Mixtape #143


This year saw the birth of Collisions, a supergroup comprising neo-classical composer Tom Hodge, post-rock composer Ciaran Morahan and jazz composer and drummer Ollie Howell, all three accomplished and exceptional musicians and composers in their own right, with an already expansive experimental practice. Their joint musical venture yielded its first fruits in September with the release of a majestic, immersive, and cinematic self-titled debut album that hooked us at first listen. So we're over the moon to unfold the absolutely amazing and awe-inspiring mixtape they assembled for us reflecting some of their extraordinary influences.

  1. Brambles – In The Androgynous Dark [Serein]
  2. Laurence Pike – Daughter of Mars [The Leaf Label]
  3. Neil Cowley Trio – Death Of Amygdala (Christian Löffler Remix) [Phases]
  4. Kodomo – Orange Ocean (Loscil Remix)
  5. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – Less Likely [The Null Corporation]
  6. Rival Consoles – Memory Arc [Erased Tapes]
  7. Jonny Greenwood – Tree Strings [Invada / Lakeshore]
  8. Bersarin Quartett – Staub und Sterne [Denovali]
  9. Fredric Robinson – Vamp Till Ready [BMTM]
  10. Max Cooper – Symmetry (Hidden Orchestra Remix) [Mesh]
  11. Boards of Canada – Reach For The Dead [Warp]
  12. The Dead Texan – Aegina Airlines [Kranky]
  13. Ben Lukas Boyson – Nocturne 4 [Erased Tapes]

Collisions share third single, ‘III’, ahead of album release next week

Collisions‘ eagerly awaited self-titled debut album will be released on September 9th through Naïve / Believe and they have already enticed us with two singles, ‘II’ and ‘Fourth Motion’. In anticipation of the album release next week, the trio of Tom Hodge, Ciaran Morahan and Ollie Howell have shared a striking new single, ‘III’, that perfectly captures their immersive and cinematic sound world. Reportedly the ‘darkest’ track on the album, ‘III’, as the press release describes, “takes delicate piano lines and understated drums, and mixes them with low octave arpeggiated and detuned synthesisers along with harsh ring modulated guitar melodies”. The single is offered with a visualiser and you can watch it below.

New trio Collisions share visualiser for second single ‘Fourth Motion’

Neo-classical composer Tom Hodge, post-rock composer Ciaran Morahan and jazz composer and drummer Ollie Howell have teamed up for an exciting musical union under the name Collisions. On September 9th they’ll release their self-titled debut album through Naïve/Believe. With an already expansive experimental practice, on the album they fuse together their sensitivity, style and experience to create a distinctive, immersive and cinematic sound world.

Following their first single ‘II’, Collisions have now shared a visualiser for new track ‘Fourth Motion’. Morahan comments:

“We are delighted to share a first impression of the generative visual identity of our record designed by Cath Elliott in collaboration with Bileam Tschepe and Daniel Molnar. We discussed with Cath the different overarching frameworks that would inspire the programming work for each track. We felt that the most natural fit for ‘Fourth Motion’ was ‘Explosive’. This is reflected in the way the visuals slowly grow until the drums and ring modulated clarinet suddenly appear in the middle of the track. This visual identity is a sneak peek at what will be our deeply interactive live show where the music coming from the stage will drive the programming to generate new and unique videos every time it’s performed.”

He continues:

“One of four parts of an overall piece, ‘Fourth motion’ is the final piece of the puzzle and also the last track on the record. This track starts with a single synthesiser note and melody to give the listener the chance to absorb what they have just listened to. Fourth Motion incorporates all of the elements and sounds that the listener has heard throughout the rest of the record, leaving them with a sense of familiarity and not out of place. It feels like quite an understated piece compared to the other tracks on the record, but it also feels like the ‘biggest’ track on the record.”

Watch the visualiser for ‘Fourth Motion’ below and listen to ‘II’ straight after.