Currently listening to: Sound Check at Cherry Lane Theatre by Blood Orange
Hello, friend.
Hope you’ve been well. Surviving the summer heat?
Apologies for the absence last week—I was moving to a new apartment in 103 ºF weather (39 ºC for my non-American friends). That was… an experience.
Still getting settled, but Christine and I are infatuated with our new town and its walkable main street.
The day we moved was the first Friday of the month, and during the evenings of these “First Fridays”, the town’s many independently-owned shops, art galleries, and restaurants open their doors and invite visitors to enjoy special events like live music, free gifts, and social gatherings. Sadly, we decided to skip this first First Friday out of exhaustion from moving (we went and jumped in my in-law’s pool too, so it wasn’t all that sad).
The day after we moved was a Saturday, which meant the Farmer’s Market was taking place. We strolled down to a local coffee shop for some morning sips, then followed them up with bagel sandwiches from a different spot next door. Bellies full and eyes bright with the charm of the morning, we wandered our way to the market where we found local eggs, fruits, and veggies, specialty spices, freshly squeezed juices, caciocavallo cheese, and pierogies. After walking away from the stand where we bought a cup of carrot-ginger juice, we heard the two women who sold us the juice cheer for themselves that they just made their first ever sale.
A handful of days passed. We unpacked boxes upon boxes—still many more cover our creaky hardwood floors—and our new home was beginning to take shape. At one point, a neighbor left some dry goods at our doorstep to welcome us to the building. We ate the pasta for dinner just last night.
On Wednesday, my birthday arrived. 29 years lived, hopefully many more to come. I awoke to Christine making me breakfast. I gleefully opened gifts from her and my mother-in-law—new films for my collection!
While I had to work during the day—life comes at your fast!—we celebrated in the evening with a brief visit to a local record shop before dinner and drinks at a salumeria and bar. Christine spoiled me and bought me this German import of THE SOCIAL NETWORK soundtrack. Hell yeah. I drank 2 Negronis made with barrel aged gin, ate cheese, olives, and various cicchetti. We got free champagne, cake, and gelato, courtesy of one of the bartenders who happens to know Christine from childhood.
Today, I’m only working a half day. I don’t know exactly how I’ll spend the afternoon off yet, but I’m excited to find out. I do know that, later in the evening, Christine will be taking me on a dinner cruise out of Hoboken, complete with a buffet, a DJ, and skyline views of NYC from the water. Should be quite a treat.
Now, it’s the early hours of Friday morning and I’m listening to a random album stumble, writing as the sun rises, thinking about the many good things with which this life has blessed me. Above all is time. For many of you, 29 years may be a fraction of what you’ve spent. For others, it’s lifetimes later. All I know is that, if this, my 30th year, were to be my last, I would still feel luckier than most.
The Living Music List
Hello again, friend. I hope you enjoyed today’s reflection—and I hope you have some good things in your life worth appreciating. If you’re feeling a bit bereft today, maybe some new music can fill your cup. Here are some new records for you to check out.
By the way, I’m quite behind on listening to all the music that get submitted to me here at Hum, Buzz, & Hiss, so if you’re an artist or a label and wondering if I’ve heard your work yet, just know that I’m digging my way out of emails and hopefully will soon!
Happy listening.
A Certain Distance by ndrw cnry (album / lofi, drone) [Independent]
There’s this fun little app called Music League that my cousins and I play together—each round has a different theme you submit songs for, and then vote on which songs you like the most. This week’s theme is “Songs that you wish were longer” (must be shorter than 2 minutes) and I found it fitting that I finally listened to ndrw cnry’s A Certain Distance at the same time this round was taking place. All the tracks on ACD are little ambient vignettes that artist Benoît Pioulard described as “little flashes of memories that drift by before you’re ready for them to depart.” Despite their short lengths, these miniature moments invite you into their warm pools of sound, slowing the seconds and sending the mind venturing forth toward parts unknown.
Se stiamo fermi, tutto si muove by MAREINTERNO (compilation / experimental electronic) [MAREINTERNO]
In Turin, Italy, a group of musicians have been hosting some live ambient concerts at intimate venues. Now, they’ve released their first compilation featuring 8 ambient electronic tracks that meet their motto of creating “a space for wavy music and deep immersion.” In English, the title means, “If we stand still, everything moves.”
