Thursday 7 March 2013

Guest Mix - Pete Ardron (Orchid-Star)


I first came across Orchid-Star when Pete messaged me on MySpace to say he thought I may like their music, he wasn’t wrong I was instantly hooked on "Wildflower" and it seemed like an eon until it was finally released.

Now although Orchid-Star is essentially a band there were two other key elements that appealed to me the stunning vocals of Samanta Ray (an Australian opera singer of Indian descent) and the unique keyboard style which probably reflects Pete’s classical training. I’ve also caught live performances at Off-World festival and InSpiral Lounge and spoken to members of the band who seem a thoroughly friendly bunch.

I’ve not explored Pete’s entire back catalogue but I did purchase “Hanging On Perfumed Air” an album containing tracks written specifically for the parachute at Whirl-Y-Gig it’s not something I’ve used in mixes as the tracks run into one another setting a theme throughout the album which is bliss to listen to from time to time.

I recently reviewed Pete and Samanta’s “Interuterion” where Pete experiments and creates the album solely utilising Samanta’s voice (I'd instantly and wrongly assumed these pieces contained synthesizers) however, the album is aimed at meditation and relaxation while this mix (containing tracks and re-mixes of Pete’s, Orchid-Star and other projects including some unreleased tracks*) is far more uplifting and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!





*Not only has Pete graciously submitted this fantastic mix he has also taken the time to provide a timed track listing with release information and labels.



0:00 Pete Ardron and Samantha Ray - Interuterion - Serenity (from Interuterion, Pink Hampster 2012)
0:50 Orchid-Star - Butterflies (from Birth, Liquid Sound 2008)
8:55 Orchid-Star - Lotus Bloom (SandRa & Pete Ardron remix) (to be released this month, Pink Hampster)
15:22 Pete Ardron and Samantha Ray - Vissi D'Arte (Puccini) (as yet unnamed project, gigged at Waveform 2012 but no completion/release date yet)
19:58 Pete Ardron - Vignette (unreleased, from next solo album (if and when it happens!), 2012)
25:05 Dorothee Munyaneza - Inzozi (Pete Ardron remix) (2009, unreleased, hopefully to eventually to be turned into a full album project)
30:50 Orchid-Star - Wildflower (Polynectar Remix - Squazoid) (2013)
38:12 Pete Ardron - Qawwali Roll (from Inside the Voice Inside, Pink Hampster 2002, Cyberset, 2009)
45:02 Pete Ardron - Angel (unreleased, from next solo album - 2005, yeah this one's taking a while!)
51:00 Terra Nine - Whisper (Pete Ardron remix) (from Stream of Consciousness, Tempest 2009)
57:04 N'Faly Kouyate's Change - untitled track (album planned to be released in Oct '13)
1:01:19 Trancient Dreams - Forbidden Sea (Pete Ardron remix) (2012)
1:09:03 Afro Celt Sound System - Hypnotica (Pete Ardron remix) (2010)
1:18:09 Dorothee Munyaneza - Iminsi (Pete Ardron remix) (released on DVD version of Dorothee Munyaneza - Dorothee Munyaneza, Luminary Records 2009)
1:23:39 Teresa Gabriel - Wings of the Angel (unreleased in this form, recorded at my place, 2005, only responsible for engineering and refusing to let her do anything other than live takes - still one of my 2 all time favourite acoustic recordings, the other also from the same afternoon)
1:28:04 Pete Ardron and Samantha Ray - Interuterion - Serenity 

Links