Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard and Don Johnson acted brilliantly.

Watch the trailer:

One thing that stood out in this movie was the mysterious vibes the soundtrack by Jeff Grace added to the overall picture. Listen to the soundtrack on Spotify.

The movie's theme song is "Cosmo Black" by Dynatron:

Image credit: Poster via IMP Awards.

Listen to Giorgio Moroder's DJ set at Deep Space in New York from 2013.

Until the soundtrack of "Blade Runner 2049" (2017) is released featuring Jóhann Jóhannsson and Paul Woolford, enjoy the soundtrack from its predecessor "Blade Runner" from 1982 that was accompanied by Vangelis.

Vice News met up with musician Jack White who has opened a vinyl pressing plant called Third Man Pressing in his hometown Detroit. Believe it or not, vinyl records outsold digital music in Britain last December, but when White began the process of starting to make vinyl records, it didn't come easy.

The non-profit organization S.F. Disco Preservation Society preserves and digitises DJ mixtapes from the 70's San Francisco disco era and early 80's HI-NRG (uptempo disco or electronic dance music) club scenes. What a treat!

You find the complete archive here.

Via Boing Boing.

Dream Fiend from Australia has turned Phil Collins' hit song "Another Day In Paradise" (1989) into an upbeat disco and synthwave version.

Via a neros77's video (YouTube).

Dieter Meier who wrote the song "Oh Yeah" (1985) with his partner Boris Blank when they were the duo Yello, did some really good investments with the money he received from including the song in the famous 80's film "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986). Today, Meier's investments have earned him a $175 million fortune, but he has still not seen the film that started it all.

"I never saw the whole film," Meier told the paper."I think once I saw this one famous scene when the guy, I think he opens the garage for his father's Ferrari."

After appearing in the 1986 hit, the song was featured in "The Secret of My Success" starring Michael J. Fox, along with "She's Out of Control" starring Tony Danza, and "K-9" starring James Belushi.

Via Fark.

The film "Four Brothers" (2005) that stars Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, André 3000 and Garrett Hedlund, has an excellent soundtrack that combines Motown-classics and instrumental tracks by David Arnold.

Haven't listened to this soundtrack for awhile, I put it on this morning and enjoyed the music through our newly purchased Geneva Sound System, a delight for the ears.

Listen to the album on Spotify. The score by Arnold do you find here.

Watch the film's trailer:

The film "Hell or High Water" (2016) is one of the best films I've seen recently. Starring Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges and other great actors, this film takes you on an unexpected inner journey, and maybe redefines what's right or wong.

Will Ben Foster get an Oscar nomination for his role? I certainly hope so!

Another thing that made this film so enjoyable was the soundtrack by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. You find it on Spotify here.

A couple of days ago, I heard Daft Punk's collaboration with The Stroke's Julian Casablancas for the first time. The song "Instant Crush" was released in 2013 on Daft Punk's album "Random Access Memories", and the excellent video was directed by Warren Fu.

For the last couple of days I have been listening to a great remix of the British new wave band Visage's song "Fade to Grey" (1980) by Swedish artist and producer Moist.

Here is the original:

Kelly Osbourne released the song "One Word" in 2005 that was strongly influenced by "Fade to Grey". An instant favorite of mine!

The music album "Lacuna" is yet another great and mellow release by Matthew Sigmon.

Another favorite of mine is Sigmon's album "Beyond The Golden Light", a perfect companion for a relaxing time.

On October 31st the documentary "Supersonic" about the rock band Oasis will be released on Blu-ray, DVD and as digital download. The trailer is promising:

Image credit: Poster via My Daily Overshare.

Kent – "Sista sången" from the album "Då som nu för alltid" (2016).

Listen on Spotify.

The other day I listened to a great ambient mix by Chillout King Ibiza, perfect for my late afternoon cooking. Their YouTube channel is filled with a wide variety of great tracks with lots of different styles, so I'm pretty sure you'll find something to your liking.

The "cooking" mix:

Flight Facilities' "37,000 ft. Mixtape" is a great upbeat mix that will add to our day.