Category: Relax

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Pablo Suárez – Shiver

Artist: Pablo Suárez

Song: Shiver

Genres: #Instrumental, #Neoclassical, #Piano

Location: Mexico City, Mexico

Release date: May, 2021.

Influences: Olafur Árnalds, Max Richter, Ludovico Einaudi

Comment: With composers such as the ones mentioned above as his influences, it’s no wonder that Mexican composer and pianist Pablo Suárez‘s music sounds so enchanting. It is the type of minimalist neoclassical compositions they excel at. Take for example Shiver –part of Pablo’s latest album Retrospect–, with its delicate piano melody and hypnotic strings (played by Luis Cardoso): you won’t want the song to end.

The artist’s goal with this album was to capture the intimate aspects of each instrument, minor flaws included, to produce nostalgic melodies in piano and violin. I guess each one of us will experience the record differently, but we will all find it nothing short of magical.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Relax

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Hatsü – Be Conscious

Artist: Hatsü

Song: Be Conscious

Genres: #relaxing #ambient

Location: London, United Kingdom

Release date: May, 2022.

Comment: Today, middle of the week, let’s switch gears to something extremely relaxing. Be Conscious is a hypnotic track from London-based music producer Bobby Turner, aka Hatsü, which is a Japanese name meaning Beginning. One problem I’ve found with most ambient tracks is that they tend to sound very similar to each other but, luckily, Be Conscious does not suffer from that issue. Instead, Hatsü introduces subtle changes with layer after layer of textures and tones, resulting in a gentle soundscape that will certainly help you to focus, sleep or meditate.

I hope you enjoy this ethereal piece as much as I did.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
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MIRRORS – Heading Home

MIRRORS - Heading Home

Artist: MIRRORS

Song: Heading Home

Genres: #chillout #ambient

Location: Indianapolis, United States

Release date: April, 2022.

Comment: Here’s another chill-out gem. At one point or another in our lives, we have all had to leave the place we considered home in order to start a new life somewhere else, whether it’s going away to college or moving to a new city or country because life happens. In the process, we feel homesick for the place we’re leaving behind and, at the same time, excited in anticipation of the environment that will become our new home. How will it be? Will we get used to it? That’s the feeling that young and extremely talented music producer Joe Morgan, aka MIRRORS, wanted to convey with the fascinating “Heading Home“. This spellbinding track is simply gorgeous.

The scary part – in a good way – is that MIRRORS, a name chosen based on the project’s main catchphrase, “We reflect what we surround ourselves with,” is just getting started.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Chill Out
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Toteles – Halcyon

Artist: Toteles

Song: Halcyon

Genres: #chillout #ambient

Location: Munich, Germany

Release date: March, 2022.

Comment: Some tracks grab your attention and hold it long after they have finished playing. When this happens with a chill-out/ambient song, it just shows how special that track is. As you probably guessed, that is the case with Halcyon, one of the first singles released by German artist Christoph Sebastian Pabst under the Toteles moniker, which comes from Aristoteles. Christoph has been making music most of his life, initially in projects with some friends and later on under his own name, but Toteles represents a new beginning for him, focusing on electronic music, deep house, ambient, and chill-out music. You need both talent and luck to be successful in the music business. I don’t know how much luck he has, but he certainly got plenty of talent.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Chill Out
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Mihail Tarlev – Forgotten Dreams

Artist: Mihail Tarlev

Song: Forgotten Dreams

Genres: #Instrumental, #Piano, #Relaxing

Location: Rome, Italy

Release date: February, 2022.

Comment: Forgotten Dreams is a beautiful and delicate piano composition from Mihail Tarlev, a Rome-based composer. Inspired by his own journey to start making music, this relaxing piece does feel ethereal. Check it out!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
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Antinode – The Beacon Beckons

Artist: antinode

Song: The Beacon Beckons

Genres: #ambient #relaxing

Location:  Houten, Netherlands

Influences: Vangelis, Enigma, Deep Forest

Release date: February, 2022

Comment: With the sad news of the passing of legendary and Oscar-winning composer Vangelis (R.I.P.) earlier this week, I thought it would be fitting to feature today a song that will certainly remind you of him: the alliteratively titled: The Beacon Beckons. Actually, South Africa born composes Jarp du Plessis, aka antinode, didn’t use to make synth-based music but he decided to step away from his usual melodic piano tunes when he started to work on his symphonized EP. The result was nothing short of mesmerizing.

