Episode 7.20 /// Featuring Violeta Vicci & Bruno Bavota and Glacis with Henrik Meierkord

Mix Tape Vol. 005

Thank you so very much for listening to The Relay Station — it’s a delight to have you as a part of the listening community. If you appreciate the programming and have the means, please become a paying subscriber of The Relay Station. Your ongoing financial support helps offset production expenses with 50% of all donations being redirected to high-ranking environmental charities that are working towards tangible solutions for our climate challenges. Become a paying subscriber today! Playlist * [0:00] INTRODUCTION * [00:00:50] “Plomari Days” by Ran Slavin from “Aegean Gold” (Nocturnal Rainbow Recordings, 2026) * [00:08:19] “Lost in the Leaves” by Ian Crawford from “Slow Pull on a Long Thread” (Wayfarer, 2025 2025) * [00:15:03] “A single chord played in the entire forest” by Miguel Otero & Raquel Pavón from “Through that garden gate” (Noray Records, 2026) * [00:18:05] “To Find What’s Missing” by Robert Rich & Markus Reuter from “Incubation” (Robert Rich, Markus Reuter, Amoeba Music, and All Matter In The Universe,, 2025) * [00:21:48] “The Venus” by Logic Moon from “Ashes” (Chitra Records, 2025) * [00:24:53] “Movement (bonus Track)” by Violeta Vicci & Bruno Bavota from “Be Human” (Bigo and Twigetti, 2026) * [00:27:09] “Bells of Athena” by Madeleine Cocolas from “Syndesis” (Syndesis, 2025) * [00:32:29] “CD Bonus - Sova (Bloom)” by Henrik Meierkord + Marco Lucchi & Pawel Kobak from “The Book of Dreams” (Whitelabrecs, 2025) * [00:37:50] “unraveling” by Peter Bark from “time shelter” (Sound Ghost, 2025) * [00:41:56] “Frozen Rocks” by Atmøsphäre & Dionisaf from “Northern Dreamscapes” (Chitra Records, 2025) * [00:45:00] SIDE B * [00:45:00] “Dark Flees The Light” by Ambiente Solstice from “Between Two Worlds” (Wayfarer Music Group, 2026) * [00:48:48] “Giln” by Pete Kvidera from “Sleeplaboratory6.0” (WhiteLabRecs, 2026) * [00:51:55] “Infinite Expansion” by Ed Herbers from “Season Cycle: Spring” (Independent, 2026) * [00:56:25] “A Deep Calm” by ESH from “Induction Lounge” (Imaginary North Records, 2026) * [01:00:50] “A Long Goodbye pt.2 (redux)” by Yann Novak from “Meadowsweet (redux)” (Dragon’s Eye Recordings, 2026) * [01:05:21] “Three Loaning End” by Craven Faults from “Sidings” (Craven Faults / The Leaf Label, 2026) * [01:10:05] “Zener Convention (Bonus Track, Digital Mix)” by Andrew Heath from “Shades” (WhiteLabRecs, 2026) * [01:16:44] “Fibers” by Ryan Majoris from “The World Has Become a Great Nerve” (Independent, 2026) * [01:21:12] “The Withering Apparition” by Piscean Daydreams and Michael D. Tidwell from “Ghost, Vol. 2” (Independent, 2026) * [01:25:28] “Blue Lineage” by Ancient Astronaut from “Inner Worlds” (Independent, 2026) Get full access to The Relay Station at therelaystation.substack.com/subscribe [https://therelaystation.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Episode 7.22 /// Featuring Abul Mogard and Ah! Kosmos & Hainbach

In this program, I’ve got two top-shelf artists and their amazing works that we’ll be highlighting on the program. First up, the incomparable Abul Mogard has reissued his 2022 release “In a Few Places Along the River”, and whether it’s your first time hearing the album or your one-hundredth, it’s captivating all the same. And later in the program, the extremely imaginative and inventive duo that is Ah! Kosmos and Hainbach are back with a second full-length LP entitled “Gentle Hum” and is chock full of all the experimental goodness that we’ve come to expect! Plus new music from Dionisaf & Deep Dive Sound, memorysound, Till Hillbrecht & Zimoun, David Cordero and more. Strap in and make yourself comfortable. Join us for the next hour for global ambient music, on The Relay Station. Artist information Abul Mogard If you’ve more than a cursory level familiarity with the ambient scene, the name Abul Mogard will likely be familiar to you — an Italian electronic and ambient composer known for long, slow-building melancholic drones, dense with textures and grit that give the sense of the earth trembling beneath you. His music has this sense of being caught in a slow-motion free-fall above a dark cavernous depth, where the bottom can scarcely be seen and a curious uneasiness