A few ambient picks for today to help you ease through the summer heat, making you feel like you’re already home (if you’re at work) hanging out in your yard, the air cooling as the last rays of sunlet glimmer through cracks in the treeline above.  I usually like to post up 4 picks, but today’s tunes add up to over half an hour’s worth of relaxing drones.  I used to have a huge backyard as a kid living outside Cooperstown, NY, and I would spend a lot of time playing and exploring the land around our house, which was built in 1825.  I attribute a lot of my imaginative abilities to having to make my own fun and my own adventures as a kid growing up in a rural setting.  At any rate, some of these songs take me back to that big field of long grass, and the ponds and the cow tunnel.

This first track represents the field at dusk. I had originally met Carl Ritger (aka Radere) at Moodgadget’s Fall Tour stop in Philadelphia, at Inciting HQ.  Carl has done a lot of writing for the folks at Resident Advisor, among others.  Well, I was back at Inciting two weekends ago for the 3rd year anniversary of Broketronica, and ended up recognizing him, we spent a while talking about what we each had going on amidst the slammin’ sounds of Starkey, who spun the best damn dubstep I’ve heard since Dub War.  This track has nothing to do with any of that, except I found it in my inbox to help nurse my hangover the next morning.    A beautiful and immersive guitar drone, woven with organic loops and other sfx, this unmastered version of the track will appear eventually on his forthcoming EP, it’s been on heavy rotation for situations where I just need some peace and balance.

The second track represents the field at night, it’s a track by Chihei Hatakeyama called Bonfire on the Field.  You can certainly pick up on why, the glimmering sound throughout paints a picture of a dark field of greens and blues meshing against the horizon, and a glint of yellow and orange light amongst the serene flashing of fireflies.

The third track represents the field at dawn.  I know we’ve all heard our fair share of m83, and it’s possible I’ve already posted too much about them, but this track is a great choice to round things out.  I passed over it at some point in the past couple days, it definitely captures the feeling of sitting in a field after an all-night affair, a drive through the early morning mist, and a seat on the hood of the car because the grass is too wet to sit on as the night finally comes to a close and the sun rises, signaling the start of a new day for the rest of the world, but the end of the previous one for you.  I’ve been getting home later and later on weekends, this track is perfect to help put you to sleep when those first rays of sunlight have reached just the right angle to shine directly in your face.

Radere – Maple Drip

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Chihei Hatakeyama – Bonfire on the Field

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

m83 – Midnight Souls Still Remain

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Posted in Music Posted by Alex on May 29 2009 12:00 pm

Tags: Chihei Hatakeyama, m83, Radere