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Galactic Travels™ Monthly Special Focus Log - 2021


Top - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - Bottom


The Special Focus for January/February is
JIM OTTAWAY
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Host Bill Fox contracted Covid-19 which interrupted the January Special Focus. Bill returns in February to complete the January Special Focus.

Jim Ottaway is an international award-winning composer, producer, and studio performer of original instrumental music covering many genres including space ambient, electronic, new age and music for film and television. The inspiration for Jim's music stems from his love of nature and his spiritual connection to the beautiful environment of the Gold Coast hinterland of Queensland, Australia.

Jim's major musical influences include Tangerine Dream, Edgar Froese, Vangelis, Pink Floyd, Enigma, Johannes Schmoelling, Christopher Franke, Lisa Gerrard and fellow Australian musicians Christopher Buckman and Tony O'Connor.

Jim has released over 30 albums since 2004.

Click on the name or photo above to go to the artist's web site.

Click this banner for the Special Focus listing on WDIY's website.
Link to the artist's website

Jim Ottaway has been a Special Focus on Galactic Travels™ before:
You can also visit the artist on social networks:
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Featured CD at Midnight by Week
All albums are self released.
Date Album
01/07 Southern Cross
02/11 Timeless e-Motion
02/18 Deep Space Blue
02/25 When Eternity Touches Time
Here is the Top 20 Monthly Report for January/February.

Top - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - Bottom


The Special Focus for March was
BK&S
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Broekhuis, Keller, and Schönwälder consists of Dutch drummer/percussionist and sound technician Bas Broekhuis, German keyboard player and sequencing specialist Detlef Keller, and German sound designer Mario Schönwälder.

Since September 1994, these three can be found on stage on a regular basis having performed in France, the UK, Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, and the US. They have an extensive discography.

These three friends always have a lot of fun with their musical adventures. Broekhuis and Keller have a technical background, developing, altering, and repairing instruments and other electronic devices. They do the bulk of the programming in the band. Schönwälder is the organizational mind, taking care of album releases, concert planning, and the oh so beloved bookkeeping.

BK&S played played live on Galactic Travels™ on May 10, 2012. Two days later, they played locally at the Soundscapes Concert Series.

Click on the name or photo above to go to the artist's web site.

Click this banner for the Special Focus listing on WDIY's website.
Link to the artist's website

BK&S have been a Special Focus on Galactic Travels™ before:
You can also visit the artist on social networks:
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Featured CD at Midnight by Week
All releases are on Manikin Records.
Date Album
03/04 Project Inter.com
03/11 Blue
03/18 Red Live @ USA CD1
03/25 Red Live @ USA CD2
Here is the Top 20 Monthly Report for March.

Top - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - Bottom


The Special Focus for April was
MODULATOR ESP
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Click on the name, photo, or logo above to visit the artist's website.

Modulator Experimental Synthesis Project (Modulator ESP) is Jez Creek from Nottingham in the UK. He performs improvised music that explores the boundaries of dark ambient, drone, Berlin School sequencing, and noise using modular synthesis, real-time sampling, sound manipulation, and live looping.

Modulator ESP has been described variously as "vintage synth overload to propel you into the outer reaches of the cosmos" and "one man will descend to (this) earth in a hail of analogue synth tones; called upon from the singular consciousness of John Carpenter and Vangelis - like a 2046 dystopian dream with the optimism of Jean Michael Jarre, and his penguins."

When Modulator ESP discovered that there was more to EM than TD, Jarre, Pickford and Shreeve by finding bands like Arc, RMI, Redshift, Airsculpture, and Arcane, bands that were doing a more retro-styled improvisational take on EM, it came as a revelation to him. One of the reasons he'd left the band he was in was because he wanted to do something a bit more freeform. He knew he still wanted to play live but without playing along to pre-programmed, structured backing tracks.

Things started to snowball when he discovered certain synthesizers, both hardware and software, step sequencing, and delay processors.

Modulator ESP loves playing synths because he loves the electronic, synthetic, other worldly nature of the sounds. This makes Ambient, Berlin School EM the best style for his interests.

Click this banner for the Special Focus listing on WDIY's website.
Link to the artist's website

Modulator ESP has been a Special Focus on Galactic Travels™ before:
You can also visit the artist on social networks:
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Featured CD at Midnight by Week
All albums are self released.
Date Album
04/01 Beyond the Silver Aether
with Vince Cory
04/08 The Drone Out of Space
04/15 Invisible Forces
04/22 The Stillness
04/29 The Shadow of Poseidon
Here is the Top 20 Monthly Report for April.

Top - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - Bottom


The Special Focus for May was
ARGYRE PLANITIA
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In Greek mythology, Argyre is an island of silver. Argyre Planitia is a plain located in the southern highlands of Mars. In electronic music, Argyre Planitia is Stefan Voß, a dark ambient producer from Hannover, Germany. He has released albums on various labels, including Petroglyph Music, as well as on his own.

When Stefan first listened to electronic music in the '70s, he was immediately fascinated by synthesizers and what could be done with them. He never played one until 2011.