lures you in with its slow-burn suspense. The album “In A Few Places Along the River” was originally issued in 2022, comprised of three long-form pieces composed between 2019 and 2022, and now remastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri and cut to vinyl by Lupo. It’s a mastery-level ambient album that carries with it a certain gravitas and an alluring feeling of foreboding with its dark cinematic drones and laggardly evolutionary build-up. Mogard’s 2026 re-issue encapsulates one of the very things I love about ambient music — its unhurried cadence to create an all-encompassing environment in which to lose yourself in, and the patience expressed through Mogard’s slow hand and deliberate choices through both analog and digital synthesis. It’s a fantastic album that deserves a spot in your collection! From his 2026 reissue of “In a Few Places Along the River”, here’s Abul Mogard with the track “Against a White Cloud”, here on The Relay Station. https://abulmogard.bandcamp.com/ [https://abulmogard.bandcamp.com/]https://soft-echoes.bandcamp.com/ [https://soft-echoes.bandcamp.com/] Ah! Kosmos & Hainbach If you are unaware of the collaborative duo that is Ah! Kosmos and Hainbach, sit up, pay attention, and take note! Ah! Kosmos is the experimental sound artist and composer Başak Günak, and her creative companion is the brilliant and extremely prolific sound designer and experimentalist Stefan Goetsch who operates under the moniker Hainbach. Independently, the pair have extensive backgrounds in experimental music, sound installation and design, making music out of the unmusical. Whether it’s nuclear test equipment, dolphin filters, or any number of other distinctly non-musical equipment, its in those spaces that Ah! Kosmos and Hainbach set out like explorers to recover strange, unusual, and intriguing sounds and patterns which make their way into their experimental music compositions. With a deep foundation of patience and careful excavation, they extract textures and tones that might normally be considered as noise or incidental artifacts, and treat them as integral living elements of the sonic realm. There is a very real sense that the music is alive and has its own consciousness and its own voice — industrial and test equipment given a moment to express their own unique language of beeps, blips, scratches, and hums. It’s a fascinating musical listening experience that is approachable, intriguing, and thoroughly enjoyable — and both Günak and Goetsch, in their brilliance, have also made it accessible to a wider range of electronic music lovers, earning it a spot on my 2026 essentials list of experimental ambient albums. From the album “Gentle Hum”, here’s Ah! Kosmos and Hainbach with the track “In a Pattern Like a Shell”, here on The Relay Station. https://ahkosmos.bandcamp.com/ [https://ahkosmos.bandcamp.com/]https://hainbach.bandcamp.com/ [https://hainbach.bandcamp.com/] Playlist * [0:00] INTRODUCTION * [00:01:38] “Places That Never Met, Yet Remember” by Dionisaf & Deep Dive Sound from “Paths That Forgot the Map” (Chitra Records, 2026) * [00:04:40] “Hope” by memorysound from “Fading Bright” (Perceptual Tapes, 2026) * [00:08:14] “Warp 3” by Till Hillbrecht & Zimoun from “Warp Slow” (Room 40, 2026) * [00:12:04] Featured Artist Segment * [00:14:15] “Against a White Cloud” by Abul Mogard from “In a Few Places Along the River (2022 reissue)” (Soft Echoes, 2026) * [00:25:26] “Nebel” by David Cordero from “La Imagen Muda” (Noray Records, 2026) * [00:28:24] “To Yield” by Kreng from “Wormhole” (Miasmah Recordings, 2026-05-07) * [00:30:48] “Veillands” by Yulyseus from “Nothing Under Heaven” (n5MD, 2026) * [00:35:02] Featured Artist Segment * [00:37:28] “In A Pattern Like A Shell” by Ah! Kosmos & Hainbach from “Gentle Hum” (Fuu Records, 2026) * [00:41:06] “Silver Plane, Now Boarding” by Pan•American from “Fly the Ocean in a Silver Plane” (Kranky, 2026) * [00:44:30] “Names of Unknown Places” by Absence from “Names of Unknown Places” (Imaginary North Records, 2026) * [00:50:43] “Deep Currents” by Daryl Groetsch from “Fathoms” (Independent, 2026) Become a supporter today! Join our community and become a monthly supporter of The Relay Station. Your financial support helps cover operating expenses and our collective efforts for the program to reach carbon neutrality. Join us at https://stolace.com/support/ [https://stolace.com/support/] Get full access to The Relay Station at therelaystation.substack.com/subscribe [https://therelaystation.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Episode 7.21 /// Featuring Isabel Pine and Philippe Deschamps

