50ft

Will Samson - And Yet  I was new to Will’s music when I bought this tape from 12k but quickly realized how often I was putting it on last year. This track in paticular when a vocal track pops out from among a mostly intrumental ambient album always hangs with me after I hear it. Though brief, its gentle melody and sentiment manages to hang in the air calmly even after it’s gone.

Old Saw - Dirtbikes of Heaven, Grains of the Field This band snuck into my life after discovering this album and I fell head over heels for their uniqe sound. They use folk and bluegrass instuments to create soundscapes of slow motion melody to create layers of sound I cant help but feel conforted by. Its hard to pin down the right words to explain why I love this album as much as I do but it stems from a group that merges my love for a lot of folk music and more experimental ambient music together.

Lidell-Hainbach-Ayjay Nils - Forest Voices I have been listening and loving the music of Jamie Lidell from back when his first album of bizarre experimental pop music was released all the way through his Motown inspired later releases so when I discovered he sat in a room with two other musicians with experimental leanings to create an off the cuff and playful albums worth of recordings I was all in. Jazz like improvisation using electronics makes for a unique, one of a kind record that reminds me why I love recorded music so much.

Ela Suárez - s This was a Bandcamp discovery as I was digging through new music. I know nothing about the artist other than she is from Argentina. I have bought and enjoyed a couple of her releases on bandcamp including this standout experiment with a simple recorded plucked string loop dancing along for a time. It reminds me of my own affection for making simple looping melodies of recorded sound and capturing understated music to meditate with. I really love discovering other artists releasing music like this on bandcamp, it’s what makes the platform so special to me. The rarity of some of these sounds and the small connections they make among those of us who find them together.

dream wave - paper skin Another Bandcamp discovery from a few years ago, bedroom pop sounds that echo some of my favorite low key releases like this. paper skin is short but I have come back to it time and again because of its intimacy. No more no less and I love every second of it. 

You Disappear Podcast: In this space you will find music, field recordings, and anything else that fits an understated sense of calmness of any kind. Sometimes it will barely whisper, and other times it may rest on the edge of noise, it’s hard to define but it’s easy to navigate. Press play, take a break, and get lost. I’m sure you could use it from time to time. I know I can.

Please note, music shared here is shared a listening guide. I have been making these digital mixtapes for over a decade and still feel its a great way to share new music with others, even in todays streaming music landscape. If you come across something you love I have included links directly to artists websites or Bandcamp pages. Always purchase an artists music as close to their pocket as you can get. At very least, use a streaming service to contribute further to their passion. Never copy or distribute this feed or its contents it will never be monetized and will never be.

Transcript

This episode is another dive into a few well deserved minutes of calm.

00:00 - Christiaan Virant and 张荐 (FM3) Sheng - 笙 from the Buddha Machine 1 collection of loops. One of my favorites forever. Buddha Machine 1, by Christiaan Virant and 张荐

00:28 - Michael Scott Dawson - Present Day feat. Jairus Sharif from the album The Tinnitus Chorus. I came across his music a few months ago and quickly fell for it. His gentle approach always puts me in a light hearted space. The guest artists on this album give it a lot of welcome variety. The Tinnitus Chorus, by Michael Scott Dawson

03:14 - Paniyolo - Tabisaki. This is a single released by a Japanese guitar player that I love. His approach to solo guitar is oozing with sentementality and charm. This is a recent favorite of mine. Perfect for a cup of tea. Tabisaki, by paniyolo

06:24 - Jogging House - Fare from the album Rendezvous. I came across Jogging House probably through a Youtube video, he revels in one take ambient recordings that all feel like they were generated by clouds. His output is always worth checking out. Fare, by Jogging House

11:26 - Keigo Tatsumi - Barley from the album AT US. This was one I stumbled across at random and bought the tape after hearing it once. I adore music with this approach that lies somewhere between the music and field recordings hiding underneath. Its an approach I often mimick when I make my own music because I feel it grounds it into memory and time. This is a short but hearwarming track. AT US, by Keigo Tatsumi

14:30 I believe I was at a park writing in a journal one warm afternoon between jobs when I decided to pull out my little recorder and let it set by my side as I wrote.

You Disappear Podcast:

In this space you will find music, field recordings, and anything else that fits an understated sense of calmness of any kind. Sometimes it will barely whisper, and other times it may rest on the edge of noise, it’s hard to define but it’s easy to navigate. Press play, take a break, and get lost. I’m sure you could use it from time to time. I know I can.