The music of Argyre Planitia leans toward the darker edges of ambient and includes drones and experimental sounds. The main focus is on sounds. Melody and rhythm play only a minor role.

Click this banner for the Special Focus listing on WDIY's website.
Link to the WDIY announcement
You can also visit the artist on social networks:
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Featured CD at Midnight by Week
Date Album Label
05/06 Soundscapes Petroglyph Music
05/13 Opening the Gates of the Crystal Cave Petroglyph Music
05/20 Beyond the Wall of Sleep self released
05/27 Echoes from the Past self released
Here is the Top 20 Monthly Report for May.

Top - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - Bottom


The Special Focus for June was
COLIN RAYMENT
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Click on the name, photo, or logo above to visit the artist's website.

Colin Rayment lives in the UK. His enthusiasm for electronic music started at an early age when his eldest brother experienced Tangerine Dream in concert performing Phaedra in the '70s. Exposure to this intriguing music continued throughout Colin's childhood.

In the '80s, Colin bought his first analogue synthesizers and started to explore this playground of sound exploration. Colin released his first album in 2002. After his third release, SynGate started to release his albums. Colin is planning a release which will include music from his virtual performance at Mountain Skies 2021 as well as album on SynGate in the year.

Colin is motivated by the limitless sonic playground of electronic music. Delving deep into these musical avenues is creativity without boundaries. Now that he has gone down the rabbit hole of modular synthesis, he is adding new sonic textures to his music and finding huge rewards in combining it with more traditional analogue sounds and sequences.

Click this banner for the Special Focus listing on WDIY's website.
Link to the WDIY announcement
You can also visit the artist on these social networks:
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Featured CD at Midnight by Week
Date Album Label
06/03 Morula none
06/10 Abstract Dimensions SynGate
06/17 Beyond the Aurora SynGate
06/24 Architects of Orion SynGate
Here is the Top 20 Monthly Report for June.

Top - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - Bottom


The Special Focus for July was
MODULATOR ESP
Photo
Click on the name, photo, or logo above to visit the artist's website.

Modulator Experimental Synthesis Project (Modulator ESP) is Jez Creek from Nottingham in the UK. He performs improvised music that explores the boundaries of dark ambient, drone, Berlin School sequencing, and noise using modular synthesis, real-time sampling, sound manipulation, and live looping.

Modulator ESP has been described variously as "vintage synth overload to propel you into the outer reaches of the cosmos" and "one man will descend to (this) earth in a hail of analogue synth tones; called upon from the singular consciousness of John Carpenter and Vangelis - like a 2046 dystopian dream with the optimism of Jean Michael Jarre, and his penguins."

When Modulator ESP discovered that there was more to EM than TD, Jarre, Pickford and Shreeve by finding bands like Arc, RMI, Redshift, Airsculpture, and Arcane, bands that were doing a more retro-styled improvisational take on EM, it came as a revelation to him. One of the reasons he'd left the band he was in was because he wanted to do something a bit more freeform. He knew he still wanted to play live but without playing along to pre-programmed, structured backing tracks.

Things started to snowball when he discovered certain synthesizers, both hardware and software, step sequencing, and delay processors.

Modulator ESP loves playing synths because he loves the electronic, synthetic, other worldly nature of the sounds. This makes Ambient, Berlin School EM the best style for his interests.

Click this banner for the Special Focus listing on WDIY's website.
Link to the artist's website

Modulator ESP has been a Special Focus on Galactic Travels™ before:
You can also visit the artist on social networks:
Facebook button   Twitter button   Bandcamp button
Featured CD at Midnight by Week
All albums are self released.
Date Album
07/01 Inside Outside, Outside Inside
07/08 Living in the Sky
07/15 Vanishing Point
07/22 Astral Drift
07/29 The Room with No Doors
Here is the Top 20 Monthly Report for July.

Top - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - Bottom


The Special Focus for August is
FINITE ELEMENT
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Finite Element is Rich Kennicutt of Binghamton, NY. His music is keyboard-based. His major influences are '70s era Berlin School electronic music artists Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, and Ashra. Elements of Ambient and Dark Ambient are included in the mix.

Click this banner for the Special Focus listing on WDIY's website.
Link to the artist's website
You can also visit the artist on social networks:
Soundcloud button   Youtube button   Instagram button   Bandcamp button
Featured CD at Midnight by Week
All albums are self released.
Date Album
08/05 Convergence
08/12 Parallax
08/19 End of Daze
08/26 Binary Approach / EVAC
Here is the Top 20 Monthly Report for August.

Top - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - Bottom


The Special Focus for September is
FLUXUS
Photo
Click on the name, photo, or logo above to visit the artist's website.

Nigel Rushbrook's fluXus project consists of darker shades of ambience and classic electronic sounds with Berlin style sequencing and a lo-fi edge. He uses vintage analog and digital synths with old-school effects to achieve nostalgic space music in which cosmic space is seen in mirrors of emotional space. His electronic soundscapes are inhabited or haunted by humanity.