In this program, I’ve got the stunning new album “Fables” from stringed instrumentalist and composer Isabel Pine that’s ornately imbued with her four-piece stringed arrangement and dreamy ambient layers, and later in the program I’ve got the new album “Les Juif Riches” from film composer Philippe Deschamps, a pensive, dreamy, and contemplative ambient soundtrack. Plus new music from JJRD + mRn, Rayan Haïdar, Abul Mogard, Loneward and more. Strap in and make yourself comfortable. Join us for the next hour for global ambient music, on The Relay Station. Artist information Isabel Pine Isabel Pine is a Canadian stringed instrumentalist and ambient artist based out of British Columbia, who I’ve become acquainted with through Kranky, a Chicago-based ambient label. Pine had released an LP and a handful of EP’s and singles before making her debut on Kranky with her latest LP “Fables”, an album that has quickly risen near the top of some of my favorite ambient albums in my vinyl collection. Ornately imbued with cello, viola, violin, and double bass, she experimented with field recordings laced in her compositions, but eventually moved the production to a small, remote cabin deep in the BC to capture the rustic beauty of the landscape that surrounded her. The finished piece is a tapestry of astonishing vignettes and deeply meditative motifs that patiently unfold and cascade like the long, slow push and pull of the tide. To call “Fables” a listening experience is to do a disservice to the way in which it infuses the listener with a sense of weightlessness, where it feels like you’re drifting out of space and time, and into a dreamlike state. When I lose myself into the music, it feels like the gentle rise of the sun over the horizon, kissing my face with that first break of daylight, gently nudging me to wake, to rise, and go experience its beauty first-hand. That is the beauty of “Fables”. From the album “Fables”, here’s Isabel Pine with the track “Wolves”, here on The Relay Station. https://isabelpine.bandcamp.com [https://isabelpine.bandcamp.com]https://kranky.bandcamp.com [https://kranky.bandcamp.com] Philippe Deschamps Philippe Deschamps has long-been a friend of The Relay Station, almost since the early beginnings of the program when I heard his album “Blue Baths”. Each progressive release of his since then has continued to seduce me with its tranquil and contemplative vibes. His latest film score is of no exception — the sound track for the 31-minute independent film “Les Juif Riches” which recently made its debut at the prestigious German film festival “Die Berlinale” in February of 2026. The film is a pensive exploration of director Yolande Zauberman’s post-World War II family footage, revisiting the stories of her Jewish relatives who rebuilt up their lives from nothing. The film score, which Deschamps orchestrated as the musical backbone for the film, is richly layered with dreamy instrumental veneers, soft-swelling melodies, and the feeling of clouded memories made nearly opaque from the passing of time. Because it’s a film score that serves as a backdrop, “Les Juif Riches” is a great soundtrack for your workday, that focused study session, or a contemplative morning with that cup of hot tea and a journal to write your reflections in. It’s a beautiful album and I encourage you to give it a spin! From the album “Les Juif Riches (Bande originale du film), here’s Philippe Deschamps with the track “Sarah, Fragments”, here on The Relay Station. https://philippedeschamps.eu/ [https://philippedeschamps.eu/] Playlist * [0:00] INTRODUCTION * [00:01:23] “Lluvia de Octubre” by JJRD + mRn from “Études Sónicas” (Wayfarer Music Group, 2026) * [00:05:53] “Cities burn as we dream of a return” by Rayan Haïdar from “Cities burn as we dream of a return” (Dragon’s Eye Recordings, 2026) * [00:11:16] “Along The River (Reduction Edit) - BONUS TRACK” by Abul Mogard from “In a