#56: And the Livin' is Easy
Striving to embrace an "old money Italian" type of summer
Currently listening to: Lujon by Henry Mancini
Hello, friend.
How has your summer been so far?
We’ve reached that point in late July when all the world seems to have softened some since the heat first rolled in. The Europeans have collectively gone on holiday. Us Americans are taking our beach weeks when we can. Everything’s moving a bit slower despite the fact that it is, unfathomably, nearly August.
I’ve been basking in the sun and the warmth like a lizard, personally. That isn’t to say the day job hasn’t been busy—it has, and I’ve spent far more time at my laptop than I’d like. But I’ve been working in my off hours to embrace this season—this once hallowed portion of childhood that was the pinnacle of our freedom—for what it can be as an adult. It helps that my days have lately been soundtracked by the likes of Henry Mancini, Piero Piccioni, and Armando Trovajoli.
These endless days, though they end faster now, look and sound like an old film to me. The way the light bends down and touches the horizon soothes my soul. I don’t mind the sweat and the burning kiss of the sun at high-noon—I soak it in and soak in it, giving my fiancée a long kiss that burns much hotter than a 99-degree day.
I think about the future and our honeymoon in Italy that’s fast approaching (less than 80 days until we fly around the world). That will be October, but we’ll cling to the memory of this season as we look down at the Mediterranean from a cliffside. It’ll be like a dream. It feels too good to possibly come true, the way that last weekend’s stroll down the boardwalk in Point Pleasant felt untrue as we passed by carnival games and ice cream shops, then stopped to ride the swings, flying in a loop up high in the air, overlooking the boundless ocean, with gentle butterflies fluttering in our stomachs and the sound of children laughing down below, unburdened by anything beyond the shore, beyond the rides and the games and that endless summer day.
That’s what summertime is (or at least, what it can be)—a good dream.
The Living Music List
Hello again, friend. I hope you’re having a summer to remember. What are you listening to for help soundtracking your long days? If you’d like some ideas, here is some music for you to try.
Happy listening.
But first, an important reminder: The next Bandcamp Friday is a week from today, on August 1!
Get ready for a music shopping spree because Bandcamp will be waiving all their fees so 100% of your purchases go directly to the artists you’re buying from. If you’re a vinyl head, CD spinner, or cassette collector, Bandcamp Friday is a great time to finally pull the trigger on purchasing physical copies of the records you love. Or, buy a bunch of digital albums for your HQ collection since Bandcamp offers downloads in WAV, FLAC, and more.
Okay, now let’s get to this week’s new releases!
Ambient
Music for Nitrous Oxide (30 Year Anniversary Remastered) by Stars of the Lid (album / drone) [Artificial Pinearch Manufacturing]
It’s hard to lend words to this album or the legacy left by the duo of Adam Wiltzie and Brian McBride (rest in peace, Brian). If you have ever gone looking for ambient music, you’ve almost certainly found or been told to listen to Stars of the Lid. Their debut, now 30(!) years old, is often dark, unsettling, and sad, but it is also completely enrapturing. An essential release in the ambient pantheon, now remastered with care.
There’s a Bandcamp listening party with Adam Wiltzie today at 2:00 pm EST for anyone interested.
A Life We Once Lived by Brad Rose (album / melodic, electronic) [quiet details]
Fitting well with today’s summer theme, this new quiet details release feels dreamy, warm, and nostalgic like its title suggests (see also some of the track titles, like Paintings of Dreams and We Still Glow). I absolutely love Brad Rose’s quote here about the album: “This is a record of almosts. Almost-places. Almost-memories. Almost-love. A Life We Once Lived gathers what’s left in the gaps: the hush between pulses, the glow that never quite fades. It leads quietly toward something larger, a dream not yet spoken aloud. This is not a story, but a signal from the margins of memory—a drift through internal weather, a gesture toward something still forming.”
For those who, like me, who weren’t fully tuned in to Rose’s work, there is much to explore: he is the co-creator of online music magazine Foxy Digitalis and releases a ton of music under various aliases via his vanity label The Jewel Garden.
Tape II by Glim (album / drone, tape loops) [Room40]
There’s a gentleness about this record, which is certainly the courtesy of the Sanyo microcassette recorder on which these moments were captured. This is the kind of record that reminds me why I named this newsletter Hum, Buzz, & Hiss, for all of those elements are present here. For some background on the artist behind Glim, his name is Andreas Berger and he’s based in Vienna. According to the Bandcamp description, he “studied Computer Music and Electronic Media at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna”—and yes, I’m incredibly jealous and also want to go study computer music in Vienna.
All Genres
FIRST 4:
End of Summer by Tame Impala (single / house) [Columbia Records]
While I must admit, this new single didn’t blow me away (at least partially as a result of the burden of insanely high expectations thanks to a back catalog that is among my favorite and most listened of all time), I have a good feeling this song and the eventual album will grow on me. I’ve been in a house era like Kevin Parker seems to be, too, so I welcome this change of pace after a long 5-year hiatus. The production quality is there and his vocals sound especially great, but I hope the rest of the album diversifies the sound a bit. Still, a welcome return from one of the world’s most influential living musicians. I don’t think this track deserves the hate it’s already getting on day 1, but I understand that so many others, like me, expect so much from KP.