Piano Distance by NAKAMURA Hiroyuki (album / minimalist, ambient piano) [Beyond Boundaries Music]
This solo piano record earns its space on the list because of its fascinating use of space: the artist built their own spatial audio system specifically for composition, recording binaurally. The result is a lowercase-esque record that really shines on good headphones, the piano notes, in their various, often unexpected textures, striking like soft bolts of lightning at different points in the room around you. Brilliant quiet listening.
ʅ͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡(̸̢̛̼̞̭͋ͅ)̸͚̰͛̔̾̀̿͒͂:̴͓̞̑̌̂̆̊͋̀:̸͎̟̯̂̓̌ ҉ ͡ ͞ ͞ ͞ ҉● ࿀ ● ࿀ ● ҉⃝ ⃝͢ ͞ ͘ ͞⃝̕ ͢ ̛ ⃝ ̸ ̡ ͢⃝̧ ͡ ͡ ̀ ̧ ̢⃝͜ ҉ ͞ ͞ ⃝͞ ͘ ͞ ͡⃝ ⃝҉҈҉҈҉҈҉҈҉҈҉ :̶̢͙͙͕̠̩͆(̷̮͍͚̫͚͂̍)̵̳̗̊( ̟̞̝̜̙̘̗̖҉̵̴̨̧̢̡̼̻̺̹̳̲̱̰̯̮̭̬̫̪̩̦̥̤̣̠҈͈͇͉͍͎͓͔͕͖͙͚͜͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢ͅ l̡̡̡ ̡͌ Ɵʅ͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡(̸̢̛̼̞̭͋ͅ)̸͚̰͛̔̾̀̿͒͂v̴̢͚͚͎ȯ̶̞̮͖̑̈́)̸̳̥̰̜̥̺̐ͅ)̴͎̜ by ⣎⡇ꉺლ༽இ•̛)ྀ◞ ༎ຶ ༽ৣৢ؞ৢ؞ؖ ꉺლ (album / house) [Independent]
A new, full-length release from Kieran Hebden (Four Tet)’s Wingdings alias. This one explores Asian-inspired instrumentation, mixing danceable house beats with some more spaced out synthtronics.
new avatar by Kelela (album / R&B, electronic) [Warp]
This album sounds like another promising entry in the realm of R&B that dances into darker electronic sounds, breakbeats, and washed out guitars (think of the glitchier, more modern lofi sounds of artists like Frank Ocean or James Blake). There are echoes of other eras too, though, like ‘90s and early ‘00s underground electronic works. Tying it all together is Kelela’s crystalline voice that cuts through the gritty beats like a warm knife.
Fire From the Hip by Finn Wolfhard (album / indie rock) [Night Shift Productions Inc.]
Finn Wolfhard (of Stranger Things fame) first made his music debut in early last year with the short album Happy Birthday, featuring a song that I absolutely love in Choose the Latter. Now, he’s back with a sophomore effort that continues his rough-around-the-edges indie pop-rock sound, which is evident from the opener, I’ll Let You Finish. But this time, there’s also some folk vibes entering the moving picture on a few cuts like Lights Go Down and Trail. Really excited to keep following the evolution of Wolfhard’s artistic career, no matter what medium he chooses to play in.
Music List Reminders: Bandcamp links provided first when available—if an album is not on Bandcamp, then YouTube or other preview links are provided. List format: Title by Artist (release type / approximate genre or subgenres) [Label].
That’s all for this week’s issue. Thank you for reading. Until next time.
Your friend,
Melted Form
Read the previous issue of The Living Music List:
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As always, I would love to hear and recommend your music, especially if it’s new and ambient/electronic/experimental. However, please note that I am not able to respond to every inquiry I receive.
Some good stuff here! I’ve been listening to the new Kelela one a fair bit, and love Andrew Conway’s album which we reviewed on Wall Of Ambient
glad your move went well! and 🙌 for the wegmans haul! love going to my local one. so many good things there!