Few Places Along the River (2022 reissue)” (Soft Echoes, 2026) * [00:18:06] Featured Artist Segment * [00:20:24] “Wolves” by Isabel Pine from “Fables” (Kranky / Isabel Pine, 2026) * [00:24:12] “Woven Immensity” by Loneward from “Paradox of Silken Stars” (Independent, 2026) * [00:33:58] “Shells” by Alexander Eldefors from “Vivel” (Laaps Records, 2026) * [00:39:12] “Kindness Will Keep Us Afloat” by Nicola Olla from “Dissolution” (Blue Spiral Records, 2026) * [00:41:54] Featured Artist Segment * [00:43:51] “Sarah, Fragments” by Philippe Deschamps from “Les juifs riches (Bande originale du film)” (Shindo Sea Records, 2026) * [00:48:06] “Early Morning” by Absence from “Names of Unknown Places” (Imaginary North Records, 2026) * [00:54:14] “Torres Blancas [Madrid]” by MiDi B***H from “Habitat” (Cyclical Dreams, 2026) Become a supporter today! Join our community and become a monthly supporter of The Relay Station. Your financial support helps cover operating expenses and our collective efforts for the program to reach carbon neutrality. Join us at https://stolace.com/support/ [https://stolace.com/support/] Get full access to The Relay Station at therelaystation.substack.com/subscribe [https://therelaystation.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Episode 7.20 /// Featuring Violeta Vicci & Bruno Bavota and Glacis with Henrik Meierkord

In this program, I’ve got some fantastic collaborations in store for you, mirroring the beautiful potential of humankind. First up in the program, we’ll be showcasing the new album “Be Human” from violinist Violetta Vicci and pianist Bruno Bavota, showing the magical potential when two artists come together in the same room — and the result is sublime! And later in the program Scottish composer Glacis pairs up with the incomparably prolific Henrik Meierkord to produce the pensive and tender album “We Gape and We Are Healed”. Plus new music from Ambiente Solstice + JJRD, Natureland & Michael D. Tidwell, Luca Formentini, Shane Aspegren and more. Strap in and make yourself comfortable. Join us for the next hour for global ambient music, on The Relay Station. Artist information Violeta Vicci & Bruno Bavota I absolutely love a good collaboration, showing the potential of humanity when we work together, when we listen, and when we work to cooperate to create a thing of beauty. Violinist Violetta Vicci and pianist Bruno Bavota are a testament to that magic when one is open and creates a spaciousness for ideas to come together. Their new album “Be Human”, out now on Bigo and Twigetti, is the result of a chance encounter at a London recording studio — merely inquiring about the possibility of creating music together. One thing led to another, and before long they found themselves with a full-length LP. Most of the tracks were captured in a single take, keeping the spontaneity and imperfections of their first encounter with minimal post-production that they might preserve the feel of a live performance. The raw creativity and sheer excitement of making music comes through in every note. Bavota writes about their session, “Our aim initially was to record a couple of tracks to begin our collaboration and release as standalone singles. Luckily, our studio time was delayed on the first day and Violeta and I had time for a nice talk in the park [which] helped to build our bond. When we eventually got into the studio, instead of two songs we recorded ten. Something magical happened!” Something magical indeed. There’s a conversational tone in their improvisational performances with free-flowing give and take, one never over-powering the other and demonstrating the skill of being an active listener. It’s an emotive, delightful, and pleasant listen, and I can only imagine we’ll be expecting more from this duo in the future. From their new album “Be Human”, here’s Violetta Vicci and Bruno Bavota with the track “Golden Raindrops”, here on The Relay Station. https://www.violetavicci.com/ [https://www.violetavicci.com/]https://brunobavota.com/ [https://brunobavota.com/] Glacis with Henrik Meierkord Scottish composer Euan Alexander Millar-McKeenan, who operates under the name “Glacis” has teamed up with one of the most prolific collaborators that I know of — Swedish cellist Henrik Meierkord, an