The name fluXus refers to the intended flow of the music and also to an awareness of the Fluxus art movement, using found sounds and randomised elements that are allowed to become co-creator, leaving room for the "divine" to enter.

The fluXus project began in the late '90s and has performed at arts centers and as support for Banco de Gaia and others. Influences include Froese, Baumann, Schulze, John Surman, Nico, 20th Century classical music, and the bits between the tunes on Jean Michel Jarre albums.

Click this banner for the Special Focus listing on WDIY's website.
Link to the artist's website
You can also visit the artist on social networks:
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Featured CD at Midnight by Week
All albums are self released.
Date Album
09/02 Das Nichts mit Funkeln
09/09 Silent Seas
09/16 Shored Against My Ruins
09/23 fluXus Live 2002 and 2004
at Exeter Phoenix Art Centre
09/30 Circle Homeward
Here is the Top 20 Monthly Report for September.

Top - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - Bottom


The Special Focus for October was
LA PONTO ENSEMBLO
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Click on the name, photo, or logo above to visit the artist's website.

The international ensemble of La Ponto Ensemblo consists of American E-Clark Cornell (Ed) and German Hans-Dieter Schmidt (Ha-Di). Both have neo-classical roots which they incorporate into their music.

They met in a very modern way. Ed noticed Ha-Di on-line and immediately connected with his music. Ed contacted Ha-Di and the parallels between their separate works became apparent. Ed feels that Ha-Di is his artistic twin from across the pond.

The last three albums being featured this month (The CERN Diaries, ISHMAEL/ at Quintessence, and The Screaming Sky of Mike Stravinsky) comprise La Ponto's Multiverse Trilogy. All three albums share content and the concept of an alternate universe created in an experiment at CERN's giant particle accelerator. Cyclical Dreams plans to release the entire Multiverse Trilogy in February, 2022.

Click this banner for the Special Focus listing on WDIY's website.
Link to the artist's website
You can also visit the artist on social networks:
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Featured CD at Midnight by Week
Date Album Label
10/07 Eniwetok Suite SynGate / Luna
10/14 The CERN Diaries none
10/21 ISHMAEL/ at Quintessence none
10/28 The Screaming Sky of Mike Stravinsky none
Here is the Top 20 Monthly Report for October.
Link to October's Top 20

Top - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - Bottom


The Special Focus for November is
NIMANTY
Photo
Click on the name, photo, or logo above to visit the artist's website.

Nimanty is a Dutch producer of space ambient music. At a young age, Nimanty was fascinated by astronomy and expressed the beauty of the Cosmos in his music early on. After running a professional recording studio for several years, Nimanty started releasing his own music in 2000 and now regularly releases new material. His own label Venonza Records serves as his home recording studio.

Nimanty lives in the Azores (Portugal) with his wife and twin daughters.

Click this banner for the Special Focus listing on WDIY's website.
Link to the artist's website
You can also visit the artist on social networks:
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Featured CD at Midnight by Week
All releases are on Venonza Records.
Date Album
11/04 Calabi Yau Sphere
11/11 The Waves of Happiness
11/18 Galaxies Reborn
11/25 Time Space Light
Here is the Top 20 Monthly Report for November.
Link to October's Top 20

Top - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - Bottom


The Special Focus for December was
STEVE ROACH
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Click on the name, photo, or logo above to visit the artist's website.

Steve Roach is a leading American pioneer in the evolution of ambient/electronic music, helping shape it into what it is today. Grammy nominated in 2018 and 2019, his career spans four decades and nearly 150 releases. His massive catalog of landmark recordings includes Structures from Silence, Dreamtime Return, and Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces. Drawing from a vast, unique, and deeply personal authenticity, his albums are fueled by the momentum of a lifetime dedicated to the soundcurrent. Roach is an artist operating at the pinnacle of his artform, driven by a passion and unbroken focus enhancing the emotive, soul-stirring depth of his music.

From the expansive, time-suspending spaces reflecting his spiritual home in Arizona to the fire breathing, sequencer-driven rhythmic-tribal expressions woven from all things electric and organic, this innovative world of sound has been nourished by years of transcendent concerts worldwide. Always reaching towards what's next on the horizon, Roach refuses to be tied down to any one stylistic direction. Capturing peak moments as they occur in his Timeroom studio, he creates a sonic experience that breathes emotion and vital life energy that connects to an ever-growing worldwide audience.

Click this banner for the Special Focus listing on WDIY's website.
Link to the artist's website

Steve Roach has been a Special Focus on Galactic Travels™ before:
You can find the artist at these social networks:
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Featured CD at Midnight by Week
All releases are on Timeroom Editions.
Date Album
12/02 Painting in the Dark
12/09 Fade to Gray
12/16 Nostalgia for the Future
12/23 The Passing
12/30 Atmosphere for Dreaming
Here is the Top 20 Monthly Report for December.
Link to October's Top 20

Top - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - Bottom


Galactic Travels™ is designed to bring WDIY listeners hour-long soundscapes of electronic, ambient, and space music.
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