Midnight Radio
Inspired by the Electrifying Mojo, Midnight Radio is a short burst of late-night reverberations, inspirations, and a mixtape delivered ’round midnight on the 1st and 15th of each month.
Some episodes will be available in partial form as a podcast. Many will not. But every episode of Midnight Radio is available in its full Technicolor glory at jamesreeves.co.
Midnight Radio
The Shimmer
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
I've stitched together a soundtrack that follows tonight's rules of beauty:
- Beauty is almost sinister.
- Beauty overwhelms the senses.
- Beauty cannot be intended.
We begin with billowing vocals and cloudy guitars that gradually disintegrate until we're left with instrumentals, each peeling back layers of sound to uncover an endless thrum from Éliane Radigue, who sought to evoke the Tibetan Book of the Dead after she lost her son. I first heard this song an hour before dawn and I think it's what revelation must sound like. Then we come home to one of the most beautiful pieces of music I know: a glittery guitar from Windy & Carl that sounds like temptation itself.
- Mister Baby - Canyon City Blues
EP • 2023 • Bandcamp - Midwife - Angel
Prayer Hands • Antiquated Future, 2018 • Bandcamp - Sugar Plant - Impure
Trance Mellow • Pony Canyon, 1996 • Bandcamp - Hilary Woods - Faults
Night CRIÚ • Sacred Bones, 2018 • Bandcamp - Romance & Not Waving - Shepherd's Dream
Wings Of Desire • Ecstatic, 2024 • Bandcamp - Flying Saucer Attack - Instrumental Wish
Distance • VHF, 1994 • Bandcamp - Brian Eno - Dunwich Beach, Autumn 1960
Ambient 4: On Land • EG Records, 1982 - Éliane Radigue - Kyema (Excerpt)
Trilogie de la Mort • 1988 • Bandcamp - Windy & Carl - The Sun
We Will Always Be • Kranky, 2012 • Bandcamp
Tonight marks two years of Midnight Radio! Thank you for tuning in, and for the delightful notes and other forms of encouragement along the way. In these days of mind-numbing overload, attention is a gift I neither expect nor take for granted. Perhaps this is why Midnight Radio is the only deadline I've managed to honor. Episodes will continue to arrive on the 1st and 15th until the end of the year, at which point I'll reevaluate this endeavor.
In other news, I've made some significant upgrades to Spite if you're in the market for a dignified music player without any algorithms or bullshit. This heavyweight mix from Marty is an ideal thing to play on it.
Enjoy life and get the full Midnight Radio experience delivered directly to your inbox ’round midnight on the 1st and 15th of each month.
Podcasts we love
Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.
Failure Is Freedom
https://www.martinessig.com