If you notice between the last mix and this one was a five-year gap, six years from the last Libations and Oscillations mix. It’s not that the duo of Tonebreaker and Noctum split, or that I attempted to “retire” from music again. It’s just that sometimes life happens. During lockdown orders in this extremely unusual year, Tonebreaker reached out to me with an idea. A mixtape to raise funds for charity. I was completely down with this idea. The charity we found was Music by Black Composers, a project of the Rachel Barton Pine Foundation.
On a personal note as we explored this mix we also decided to lay the Libations & Oscillations moniker to rest. So much had changed since the last time we touched that moniker. This time we released this simply as Tonebreaker and Noctum.
Music is one of the tapestries by which humanity tells its stories. From Congo Square in New Orleans to CBGB in New York, personal expression and culture have always been socialized to a soundtrack. As contemporary electronic musicians ourselves, we wanted to raise money for this charity to honor the rich and diverse musical roots that came before.
Libations & Oscillations - Young & Beautiful
This is a live set for a private party that was never really made for release. It was made for the magic of one night. In October of 2013 a Great Gatsby party happened and it was the social event of the season. Everyone was there dressed to the nines, cocktails, and cigars between the pool and rotunda. Hors d’oeuvres of canapés, crudités, and patisserie by the grand foyer. A photo session in the drawing-room, and plenty of action in the ballroom. The creation of a proper mood for this event was crucial and began with crafting a new cocktail (mash-up) of Lana Del Rey’s song from the Great Gatsby soundtrack. Everything else was built from there using lounge, future jazz fusion, and a touch of hip hop. The cocktail was released on November 5th of that year but the setlist was lost to a cocktail napkin and found again inside a smoking jacket. Eventually to be released as a full the full mixset in Feb of 2014.