artist with a reputation for masterfully weaving his way through from one genre to the next, almost quite effortlessly. Naturally when the UK label WhiteLabRecs informed me of the Glacis-Meierkord album, I couldn’t wait to dive into the audio files and hit play to see what awaits me. And the result did not disappoint. The album is a beautiful and delicate interplay between the piano and the cello, with Meierkord’s steady and free-flowing musicality counterbalancing Euan’s ornate and thinly veiled piano-based compositions. The resulting work is a pensive emotional arc that gently dots the canvas with vulnerability, reflection, and quiet spaciousness. There’s ample room for each line and phrase to ring out and linger in an unhurried fashion, providing you a hushed listening session for you to ease into, lost in contemplation and drifting out of time. It’s a splendid collaboration from start to finish, and is well worth your time. From their album “We Gape and We Are Healed”, here’s Glacis with Henrik Meierkord with the track “Desire Becomes Sorrow”, here on The Relay Station. https://221604.bandcamp.com/ [https://221604.bandcamp.com/]https://henrikmeierkord.bandcamp.com/ [https://henrikmeierkord.bandcamp.com/] Playlist * [0:00] INTRODUCTION * [00:01:36] “Colder Days” by Ambiente Solstice + JJRD from “Colder Days” (Wayfarer Music Group, 2026) * [00:08:15] “That One Quiet Friend - Solo Version” by Natureland & Michael D. Tidwell from “That One Quiet Friend EP” (Independent, 2025-05-14) * [00:10:38] “Angel Lost (Radio edit)” by Luca Formentini from “Angel Lost” (Independent, 2026) * [00:16:07] Featured Artist Segment * [00:18:46] “Golden Raindrops” by Violeta Vicci & Bruno Bavota from “Be Human” (Bigo and Twigetti, 2026) * [00:23:36] “Spiritual Cannibalism” by Shane Aspegren from “Spiritual Cannibalism” (Prohibited Records, 2026) * [00:29:40] “Grey Nameless Mountain” by Mosaicist from “The Fog Is Lifting” (WhiteLabRecs, 2025) * [00:35:18] “Numb” by Hanakiv from “Lastele” (Gondwana Records, 2026) * [00:39:26] Featured Artist Segment * [00:41:24] “Desire Becomes Sorrow” by Glacis with Henrik Meierkord from “We Gape And We Are Healed” (WhiteLabRecs, 2026) * [00:46:06] “Dream sphere” by Mindmeld from “The Connection” (Cyclical Dreams, 2026) * [00:49:12] “The Lost Dawn” by The Silent Tide from “Memories” (Mare Nostrum, 2025) * [00:53:54] “Factory Settings” by Glåsbird from “Shades” (WhiteLabRecs, 2026) Become a supporter today! Join our community and become a monthly supporter of The Relay Station. Your financial support helps cover operating expenses and our collective efforts for the program to reach carbon neutrality. Join us at https://stolace.com/support/ [https://stolace.com/support/] Get full access to The Relay Station at therelaystation.substack.com/subscribe [https://therelaystation.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Episode 7.19 /// Featuring Simon McCorry and Cécile Lacharme

In this program, we’re giving a whole lot of love to one of the most expressive instruments known to human kind — the cello. I’ve got the new album “All The Important Things Are Now Connected” from Simon McCorry, a brooding and contemplative work, balanced with wonder and curiosity. And later in the program French experimental Cellist Cécile Lacharme has me absolutely spell-bound with her new looped cello album “Dérive”, and I simply cannot get enough of it! Plus new music from Simon Goff, Alex O’Donovan, Zen Lemon, Dobrawa Czocher and more. Strap in and make yourself comfortable. Join us for the next hour for global ambient music, on The Relay Station. Artist information Simon McCorry Simon McCorry is a cellist, sound designer, and ambient artist from Gloucestershire in the United Kingdom that spends much of his time in motion, touring the UK as a theatre sound engineer. As one might imagine, life on the road has a distinct feeling of impermanence, an impression that has permeated its way into his work. McCorry is a prolific artist with dozens of releases through Bandcamp — an impressive and expressive catalog spanning the last decade. His latest release “All The Important Things Are Now Connected” is a brooding, contemplative work that’s balanced with a sense of wonder and curiosity — centered around the cello