Moonbuilding Summer 2025 (How Did We Get Here) by Loula Yorke (compilation / electronic) [Castles In Space]
Neil Mason’s Moonbuilding Weekly publication here on Substack has finally released their new yearly print zine with a cover story on Loula Yorke, who is the artist behind this 11-track, career-spanning compilation called “How Did We Get Here”. You can learn all about the zine and the other artists featured in it right here. Otherwise, check out the bubbly, burbling, whizzing, wacky electronics on the compilation, available on Bandcamp and as a CD accompanying the zine.
The Sky Was A Mouth Again by Various Artists (compilation / avant garde, various genres) [Diet of Worms]
An algorithm stumble—this comp from Irish left-field label Diet of Worms collects experimental artists from around the world to reimagine Richard Berry’s 1955 garage rock classic, Louie Louie. I highly recommend giving the original track a listen so that when you listen to The Sky Was A Mouth Again, you can marvel at how fucking weird artists can be. I’m not sure how everyone got to where they got to with these reimagined tracks, but I love it. There’s drone, noise, folk, industrial and so much more happening here.
wa kei sei jaku by leon todd johnson (album / jazz) [Whited Sepulchre Records]
ECM jazz (jazz inspired by the works of German record label ECM, or Edition of Contemporary Music) is one of those sweet spots in music for me. It’s not rushed or helter skelter like some other brands of jazz, but it’s got the skillful, somewhat playful instrumentation you want. It’s not ambient, but it’s often quite reverb-y and spacious. It’s moody, but in an easygoing way.
This release is all of that. It is tiptoeing piano melodies, muted bass lines, recordings of bird sounds, and samples of a late ‘70s era interview with Mine Somi Kubose about the traditional Japanese tea ceremony that inspired the record’s name.
Noted in the album description on Bandcamp:
Wa (和): Harmony or unity
Kei (敬): Respect or reverence
Sei (清): Purity or cleanliness
Jaku (寂): Tranquility or silence
IN THE QUEUE:
Veronica Electronica by Madonna (album / electronic) [Warner Records]
DON’T TAP THE GLASS by Tyler, The Creator (album / rap) [Columbia Records]
Alfredo 2 by Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist (album / hip-hop) [ESGN / ALC Records]
Precipice by Indigo De Souza (album / indie rock) [Loma Vista Recordings]
WINSTON by Winston Surfshirt (album / indie R&B) [Sweat It Out]
shut up and love me by Aidan Bissett (album / pop) [UMG]
Bonus rec: A playlist of “Italian Summer Jazz” that helped inspire today’s reflection
Music List Reminders: Bold and ^ denote reader-submitted work. Bandcamp links provided for every record that is available on the platform. If an album is not on Bandcamp, YouTube or other streaming links are provided. List format: Title by Artist (release type / genre or subgenres) [Label].
One More Thing: Get in the Zone with Ingrown Records
Today, I’d like to shoutout an awesome independent record label run by someone who is a kind friend of the Hum, Buzz, & Hiss community and a crucial supporter of tons of small artists making weird, amazing music: Ingrown Records!
The North Carolina-based label, which I first featured all the way back in issue #16, just opened their Zone subscription on Bandcamp that is an incredible deal. For only about $2/month ($25/year), you get:
every past release (currently, Ingrown has released more than 130 records spanning ambient, electronic, experimental, noise, indie rock, vaporwave, and so much more)
every new release (plenty on the way)
subscriber-exclusive releases and sneak peeks
20% discount on merch and digital catalog (to gift a friend some music?)
good vibes knowing you’re supporting independent musicians making stuff you love!
From Ryan, head of Ingrown Records:
Attention Zoners: Ingrown really needs your help! You can support the present and future of Ingrown, facilitating more great new experimental, electronic, and drone / ambient music releases… I have no income and no organs left to sell, so supporting us in this way (or any way) is the perfect solution to keep the label going strong. We have so much to release in the next couple years, we could really use your help to make it happen! Please help if you can.
That’s all for this week’s issue. Thank you for reading. Until next time.
Your friend,
Melted Form
Remember to listen to the hum, buzz, & hiss of the world around you—there is music to be heard there.
Read the previous issue of The Living Music List:
Afterword—Let’s Get In Touch
Are you an artist, a label owner, or a member of the press? Want to share an in-depth feature of your upcoming release, an advertisement, or a guest post for a future Hum, Buzz, & Hiss issue? Get in touch with me at meltedform@gmail.com or join our Discord Community. As always, I would love to hear and recommend your music, especially if it’s new and ambient/electronic/experimental.
Thanks for including qd37 Brad Rose 🙏💜