Enjoy!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

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Diarmuid J Kennedy – Maud’s Melody

Artist: Diarmuid J Kennedy

Song: Maud’s Melody

Genres: #Instrumental, #Neoclassical, #Piano

Location: Dublin, Ireland

Release date: February, 2022

Comment: Diarmuid J Kennedy, who has been featured here a couple of times already (here and here), is back with another beautiful piano composition called Maud’s Melody. which he dedicated to his youngest daughter, Maud. The story goes that Diarmuid came up with the original melody first and then decided that it would be a nice tribute for Maud. However, her older sister, Medb, thought that the piece needed more drama to reflect her little sister’s personality a bit better, so their father ended up adding a bit of drama in the second part. After hearing this story, I’m sure we’re all dying to meet little Maud, as she must be quite the character, but even without meeting her, we can all appreciate this charming tribute from a loving father to his little girl.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

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dieg0 – Insieme

Artist: Dieg0

Song: Insieme

Genres: #Instrumental, #Ambient, #Relaxing

Location: Valencia, Spain

Release date: January, 2022.

Influences: Ludovico Einaudi, Yiruma, Mozart

Comment: Diego Salvati used to write indie folk songs influenced by Damien Rice and John Mayer, and he played them in a still-active band called Colourshop not only across the UK but all over Europe as well. He then moved to Spain in 2015 and started a solo project, Dieg0, with the focus on writing easy-listening piano melodies following the footsteps of modern composers as Ludovico Einaudi and Giovanni Allevi. Insieme, which is Italian for “together”, is his latest composition and it is as magical as any piece by those other artists.

Dieg0‘s intention with this melody was to express how we get sad and happy moments from any relationship and that we have to take them all in: “together”, the good and the bad. As an interesting tidbit, both the music video below and the cover art were taken and recorded simultaneously by Alfredo himself during a boat trip he did from Ibiza to Valencia. The sky was so grey and the sea so black, that he didn’t need to use any filter or special effect to get that dark tone.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

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Seamus O’Muineachain – Vltava/Shannon

Jana Talířová

Artist: Seamus O’Muineachain

Song: Vltava/Shannon

Genres: #Instrumental, #Ambient, #Relaxing

Location: Belmullet, Ireland

Release date: January, 2022.

Influences: Brian Eno

Comment: I discovered a few years ago that listening to ambient music while studying or working did wonders to your ability to focus (trust me, give it a try if you haven’t done it), which is why I’m always keen to discover more ambient pieces. Unfortunately, the vast majority of ambient music sounds exactly the same, and that makes finding great tracks that also sound unique all the more remarkable. Seamus O’Muineachain‘s latest album, his fifth one, is full of such tracks, with the closing piece, Vltava/Shannon, being my preferred one.

The Irish musician named this record Different Timezones because it was written and recorded between the Czech Republic (CET) and Ireland (GMT) last year. The atmospheric songs highlight simple melodies and textures in a delicate but very fulfilling way. In Vlatva/Shannon, for example, you can listen to some birdsong in the background, but just enough of it to enhance the track without letting it become too distracting. If you enjoy this piece, I recommend that you check Seamus’ back catalogue as well. You won’t be disappointed.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
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Ryan Douglas Michelsen – Dark Clouds

Artist: Ryan Douglas Michelsen

Song: Dark Clouds

Genres: #Instrumental, #cinematic

Location: Arizona, United States

Release date: June, 2021.

Comment: Dark Clouds was released last June but I hadn’t discovered this captivating piece until recently. Sadly, it didn’t receive the recognition it deserved but I can assure you few tracks feel as magical as this one from Phoenix-based artist Ryan Douglas Michelsen. Surprisingly, he started performing in a metal band but after founding his own business called Pombrah Music Publishing, he started exploring pretty much all other genres. I seriously hope he persists in writing enchanting tunes like Dark Clouds. The world needs it.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Relax