and walking the fine line between cohesion and collapse. There’s something unique about McCorry’s work that sets him apart from other cellists in the ambient genre — it may be the raw vibe he evokes through the way in which he’s captured and manipulated the cello, or perhaps the up-close, intimate, and conversational way in which his melodies sing their truth, or maybe it’s the humble, unassuming nature of his compositions in which they don’t garner for attention or notoriety. Regardless of what it may be, his music invites a close-quarters dialogue, one that I hope you’ll take the time to discover for yourself. From his album “All The Important Things Are Now Connected”, here’s Simon McCorry with the track “Whisper Music”, here on The Relay Station. https://www.simonmccorry.com/ [https://www.simonmccorry.com/]https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/ [https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/] Cécile Lacharme Cécile Lacharme is a classically trained, experimental French cellist that’s made her debut with the modern classical label Bigo and Twigetti, entering the scene with a stunning album deserving of your time and attention. Over the last few years she has been developing a critically-acclaimed live show, creating a mind-altering, immersive performance with her solo cello as the foundation, and woven through a loop station and a variety of effect pedals. The result is a unique expression every time, and a performance that is captivating from the very first note, and to the very last as the sound lingers in the air. Her new album “Dérives” captures just that. Lacharme writes, “We wanted to keep consistency between the live performance and the album, so it was important for us to have this immersive feel starting from the recording process. The main challenge came from the fact that I was the only musician layering myself multiple times with the same instrument, within the same register, and in the same room.” But objectively speaking, when I listen to her album “Dérives”, it feels like an epic soundscape painted by the likes of Philipp Glass or Max Richter, like the score to a larger-than-life cinematic experience. The album is stunning and imaginative, the looped patterns and cello layers are engaging, and the space she’s created leaves me no option but to hit that repeat button and listen to her music over, and over, and over again. From her album “Dérive”, here’s Cécile Lacharme with the track “Fugue”, here on The Relay Station. https://www.cecilelacharme.com/ [https://www.cecilelacharme.com/]https://bigoandtwigetti.bandcamp.com/ [https://bigoandtwigetti.bandcamp.com/] Playlist * [0:00] INTRODUCTION * [00:01:32] “Now Their Pain is Sugar (Masayoshi Fujita Rework)” by Simon Goff from “Sparks” (Grand Chess Records, 2026) * [00:04:38] “Impermanence” by Alex O’Donovan from “Svalr” (Driftworks/Audiobulb, 2026) * [00:08:30] “Isolation” by Zen Lemon from “Drift Theory Aesthetic” (Chitra Records, 2026) * [00:11:57] Featured Artist Segment * [00:14:08] “whisper music” by Simon McCorry from “all the important things are now connected” (WhiteLabRecs, 2026) * [00:20:56] “Sehnsucht” by Dobrawa Czocher from “State of Matter” (FatCat Records, 2026) * [00:27:54] “Reveries” by Henrik Meierkord + Marco Lucchi & Pawel Kobak from “The Book of Dreams” (Whitelabrecs, 2025) * [00:37:02] “In holiday clothing, out of the great darkness - Part 2” by Clarice Jensen from “In Holiday Clothing, Out Of The Great Darkness” (FatCat / 130701, 2025) * [00:45:23] Featured Artist Segment * [00:48:04] “Fugue” by Cécile Lacharme from “Dérives” (Bigo and Twigetti, 2025) * [00:53:38] “Blue” by Moonlit Reef from “Blue (single)” (Independent, 2026) * [00:57:05] “Around the Lake, as Time Slows” by Hollie Kenniff from “For Those Who Stay” (Nettwerk Music Group, 2026) Become a supporter today! Join our community and become a monthly supporter of The Relay Station. Your financial support helps cover operating expenses and our collective efforts for the program to reach carbon neutrality. Join us at https://stolace.com/support/ [https://stolace.com/support/] Get full access to The Relay Station at therelaystation.substack.com/subscribe [https://therelaystation.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]