Sonic Cathedral ‘Ambience Chasers’ : The ‘Monday Is Okay’ Mix
When it comes to record labels there are very few who can contest the continual relevance of Sonic Cathedral. Born and bred from the depths of obscure club nights they since evolved into one of the most engaging and individual record labels in the UK. Never one for hype or over exuberance they have steadily released music since 2006 and continue to move forwards.
The latest project to emerge from the record label is a new club night called 'Ambience Chasers'. The evening will take place monthly in London and will focus on the more obscure elements amidst electronic music. Expect soundscapes, drone music and ambient bliss.
Listen to the mix and read the interview below:
Please introduce yourself…
Nathaniel Cramp
Who are you, where are you and what are you?
I am the founder of Sonic Cathedral and recently joined forces with Ulrich Schnauss to launch a new monthly night at The Social called Ambience Chasers.
Tell us about the Monday mixtape you’ve put together for us.
This is roughly the songs I played at the first Ambience Chasers night at the end of February. Ulrich played some amazing stuff, too, but as he’d just flown in from Hong Kong he can’t remember what any of it was. This mix is basically an excuse to indulge my obsession with The KLF and long Andrew Weatherall remixes, plus some train noises courtesy of Chris Watson. I actually used to record trains when I was younger; wish I could find those tapes.
Describe the inspiration behind the Ambience Chasers project?
Ulrich and I started a radio show called Sonic Realities last year (the name is from Sonic Cathedral and his label, Scripted Realities) and unless we consciously try really hard not to, we always just resort to playing ambient electronica and minimal techno. It’s our default music. We thought we could do something with that and instead of calling the night Default Music, which would’ve actually been quite clever in an Eno kind of way, I insisted on tagging it with the daft pun of Ambience Chasers.
Do you feel that there has been a trend towards more ‘listening’ orientated events in London as of late, has this helped in the formation of the night?
Yes, there do seem to be a lot of things like that now, like the stuff at Spiritland. I’m not sure why that is, I guess people just like a good sit down! The whole ambient thing seems very timely at the moment, too – it’s suddenly everywhere again and The Orb just released their best album in years. Maybe it’s a reaction to the turbulent times in the world, people need an escape. I’ve always said the same about shoegaze – it’s music you can lose yourself in and just escape from everything. Everyone is looking to escape right now – we’re just not sure where to. Maybe Scotland. Maybe a whole new planet.
What would be the ideal setting to listen to the mix?
Downstairs in The Social, on the last Tuesday of every month.
Are you on the same wavelength as the boomtown rats or do you actually like Mondays?
I’m not too keen on any day of the week to be honest. Doing a night on a Tuesday is good, as it’s always been a pretty rubbish night of the week, so no one really has an excuse not to come. The next night is on March 28 and we have a live set from Mark Peters (former songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with Engineers) and Mark Clifford from Seefeel as guest DJ. April and May are looking good, too.
Details of the next Ambient Chasers event is HERE.