Please note, music shared here is shared a listening guide. I have been making these digital mixtapes for over a decade and still feel its a great way to share new music with others, even in todays streaming music landscape. If you come across something you love I have included links directly to artists websites or Bandcamp pages. Always purchase an artists music as close to their pocket as you can get. At very least, use a streaming service to contribute further to their passion. Never copy or distribute this feed or its contents it will never be monetized and will never be.

Once, years ago I started a short lived podcast that celebrated the calmer side of music. Nothing tied to any one genre, more a mood. One sometimes poignant, sometimes experimental, maybe a little meandering, melancholy, or joyful depending on your own perspective. Some of my favorite music is more than propping up traditions. I love music that is genuine, a trait that can be hard to find. That said, I’m not here to discount anyones talent, taste, or ability, this is a gut feeling sort of thing.

I’m of the belief that music should not be so specifically defined, only broadly. I can’t even start listing the ridiculous amount of sub genres the world has come up to categorize music, it’s exhausting and impossible so instead let’s set off on a mood. A mood that leaves you disappearing into sound or possibly one that guides your thoughts into clarity.

In this space you will find music, field recordings, and anything else that fits an understated sense of calmness of any kind. Sometimes it will barely whisper, and other times it may rest on the edge of noise, it’s hard to define but it’s easy to navigate. Press play, take a break, and get lost. I’m sure you could use it from time to time. I know I can.

Please note, music shared here is shared a listening guide, if you come across something you love I have included links directly to artists websites or Bandcamp pages. ALWAYS purchase an artists music as close to their pocket as you can get. At very least, use a streaming service to contribute further to their passion. Never copy or distribute this feed or its contents it will never be monetized in its current state.

Hopefully I can make this a recurring series, testing this as a platform.

— Ep. 001

01 - On the original You Disappear podcast I would always open it with a single loop of one of my favorite audio toys, the timeless Buddha Machine and I wanted to continue to use it as an opening because it feels like a perfect way to set a mood. If you don’t purchase one of their little speaker units they do have the music available on Bandcamp and other platforms to enjoy and I highly suggest it.

02 - Lullatone, Shapes & Time (Piano Version). How could I not start this series off here. Lullatone has consistently brought so much joy to my music loving life with their charming and endlessly sweet melodies and sense for whimsy. You can never go wrong with their catalogue.

03 - Foxtrott - Take It Back. I stumbled across Foxtrott a while back and love her output. She explores a minimal pop sound that exists just outside the usual tropes and I love music that sits in that space, one that leans forward and into the future and in the process discovered something wholly unique.

04 - Brendan Eder Ensemble - #20 (Lichen) Aphex Twin cover. I came across Brendans music through earlier jazz forward projects but then out of no where he drops this amazing collection of acoustic chamber music that mimics and explores the dreamy ethereal soundscapes of ambient music classics. This was highlighted by a couple of covers of Aphex Twin tracks from his Ambient Works Collection. Highly recommended.

05 - National Park Service - What is the sound. There is a small label called Lily Tapes and Discs that I have followed for several years now and have always felt inspired by. The music they release has an ethereal grit to it that feels grounded in the earth and memory and I am always excited to hear what’s new from them. The National Park Service has released several times on the label and I have been quick to order a tape every time. I can’t speak much to their history but their discography speaks for itself.

06 - Viul - Canon (First Exhalation). I know ambient music isn’t for everyone. Many hear it and wonder how it’s considered music at all, or maybe it just seems creepy or haunting to them. For me, Ive been listening to music for so many years now that I have learned to appreciate more than the clear and present beat of a drum or ear worm vocal hook. I enjoy ambient for its texture and its ability to seek out meditative sound beyond traditional means. It’s among the most open and organic of genres because it doesn’t ask for your attention, it simply builds on your environment as it is. When it’s done well, it meets you halfway, between your own thoughts and the sound of the environment your in. I have heard my fare share of boring drones and endless halls of reverb and there are plenty of examples of lazy, half considered ambient music but from time to time you come across artists who use the format to explore sound in a delicate way that can be just as emotive as the sweetest of song smiths. This track by Viul from a recent full length is a great example of that as it etches its way across both synthesized sound and organic sounds interlaced with subtle melodies that find their way through the fog.