Listening to: A Unicorn Masquerade

"There is a cacophony of birds overhead, and the crisp wind they surf on bites through you as October dies and November rises in its place..."

Self-titled debut experimental electronic EP from A Unicorn Masquerade. 

Of the three songs, track 1, "It lingers," is my favorite.

Click below to listen on Bandcamp.

Click here to watch/listen on YouTube (total length: 11:08)

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 _=/    _./-\/  

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New Original Song: “The Deer Know What You Did To Me”

The deer know what you did to me. 

I told them everything.

I'd stay out of the woods if I were you.

Click above to stream free on Bandcamp

I'm releasing a new song to mark the beginning of November!  "The Deer Know What You Did To Me" is a drone-y ambient piece intercut with some resampled Native American Flute (played by me).  

This piece is meant to instill different emotions depending on the listener, and is intended to be considered within the context of past wrongdoings.  The song can either be a comfort or a warning:

• If a listener equates themselves with the titular "Me," (i.e. a victim of mistreatment in the particular relationship they have in mind) they may feel encouraged (if with some trepidation) knowing they can always find sanctuary in the woods, where the deer sympathize with their plight.
• But, if the listener finds themselves as the titular "You," (i.e. the perpetrator of abuse against the previous listener) the listener may feel uneasy.  In this case, the song evokes an unsettling feeling, as though walking through the woods at night -- knowing the deer are watching, and that they do not want you here...

I hope you enjoy this track.  Right now, it's free to stream and download on Bandcamp.  If you like it, let me know what you think!

Listening to: Sti.ll

New release from Taylor Deupree.   

Click below for all listening platforms:

More information, from Deupree's Instagram:

    An elaborate, authoritative acoustic re-imagining of Taylor Deupree’s seminal electronic album Stil. (2002), Sti.ll is the result of a multi-year collaboration between Deupree and arranger/producer Joseph Branciforte to bring Deupree’s explorations of extreme repetition and stillness into the world of notated chamber music. 

    Clarinet, vibraphone, cello, double bass, flute, and percussion stand in for the digital loops and granular processing of Deupree’s original, with meticulously notated arrangements preserving the all rhythmic, formal, and textural complexity of these compositions. 

    Transcribed and arranged by Greyfade’s Joseph Branciforte and performed by an ensemble of notable New York creative musicians — Madison Greenstone, Ben Monder, Laura Cocks, Christopher Gross, and Sam Minaie, alongside Branciforte and Deupree themselves — Sti.ll is a landmark recording situated between the electronic and acoustic worlds.

I have been a longtime fan of Deupree and the 12k label as a whole.  As the above description states, Deupree's work often involves the modulation of acoustic loops. One of my favorite 12k albums is Twine, a collaboration between Deupree and Marcus Fischer.  Fischer also created the cover art for Sti.ll.

The album is also available for purchase as a Double 12" LP / Orange Vinyl, which can be purchased on Bandcamp by clicking the image below:

Listening to: “The Last Ride”

Soundtrack by Dave Roland

Click below to listen on Bandcamp

Listening to: Christmas Ambient

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas! If not, then rejoice in the fact that this stressful holiday season is finally behind us.

Today I enjoyed listening to this ambient electronic album by Ken Elkinson. It features ethereal covers of famous Christmas songs, perfect for that post-Christmas-dinner nap. 

Merry Christmas folks!

Click below to listen to the album

Listening to: Nautical Nights

by Stevan Pasero/Michael Becker

More relaxing music to help me stay sane throughout the week. This song is flowing and drone-y but has a definite melodic structure that implies an amount of mystery that is oddly comforting. It makes me want to go night crawling and discover parts of the city I've never seen before (as was the case when I took this photo)

Click below to listen

Listening to: Twine

The wonderful ambient album Twine by Taylor Dupree and Marcus Fischer. Some much-needed relaxing music after a hectic week of work (and another one ahead).

From their Bandcamp:

"Two artists, two mono tape loops and four acoustic instruments, nothing more. Creating one loop each of different lengths and recording the outputs of the reel-to-reel machines’ built-in speakers with microphones in the room, Deupree and Fischer started to craft their most restrained work yet, focusing on the raw beauty of such a limited system of creation.

The title Twine comes from the idea of the two tape loops as knots, as physical media, combining to form a single, more complex, piece. The seven tracks on the album are highly repetitive yet constantly shifting due to the asynchrony of the loops. All of the warm, tactile and dusty quality of the tape and vintage players is captured in the recordings and the listener can easily get lost in the slow, enveloping cycles."

