Album Recommendations #2

Hi again! Here's some more albums you should check out!

A Midsummer Nice Dream (15th Anniversary Edition)

by Ochre

▶︎ A Midsummer Nice Dream (15th Anniversary Edition) | Ochre (ochremusic.com)

I absolutely ADORE this album. It holds a very special place in my heart. This IDM masterpiece captures your mind and then sets it free in twinkling depths of space. I frequently listen to it when observing the late night-sky, and it brings that experience from 10 to 100.  The glitchy rhythms and synth melodies will place you in a deep trance, reminiscent of Aphex Twin's works.

It was originally released in 2004 by Ochre, and 15 years later remastered with a couple of new (just as great as the original's) tracks included.

I highly advise to look up at the stars whilst listening to this incredible experience just as I did many times in warm, clear-sky summer nights through my bedroom window, allowing the starlight to grace my eyes and soothe my mind.

Favorite Track: REM Sleep Research

Now onto a different, darker, experience...

The Black Moon

by Valium Aggelein

The Black Moon | Valium Aggelein | Duster (bandcamp.com)

Dark, moody Slowcore. One of Duster's side projects, this album embodies loneliness in the best way possible. It's absolutely harrowing, and will leave you feeling incredibly empty.

I have a lot to say about "The Black Moon". Static riddled intermissions broadcasted from the depths of space is one of the most appropriate ways I can describe this compilation. Featuring fully reversed and distorted musical elements, rhythmic and repetitive guitars, some tracks can sound very uncanny to some listeners. (Including me. But that's a positive to me, personally!) Duster's characteristic percussion is also very much present throughout the track-list, which I highly enjoy.

The name of this sister-group is pretty interesting: "Valium" or "Diazepam" is an anxiolytic. Given the theme of the album being somewhat space related, I tried searching for any correlations other than the "dream-like, calm state" this drug ensues, much like the tracks present.

I managed to find this 2007 article about NASA's plan in case an astronaut becomes psychotic or suicidal while in space.

"Valium. If the astronaut won't cooperate, the drugs can be forcibly given with a shot to the arm. Crew members are instructed to stay with the tied-up astronaut to monitor vital signs."

Pretty heavy stuff. Losing your mind up-there isn't a non-plausible scenario, and the isolation plays into it. "The Black Moon" gives you a glimpse of what that (musically) might feel like. Unlike the previous album, which I associate with the wonder and brightness of outer-space, I associate this one with the emptiness of it. The empty void between celestial bodies, which is primarily what space is. Nothingness.

I highly advise to listening to this album when you're feeling under the weather or "hollow" late at night, to truly feel the music in your soul and allow the dark loneliness of space inside your mind. (If that's your thing, of course! Please take care of your mental health!)

Favorite Track: Bird Wings

See you soon! I hope you enjoy these recommendations! :)