Sunday Assortment

Your new meditation soundtrack, dark ambient reflections on reclusiveness, folk fusion truth and krautrock fusion freakiness.

Another week and another midweek missive conspicuous, to me anyway, by its absence. In my defence the in-laws were here from Wednesday to Saturday, although all was not lost (I do actually like them), as I got a pass on Thursday night to venture south to Porto and attend theLAB’s Christmas party. If you have any interest in sustainable, natural or lower intervention wines and you’re in Porto (they also ship) then this is the city’s finest retail outlet. Ryan the owner is a gentleman and a refreshingly non-snobby, mine of wine information, just the guide an enthusiastic amateur like me needs. Honestly if you want to get started with wine then find your local independent store, get chatting and you’ll be well on the way.

Naturally I stocked up on some Christmas cheer to take back to England and a couple of bottles to drink now. My find so far is the Suertes Cool, a juicy fruity NAT’COOL joy from Tenerife, where I spent quite a bit of time in the 00s whilst dating a volcanologist, and which has single handedly restored my faith in wine from the island. Ryan also mentioned how some of the producers grow in such a sunny climate - they’re the maddest looking vineyards I’ve ever seen.

So now we’re nicely lubricated how about some music? My diary was bare (again) this morning - I need to get more organised in 2025, and I had to go through a stack of unread blog posts, something I realised I hadn’t done for 3.5 weeks, to find some tips this morning. Consequently these LPs are the ones who I immediately vibed off and I’m writing as I listen. Let’s hope my radar is working OK.

Sanae Yamada - Flowering Tree (Longform Editions)

Sanae Yamada is better known for her work in Moon Duo, who I recommend checking out if psychedelic pop rock is your thing. I also just found out that she masquerades as Vive la Void a meandering krautrock project which also sounds great, and if that wasn’t enough she’s now gone all ambient.

She’s not messing about either, making her horizontal debut on the well respected Longform Editions, which as you’d expect is a label that encourages artists to stretch out over one 20- 60 minute long track and give it their best horizontal shot.

Taking her apple tree blessed studio view as inspiration, she took a moment to consider life’s oft-ignored soundtrack - electrical hums, distant traffic, neighbourly pets, weather, that sort of thing; internalised them and then in a fit of impressive ambient glassblowing exhaled her new found inspirations into a drifting, deeply calming, subtly repetitive and hence hypnotic, hour long electroacoustic work that might just become your new meditation soundtrack.

Christopher Bissonnette - In A Second Floor Window (12K)

The fact that the new Bissonnette LP is being released on 12K made this an easy pick. The label’s output opened my ears to ambient music when a Berlin PR company started sending me their promos years ago, head honcho Taylor Deupree is an ambient sage, one of the genres go to mastering engineers and also a discerning label curator.

Upon reading the release notes I discovered In a Second Floor Window is the follow up to Wayfinding from 2020, an LP I wasn’t aware of, but which was his reflection on reclusiveness. As someone who moved to Porto two days before a 2020 lockdown and then spent several weeks on my own in a small one bedroom Airbnb (at least short term rentals got cheaper), I can certainly appreciate where he’s coming from. This companion piece is focused on the longer term effects of that isolation, which for many is all too real, I mean he obviously seems to still be dwelling on it, and let’s face it that’s probably healthier than burying the upset like most.

If you’re aware of Bissonnette’s work you’ll know he tends to a gently forceful, almost orchestral ambient sound, he’s not one for spa soundtracking, and this is no exception. The LP is a bittersweet affair, its hopeful undertones constantly jostling and often losing out to a deep rooted melancholy. The tone is darker than I usually lean towards, but it has a compelling, radical honesty that somehow seems to be hitting the spot today, maybe because my partner and little one departed yesterday with the in-laws for a few days?

If you want your instrumental ambient music to be saying something rather than soothing, then dive right in.

hemlock - 444 (Self Release)

Hemlock is the main musical outlet for multi-disciplinary artist Carolina Chauffe. We go back about 4 hours, but it was love at first listen and I’m now following with interest.

Currently she’s halfway through her twelve year plan, where she picks a month and writes a song a day during it. She records these intense periods of creativity on an iPhone, and in doing so has created what sounds like quite the lo-fi treasure trove.

On 444 she’s gone back through the archive, picked a few faves, called some muso mates to provide a rhythm section and guitar support, and fleshed them out into a well crafted LP that flits between dreamy ambient Americana, acoustic singer songwriter balladry, familiar folkiness and even more urgent indie-rock.

Her beautifully delivered vocal truths are the glue that binds the stylistic wandering, whether it’s her curious musings or more forceful exertions, she’s got a voice, vibe and also a band you immediately trust. If you’re curious I also spotted that she’s documenting her creative processes and thoughts here on Substack.

Von Spar / Eiko Ishibashi / Joe Talia / Tatsuhisa Yamamoto - Album I (Bureau B)

This is another one of those fusion albums I have a fondness for and inevitably struggle to describe. As always you’re better off listening to the music than me. The group came together in Germany at a Cologne festival, the three Japanese based improvisers deciding to meet up and record with Germany’s Von Spar. I’d love to fill you in about these artists but I’ve never heard of any of them, although they certainly seem to have hit it off in the studio.

I guess Krautrock is the glue that binds the tracks but be prepared for some restrained post rock, cosmic minimalism, low key abstract funkiness and some nu-jazz fusion freakiness amongst the percussive drive. It might sound like a lot but don’t be deterred. I don’t know if they left it all on the festival stage, but there’s an airiness and thoughtfulness to the sonic hustle and bustle, which would be equally at home in livelier domestic situations or as an aid to elbowing the zombie, Christmas shopping hordes.

Don’t Forget TSMM’s Playlists.

From ambient sound baths and wellness imbuing new age vibes to underground house via jazz, neoclassical, folk and dub; they cover a lot of ground.

They’re available on Tidal, Apple Music, Amazon, Youtube Music, Youtube, Deezer, Soundcloud and Spotify (if you don’t worry about them not paying most of the artists on the playlists). Just hit this smartlink to connect to the various services and TSMM profiles.