The Golden Apples of the Sun

Radio Show – 10 January 2021 – Episode 508

Claude Mono presents

Dreampopulism (Noun) Cinematic and ethereal soundscapes by artists known for their aesthetic sensibilities as much as for their music. Synonyms: Chromatics, Johnny Jewel, Sound of Ceres, Stargazer Lilies, Cocteau Twins, others…

The original term ‘Dreampop’ was coined by Alex Ayuli of the seminal 80s band A.R. Kane so it has been around for a while so it appropriate to take a 2 hour deep dive into its sonic textures – definitely not 2 hours of dreampop ‘hits’ – instead much more an exploration… much more Golden Apples…

Sleeve Notes below the playlist.

LISTEN

Show restream here

HQ Mixcloud mixtape edition with extra tracks here

PLAYLIST (Mixcloud Edition)

Golden Apples Theme Analysis – language arts program (excerpt) 

Chromatics – Shadow (Acapella/end credits instrumental) – Shadow EP

Slowdive – Cello – Pygmalion

Vangelis – Rachel’s Song – Bladerunner OST

Chromatics – Tears of Pain – In the City EP

Chromatics – The Gemini – Night Drive

Biosphere – Black Mesa

Johnny Jewel – Sleepless – Themes For Television

David Lynch on set of Inland Empire

Johnny Jewel – Deja V – Themes For Television LP

Chromatics – Lady (On Film) – Lady EP

Chromatics – Looking For Love (Extended)

Robert Schwartzman – Graveyard – Palo Alto OST

Devon Hynes – Soccer Field – Palo Alto OST

Japanese Breakfast – Here Come the Tubular Bells – Soft Sounds from Another Planet

Japanese Breakfast – Diving Woman – Soft Sounds from Another Planet

Starblood – Another Sunny Morning – 75

Cocteau Twins – Oomingmak – Victorialand

The Stargazer Lilies – Well Versed to Verb Doubt – We are the Dreamers

The Stargazer Lilies – Sad Colored Tears – We are the Dreamers

The Stargazer Lilies – Summer’s Gone – Door To The Sun

Fawns of Love – Alison (Slowdive Cover) – Just For A Life

Chromatics – The Gemini – Night Drive

Johnny Jewel – Digital Rain

Chromatics – Dark Day (Original Version)

Mike Simonetti – I Love You Mom

Sound of Ceres – Hand of Winter (Excerpt) – Nostalgia for Winter

Sound of Ceres – Humaniora – The Twin

Sound of Ceres – The Trance – The Twin (Demonstration Tape)

Chromatics – Tick of The Clock (Extended Overdrive/Film Edit)

Chromatics – Tick of The Clock (The Stroke of Midnight Remix)

Johnny Jewel – Tell Me (instrumental – music box excerpt)

Slowdive – Crazy for You (Slowed Chopped and Screwed)

Slowdive – Crazy for You Pygmalion Demo

Factice Factory – Crazy for You (Slowdive Cover)

Ulrich Schnauss – Crazy for You (2019 remaster)

Chromatics – The Telephone Call – Night Dive

Glass Candy – Redheads Feel More Pain – After Dark 2

Johnny Jewell – Spiral Staircase – Themes For Television

Casey MQ – Endless Summer – Firecrackers OST

Casey MQ – Far Far Away – Firecrackers OST  

SLEEVE NOTES

For this edition I did not start too ambitiously and now realize I have merely skimmed the surface ahead of new journeys in 2021. The ‘post-it’ note idea of Dreampopulism was that I simply wanted to try and join the dots, just a little, between Shoegaze and Dreampop as they are often intimately coupled as genres. Sure, shimmering guitar can equate with washing synths but as I was selecting tracks my explorations went deeper and I was started focusing on the differences. After all, one of the best remixes of Slowdive are very electronic (see Slowdive – In Mind Remixes – Reload Remix)

Chromatics are usually tagged as Dreampop but there is so much more and a lot of their music owes much to, and creates some of the purest cinematic soundscapes you can hear. Much more ‘Neon Noir’ than ‘Ethereal/4AD’. I certainly ended up becoming a huge new fan of Italians Do It Better. Its (intentionally)not a label with a huge profile outside its fanbase but one that really works at a pure level on its aesthetic in every element of its creative output (music, artwork, video and film etc). Other bands and their tracks helped complete the introductory Dreampopulism spectrum…

The Stargazer Lilies are definitely at the psychedelic end of Shoegaze “Six years away from their debut in 2013 with We are the Dreamers, the sound of the Lilies haven’t essentially changed, floating in that ever-reliable magic carpet of ethereal and distorted melodies led by the delightful vocal dubs of Kim Field, while gliding over a furious sea of saturated guitars and infinite echoes.” (Sputnikmusic)

Sound of Ceres are at the retro futurist end of Dreampop even sharing their own past in interesting ways. Their debut LP ‘Nostalgia for Infinity’ was a conceptual retelling of “The Girl from Ipanema” by  Astrid Gilberto – although you would never guess this. I just love ‘The Twin: Demonstration Tape’, its the “original version” of the album officially released in 2017. “This is much more than a demo tape. Compared to the final version of the album, this Demonstration Tape feels like it came from an alternate universe. It is every bit as polished as the original, containing all of the artful compositions from the final work, but somehow existing on an alternate timeline that has now broken through to our fucked-up world.” (Joyful Noise Recordings)

Where to from here… The Italians Do It Better catalogue is large and very (very) reasonably priced for digital. “the idea was to avoid the bullshit that comes from meeting other people halfway: distributors, marketing executives, or listeners. In the decade-plus since, IDIB has become a beacon of true industry independence, a rare success story in unbending devotion to one’s own vision.” (Fact Mag). I have been seriously getting into all Johnny Jewels production work – especially his soundtracks.

I found some sundrenched hazy dreampop films with great soundtracks to stream such as ‘Firecrackers‘ (2018) and its soundtrack creator Casey MQ. The synth-laden soundtrack neo-noir of Johnny Jewel also led me to find the film ‘Drive‘ (2011) and its soundtrack  by Cliff Martinez. The director of ‘Drive’ is Nicolas Wnding Refn and he and Cliff Martinez came together again more recently to create the neon-washed David Lynch-paced noir of 2019’s Too Old To Die Young. Its a ten part series. “Despite its occasional forays into the fierce sunshine of California and New Mexico, this is a creature of the night, lit by neon, an underworld of madness and fear.”(The Guardian). I literally just started to watch it – so good – and so glad this little music journey led me to it.

Want More

LISTEN: Johnny Jewel Productions Mixtape by Claude Mono here

LISTEN: Italians Do It Better ‘Night Music‘ 2 Hour Playlist on Spotify

READ: An essential Guide to Italians Do It Better article (Fact Mag) here

LOOK: at a very ‘Neon Noir’ set of live photos from the Italians Do It Better showcase in 2019

READ: About Chromatics and their Synth sounds article (Reverb Machine) here

WATCH: Chromatics live at a private party in 2019 video

WATCH: Chromatics live at ‘The Roadhouse’ (Twin Peaks) video

WATCH: the opening scene to ‘Too Young to Die Old’ featuring the music of Cliff Martinez