MK Stop 42: Muttley - I Shall Not Drown (December 2009)

A body that lives a long time, accumulates debris. It cannot be avoided. However, there are nearly always routes to trap the residue, brush yourself up to scratch and make strides forward. "I Shall Not Drown" is an antecedent mixtape to usher in 2010 and cast aside pre-emptive fears and fleeting gestures.

Partly inspired by Dave @ Low Light Mixes with his "A Solitary Sea", I chose tracks based on circumnavigating the drowning condition - whether it be your sorrows, tears, or loneliness.

Unlike "Weathering" and "Gravitation To Resolution", though, I wasn't rooted by track names - this opens up a wider range of textures and themes. Bat For Lashes' "Sleep Alone" is the sole track with national radio play. I saw them live in October and was staggered by the quality of their second album, particularly because of Natasha Khan's haunting voice. "Sleep Alone" is used based on the relationship I lost, and whether I should start all over again - which I surely will, in 2010.

Conjoining tenacity for creation with artists that receive a scant amount of attention, "I Shall Not Drown" oscillates through waves of counterweight with zero adhesion to your own limits. It's the second Muttley set built in Acoustica Audio Mixer, a program I can see myself using ever greater as the years roll on.

TRACKLISTING

01. Drowning The Virgin Silence - To Reach The Clouds (from the album Beneath The Sulfur Sky)
02. Rameses III - Across The Lake Is Where My Heart Shines (from the album I Could Not Love You More)
03. Eluvium - All The Sails (from the album When I Live By The Garden And The Sea)
04. Peter James - Adrift (from the album Holding On - Letting Go)
05. Stars Of The Lid - The Evil That Never Arrived (from the album And Their Refinement Of The Decline)
06. Herzog - Our Friends Save Us From Drowning (from the album First Summer And The Running Dream)
07. Fennesz - Rivers Of Sand (from the album Venice)
08. Arovane - Seaside (from the album Tides)
09. Seafar - New Town Dreams (from the album Hegira)
10. Black To Comm - Trapez (from the album Alphabet 1968.)
11. Bat For Lashes - Sleep Alone (from the album Two Suns)
12. Atomic Skunk - Liquid Dharma (free download - [url]www.atomicskunk.com[/url])
13. Global Communication - 12-18 (from the album 76-14)
14. Bitcrush - To Drown (from the album Epilogue In Waves)

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