Click below to listen

Listening to: OUTPOST 31: Night Station

Ambient synthesizer music with the soothing sounds of heavy machinery and Antarctic wind.

Listen below on YouTube

Listening to: you're in an empty place for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

A round-the-clock music livestream of ambient music; a mix of dark, hopeful, melancholic, and relaxing tracks. I'm currently listening to this while writing up a very long haunt theory post, which I hope to share soon!

Listen below:

New Original Song: Mile-long Reminder

For best listening experience:  Get drunk. Real drunk. 

Put on your coat and stumble out of your house at dusk.  Look up at the darkening sky, and start walking.  Let your inebriated mind guide your thoughts (and your feet).  Think about the past, even though you know you shouldn't.  Walk until you don't recognize the houses, and then walk a little more. Realize it's getting late, and you should probably head back. Stumble inside and head to the kitchen.  Pour yourself one more drink.  Whiskey, most likely.  Sip and remember, then sip until you forget...

At 20 minutes, it's a much longer track than I normally make, but I wanted to make something pensive and melancholic that you can get lost in.  I think I achieved that effect just fine.

Click below to listen on YouTube:

Listening to: The Facility

By Simon Stålenhag. Music for his art book The Labyrinth.

Click below to listen - (Fixed the link!)

Art by Simon Stålenhag

Listening to: Viral Incubation

New album by Void Stasis, published by Cryo Chamber (a great ambient music label). From their Instagram:

Void Stasis returns with the sequel to their debut album Ruins. A dark gritty and industrial sci-fi album that tells a story of an alien planet expedition gone wrong. Void Stasis is a collaboration from Kristof Bathory of Dawn of Ashes, Scott Denman of Die Sektor and Marie Ann Hedonia.

Recommended for fans of Xenomorphic soundscapes, Sci-Fi horror and gritty alien atmospheres. CD and Digital version comes with a 16 page booklet with logbook excerpts written by Void Stasis.

Love the idea of the logbook.  I'm a big fan of found-artifact horror-mysteries, and the pairing of ambient tracks with readable writings creates an engaging multi-media experience.

Click below to listen and purchase:

New Original Song: Introduction to The City

This track starts slow and dark, eventually building into something a little more heroic.  Trying to capture the feeling of taking a night drive through a new city for the very first time.

Click the image below to take a listen!

New Original Song: Above The Collider

Just created another track in VCV Rack.

Went for something a little grungier this time around. It starts out with a softer, Interstellar-esque melody but eventually distorts and degrades into harsh electrical warbles.  Going for that gritty synth-y sci-fi sound.  

Click below to listen

New Original Song: Alley Cat

Just created my first modular synthesis patch using VCV Rack, a virtual Eurorack software.  Been experimenting around with it for the past few months, but I finally decided to record a track and upload it!   I can't wait to create more music with this (free!) software.

Click below to listen to Alley Cat

Listening to: Left for Dead

New album release from Halloween at High Noon. I look forward to their annual release every year. I really like this one; many of the tracks remind me of the "classic" HaHN albums. 

Click the image to listen

27 days until Halloween 

Listening to: Apparition

Another great track from Ken Elkinson.  As the first song on his Halloween Ambient album, Elkinson draws the listener in with an almost windy and hollow instrumentation.  It is slow, and peaceful, but also eerie and mysterious.  The feeling of the song undulates between wonder and trepidation.

It's probably my favorite ambient album intro-song of all time.

Click below to listen...

Image source. (So chosen because this is pretty much exactly what I see when I hear this song)

Listening to: Fear

Halloween ambient track by Ken Elkinson. This track is a longtime favorite of mine.  I think this would make a great haunt soundtrack; it evokes an ethereal sense of paranoia.

Definitely recommend listening to the entire album, which is available on YouTube: Ambient Holidays, Vol. 3 (Halloween Ambient)

Listening to: Kvitravn

2021 album from the Nordic folk band Wardruna

Click below for a listen:

Listening to: Music for Satanic Children

Fantastic album by one of my favorite artists, Simon Stålenhag.  While many of his musical albums serve as official soundtracks for each book of his illustrations, this album stands on its own.

The songs are slow and creeping, evoking the feeling of walking suburban streets alone at night.  There is a sense of nostalgia, as though you are visiting familiar landmarks from your childhood town, recalling the eerie mystery of urban-legends you heard from your grade school friends.

Seriously check out this album.  I also recommend checking out Stålenhag's visual work, along with the accompanying soundtracks. Link to his site is in the sidebar.

Click below to listen