It’s mid-year. How in the hell did that happen? (Time — the revelator).

As I noted last year I haven’t had the time to compile music for a proper mix on Mixcloud. I miss doing that as the process is actually meditative but — well, here’s a bunch of tunes on Spotify. I’ve been spinning this collection since the dawn of 2017. There are some rhyme and reasons to the order and flow — though a lot of serendipity too.

Enjoy.

My rumbles on Mixcloud were down to a flatline this year. I didn’t have much time to assemble, analyze and mix songs. Although one of the ways I unplugged from all of the presidential election mishegas was to wear Bluetooth headphones (this pair is the best — and really affordable) just about everywhere and sleuth out new music and revisit the classics over on Spotify.

You can listen to the fruits of my departure on the new four-hour playlist I compiled last week.

If you’ve ever wondered how Tame Impala, Ella Fitzgerald, Kidnap Kid, Glenn Gould, Joni Mitchell, Frank Ocean and Shura might all find their way into the same dream field, well, then, this collection is for you.

Also, I’d like to thank artist-photographer Caleb Charland for allowing me to feature his eerie photograph, Candle with Gold Frame for the playlist’s cover. Please go explore his work, he has a unique eye aimed on nature, tech and the metaphysics in between.

Play in good health!

Every year at the end of the year I try to pull together a mix that celebrates the music tracks that I revisited throughout the year. Without time to do a proper mix this December and with February breathing down my neck as I type, I resorted to a Spotify playlist — just to keep some semblance of my aim.

Enjoy!

Frederick

Autumn on the islands that dot the Puget Sound is particularly wistful.

Fog floats inland frequently from the bay — shifting the terrain’s palette dramatically. The red and yellow foliage are made doubly loud atop grey mist.

 The damp ground littered with gorgeous debris. It’s epic.

Fall’s the season that reminds you of how everything — once present — is passing away; you’ve limited time — the impermanence of The Ten Thousand Things.

Winter and summer arrive like well-defined stage sets. Static in a way. Spring works subtly on the part of our nature that leans towards hope, a new tomorrow, love affairs, cleaner homes, it’s easier to take for granted. Summer is really hot.

But autumn. It will mess with your head. Read more

Weekend Music Discovery. Grade: A-

The eclectic electronic composer Max Richter‘s new 8-hour digital omnibus: Sleep.

Each lengthy transition is a mesmerizing transmission crafted to deliver you, layer by layer to the core of wherever you go when you fall asleep at night.

In spots some of the tracks sounds like angelic beings are beckoning, in others you’re wandering naked in fields of clover and the temperature is perfect.

And no, god forbid, these aren’t New Age lullabies. Some of the sustained tones do to your ears what moonlight does to your eyes, the equivalent of liquid silver sonics.

You can order what is essentially a sampler of the project from Amazon here. Or the full 8-hours from Deutsche Grammophon here.