Today on solipsistic NATION we're going to listen to an absolutely gorgeous mix from Jason Thomson, AKA, Herd. It's beautiful and it's haunting and I know you're going to love it!

I was really looking forward to having Jason on the show but he felt it best to let the music do the talking for him.

This has always been one of the more frustrating aspects of producing solipsistic NATION because there are some people I'd very much love to have on the show like Frank Riggio and HC from the Headphone Commute blog, but for whatever reasons, they prefer not to be interviewed. But interviewing people from the electronic music community is a big part of what makes solipsistic NATION, well, solipsistic NATION.

Too be perfectly honest, I have reservations about interviews myself. I think we live in a culture that often is more fascinated with the artist then the art they create. But we're human so were prone to this sort of thing and hopefully I ask a good question once in a while that reveals or re-frames or reaffirms our understanding of what it means to be human.

I know that sounds pretentious but isn't that what it's all about? Culture is forever asking and answering the questions: who are we, why are we here, what does it all mean? The Internet has merely accelerated culture and we're all along for the ride. Blogs, YouTube videos, podcasts—you get the idea.

So we're fascinated with the artist. When our favorite movies stars and rock stars talk and, in rare moments, reveal their humanity, we recognize ourselves in them. And if we're lucky, they might share something that makes us look at ourselves and our world differently.

All the same, I can respect and appreciate that Jason didn't want to be interviewed. And to be fair, he did suggest a compromise where he would respond to my questions with answers made up from a myriad of samples. In the end, I didn't have time to reformulate my questions and as fun as the idea sounds, I don't think I would have had the conversation I hoping to have.

That said, I'm still thrilled to feature Jason's mix on today's show. Even though he declined to be interviewed he wanted me to mention the release of Tangents 41 - 47 on FSOLdigital. Jason's currently hard at work on a new addition to the Tangents series and hopes to release it sometime next year on a new label called DarkFloor. You can learn more and hear more by visiting Jason at soundcloud.com/herdtangents.

Today's show goes out to Guillermo and Space Kat Gal.

Guillermo sent me an email a few weeks back letting me know how much he's enjoyed the show and that he's particularly fond of the live sets featuring Mobthrow, ZionTrain and Dubmatix. I'm sensing a reggae/dub thing from you, Guillermo, so I'll see what I can do on that front.

Space Kat Gal is someone I met on App.Net. App.Net, as you may have heard, is the paid social media service that came about through crowdsource fundraising in reaction to the advertising route that Twitter is exploring. Anyway, Kat likes EDM, and thought my show is interesting but on the ambient side. I promise you Kat, this show is more than just ambient music, although today's show is not my best example for that argument.

Kat lives in Boston, which is where I hail from, and I'll be visiting Boston August 25 through September second. While I'm there I plan to interview some local electronic musicians and record labels while I'm visiting friends and family. Email me at [email protected] or Tweet me @solipsistic if you'd like to meet up.

Join us again next week. We'll talk with the good folks from the Museum of Endangered Sounds and talk to Malcolm Levy about this years New Forms Festival taking place September 13 through September 16th in Vancouver. I'm working on nailing down a third interview but it's too early to talk about that. So sit tight until next week's show.

See you next week!

1. Ross Baker "Fields & Valleys" [FREE DOWNLOAD]
2. Humanoid "Fractured ( Legiac Mix)"
3. Scanner "Passage de Recherche"
4. Demdike Stare "Suspicious drone"
5. Future Sound of London "Elation"
6. Fanu "Strange Days"
7. Intex Systems "Absorb"
8. Oberman Knocks "Walkers Ret Ret Hive"
9. Somatic Responses "Lunar Disturbance"
10. Future Sound of London "A Corner"
11. Demdike Stare "Ghostly Hardware"
12. Second Thought "Nsepan"
13. Secede "The Realms of Sanda"
14. Legiac "Hallux Abb"
15. Jochem Paap "Trpp Bll"
16. Monolith Cycle "Transmission" [FREE DOWNLOAD]
17. Fanu "Trippy"
18. Small Fish With Spine "High Fibre"
19. Intex Systems "Transcend The Mind"
20. Herd "Untitled"
21. Intex Systems "The Infinite Void"
22. Herd "Untitled"
23. Herd "Untitled"
24. Excerpts from the film The Cell
25. Future Sound of London "Plough"
26. Herd "Untitled"
27. King Crimson "Masque 8"
28. Blackfilm "Midnight to 4"
29. Future Sound of London "Cascade Part 4"
30. Intex Systems "Vapour Fragments"
31. Burial "Untitled"
32. Herd "Untitled"
33. Access To Arasaka "Kyokko"
34. Andrea Parker and Dan Quayle "Under the Sand"
35. Freeform "Under the Sand"
36. Legiac "Opaque"
37. Robert Normandeau "Memoires vives"
38. Squarepusher "40.96a"
39. Access To Arasaka "Brilliant Pebbles"
40. Future Sound of London "First Death In The Family"
41. Future Sound of London "Vit Drowning / Through Your Gills I Breathe"