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Space Is The Place with Nalepa

 
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Californian musical polymath Nalepa is revered for his wealth of collaborations with artists from all corners of the the musical sphere. A founding member of beat collective TeamSupreme, he has been embedded in Los Angeles' electronic music scene for years, whether that be through his band The Acid, his ambient drone project Airspace or through his work with the likes of Pharaoh Sanders and Bill Laswell. 

Not only that, his work extends into music technology and sees him teaching Ableton Live for Dubspot as well as engineering live Ableton rigs for artists like Blood Orange, Drake and The Weeknd. 

We couldn't have found a for a more fitting artist to take on this playlist really (his Airspace project's website is literally called www.airspaceistheplace.com), so here we have the five tracks that draw him up into the cosmos…

Music associated with outer space exploration has long been a favorite genre of mine. Whether it's ambient excursions that make you feel like you're floating in space, or artists using their imagination to envision life on other planets, I've been drawn to this corner of the musical universe for most of my life. My new album features a different video for each song from a talented group of artists, so with these selections I've focused on music that also has accompanying visuals that celebrate the wonder of space.

Follow Nalepa. Buy his latest release Thoughtforms. 

LISTEN
Alain Goraguer - La Femme

Alain Goraguer’s incredible score to the 1973 film La Planete Sauvage (Fantastic Planet) has long been an inspiration. “La Femme” opens the film, setting the tone with otherworldly jazz and sound effects combined with deep pocket beats that have been sampled by artists like Madlib and Flying Lotus.

  • Alain Goraguer - La Femme

    Alain Goraguer’s incredible score to the 1973 film La Planete Sauvage (Fantastic Planet) has long been an inspiration. “La Femme” opens the film, setting the tone with otherworldly jazz and sound effects combined with deep pocket beats that have been sampled by artists like Madlib and Flying Lotus.

  • Dream Koala - Earth

    I first got turned on to Dream Koala’s Earth.Home.Destroyed EP in 2014 when my band The Acid was touring Europe. We almost played a show together. It never came to be, but I had this EP on repeat for ages. Soaring reverb vocals over lush keys and minimal beats erupt into a frantic crescendo that literally feels like the doors are about to fall off during re-entry.

  • Acen - Trip Ii The Moon

    This early 90s rave masterpiece is a wild ride straight to another dimension, with breakbeats and pitched vocals and loads of spacey effects. This video is from MTV at a time when they were actually pushing boundaries with audiovisuals and showing actual music videos.

  • Jamie Xx - Gosh

    This song is so good it had not one, but two incredible videos made for it. This one honors the epic nature of the song, especially the soaring synth line reminiscent of classic Orbital that feels planetary in scale. The chugging beat diffuses into a glorious ending loaded with nostalgic good vibes.

  • Brian Eno - An Ending (Ascent)

    For me, nothing takes me to space more than Eno’s Apollo soundtrack, especially An Ending (Ascent). His collab with Daniel Lanois and Roger Eno features a slow moving, heavenly melody that feels like floating weightless, with all the awe and wonder that I imagine a view of the earth from space would inspire.