Tag: ambient

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Deniz Cuylan – Flaneurs In Hakone

There is a town in Japan called Hakone that is famous for its views of Mount Fuji and hot springs. This natural spa inspired LA-based Turkish composer Deniz Cuylan to layer multiple guitar arpeggios in a chaotic but harmonious way, just like a thermal spring. The end result, Flaneurs In Hakone, is certainly a beautiful piece of music that can help relax you even when the closest thing to a hot spring you have around is your shower head.

Flaneurs In Hakone is part of No Such Thing as Free Will, a new album from Deniz Cuylan. In addition to having 10 albums spanning a variety of genres, Deniz also works as a sound designer and film composer on projects such as the Emmy nominated Netflix documentary film, Mars Generation, the Netflix tv series: El Chapo and Rise of Empires: Ottoman.

Listen to this little taster of what this talented musician can do below.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Relax

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The Absolute End Of The World – La Strada Per I Vecchi Sogni

La Strada Per I Vecchi Sogni, which I think means The Road To Old Dreams, is my favorite track off Somewhere Else, the new album from one of the best post-rock acts out there: The Absolute End Of The World. As seems to be the norm within the genre, TAEOTW is a solo act and, as the name of this song suggests, the person behind it, musician Luca Maugeri, is from Italy. He started out in 2011 and has a knack for creating beautiful compositions that can transport you anywhere. He also records, produces and distributes his music himself.

La Strada Per I Vecchi Sogni is a euphoric yet melancholic soundscape that feels like drifting through the air over the Mediterranean Sea. The song seems simple and effortlessly even though actually it is not. I truly think that one of the hardest things to do is to make the complicated seem straightforward and that is what separates virtuosos from truly special composers. This song proves that Luca Maugeri, The Absolute End Of The World, is one of them. Enjoy.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Relax

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Frou Frou – Let Go

I mentioned this great song recently in another entry and I think it makes sense to feature it as this week’s #ThrowbackThursday song. Frou Frou was a British electronic duo that released only 1 album, Details, back in 2002. They disbanded in 2004 but Wikipedia claims that they reunited in 2017. I don’t know if that is true or not but Imogen Heap, the lead singer, has had a successful career as a solo artist that predates Frou Frou. Her voice is one of those you can recognize right away.

Anyway, Let Go, which was part of the Details album, gained notoriety in 2004 when Zach Braff chose it as the key track on the award-winning soundtrack of his hit indie movie Garden State. The song was also featured prominently in one of its trailers (which you can watch below). The lush electronic strings and Imogen’s distinct vocals are impossible to resist in what ended up being one of the best tracks of that decade.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Electronic

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ˈKōdəh feat. KEANA – Swerve

Kōdəh (pronounced as Kodah) is the Slovenian word for codes. Koda, on the other hand, is a Native American term for friend or companion. It makes sense then that Shakthi Prasad, a Spain-based  indie electronic music artist from India, chose ˈKōdəh as his stage name. He’s been active in the music scene since 2008 as the drummer of different progressive rock bands in Bangalore. In 2019, Shakthi decided to pursue a Master of Music in Music Production, Technology, and Innovation at the Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain, which started his journey into ambient and experimental electronic music. He is preparing his debut album as a solo artist to be released earlier this year.

His debut single, Swerve, was released already last month. It features Los Angeles-based singer KEANA, who has received training in classical and jazz vocals and met Shakthi at the college mentioned above. The track is a call for humanity to wake up and care more about each other and has been covered by Rolling Stone India. Musically, I’m not sure if it is because of the lush electronic background or Keana‘s vocas but the track reminds me a lot of Let Go from Frou Frou, a song that deserves its own feature as a #ThrowbackThursday post. Anyway, Swerve is a great debut single that flags ˈKōdəh as someone that we should really pay attention to. The best is yet to come.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Electronic

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Michael It’z – Polytechnic Confusion

Michael Caria, from Sardinia, Italy, but living in London, calls himself a designer of melancholic soundscapes. I think that’s description is spot on. His musical project is called Michael It‘z and his music, while deeply experimental, is also very pleasant to the ear. It is electronic music but in a relaxing, ambient-like way. Michael’s objective is to make the listener feel something with his music in the same way a surrealist or abstract painting can do that without knowing what the painter had in mind.

Polytechnic Confusion was released as a single late last year with Cleopatra Records, and it is also included in Michael’s brand new album: Plastika | Music For A Film. The track is a great example of everything I mentioned above and then some. Sure, it is an unusual kind of music but there’s something about it that leaves you thirsty for more. Seriously, give it a try.

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Diarmuid J Kennedy, sølstrek – Chase A Loss

You may remember Diarmuid J Kennedy from when he was featured here back in September. If that’s the case, you will be happy to hear that he’s back with another beautiful piece called Chase A Loss. This time, he partnered with fellow Irish musician Sinead Hayes, aka sølstrek, who plays the mesmerizing violin part on this piece. A match made in heaven.

This stunning track feels to me like the soundtrack to a beautiful old movie. Call me crazy but I think it got a similar vibe to the Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso, composed by the late legend Ennio Morricone. At the very least, it could be your soundtrack to a perfectly fine Sunday evening. Sit bax, relax, and enjoy!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Relax

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Fradama – Promenade Sunset

Dave Mathers is a classically trained pianist and composer from Scotland who loves all kinds of jazz music. He has been playing piano for 20 years (since he was 8) but still thinks he has much to learn, which is the right attitude to have. He started to release music last year under the moniker Fradama while working as a piano tutor for a music school in his country, and doubled his efforts this year in order to take advantage of the 2020 situation. Amongst his latest releases, I particularly liked his beautiful piano piece Promenade Sunset, which is a short but captivating track as relaxing as a walk in an actual seafront promenade.

Fradama hopes to get better known with time if he keeps releasing more music. Promenade Sunset demonstrates that he is talented enough to achieve his goals. All he needs is a little bit of luck. Give him a chance below.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Relax

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Kepa Lehtinen – Simple

Finnish multi-instrumentalist and composer, Kepa Lehtinen, is a renowned artist in his homeland, after being involved with the scores and soundtracks of multiple award-winning films and TV shows from Finland. In addition to that work, he has released three EP albums: Playing Theremin (2018), Helsinki In November (2019) and It Is Ok To Be Sad And Dark (2020). The latter EP consists of six tracks of what is considered classical electronic music, mostly because of the use of a Theremin (if you don’t know much about this peculiar instrument, I highly recommend watching this video) in some of the tracks. However, my favorite song from that EP, Simple, is just a straightforward piano piece with an enchanting melody. Sometimes, simplicity is all we need.

You can listen to this beautiful tune below.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Relax

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Marako Marcus – Raindrops of Refreshing

Marako Marcus started making music on audio cassettes in the 90s and hasn’t stopped since then. Today, he is an indie musician who likes to experiment with lofi, ambient, chill-out, and easy-listening music, giving them his own twist. His musical goal is to create cinematic compositions that allow listeners to immerse themselves into his music, and that’s precisely what he achieved with Raindrops of Refreshing, one of the singles he’s released this year.

Each one of Marako Marcus‘ songs have a story and in the case of Raindrops of Refreshing, it is about relaxing at the end of each day focusing on the positives rather than the negatives. It is a soothing song that relies on acoustic guitars to captivate the listener. On a lazy Sunday just like today, there is no better way to relax (well, besides sitting on a beach drinking cocktaila and reading a nice book, but that feels like science fiction in 2020). Enjoy this lovely tune below.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Relax

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ThePianoPlayer – Secrets

ThePianoPlayer is a musical project from Italian pianist and composer Enzo Orefice. As ThePianoPlayer, he uses his creativity to experiment with ambient and neo-classical music, but without ending up with abstract pieces. All his pieces are elegantly beautiful yet easily accessible.

Take, for example, one of his releases from 2020, the stunning Secrets. A beautiful song that reminded me of the work Ólafur Arnalds did for the show Broadchurch. Whether you are having a pretty active Sunday or a lazy one, I can’t think of better ways to end it than by listening to this breathtaking piece. Enjoy!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Relax