Crasstalk Ambient Mix Numero Uno

trippy earth

Hey guys! So I’ve climbed aboard this rusty, noble vessel of a blog as we sail into uncharted waters. It’s been a hectic week, so we could all probably use an audio chill pill, right?

Accordingly, I made a lil’ playlist that just scrapes the surface of the vast, soothing, tropical, haunted world of ambient, electronic, and “h-pop” (hypnagogic pop) music. All sorts of moods, seasons, and eras are used as inspiration, but they all share a submerged, Dad’s-old-VHS quality. The magic of these songs lies not so much in their ability to recapture a specific moment in time (i.e. mom’s old workout tapes, early software infomercials, TV theme song intro music) but rather in the ways they evoke our spiritual nostalgia of the half-remembered past–and the ones who do it best make music that’s never boring and clear of schlock (unless they’re incorporating kitsch into their overall sound, but I’d like to think it’s done artfully). In fact, unless you’re predisposed to disliking this sort of abstraction, I’d say it’s pretty damn beautiful.

Anyway, here’s where you download. Some of these tracks are weirder than others. Playlist below, if you’re curious ahead of time.

  1. Dylan Ettinger – “The Waterfront”
  2. Kohwi – “Tides”
  3. Ducktails – “Roses”
  4. Outer Limits Recordings – “Plastik Child”
  5. James Ferraro – “Killer Nerd”
  6. Skyramps – “Flight Simulator”
  7. Skyramps – “Dripping Water Hollows Out a Stone”
  8. Emeralds – “Science Center”
  9. Monster Rally – “Cuban Velvet”
  10. Oneohtrix Point Never – “Returnal”
  11. Rangers – “Woodland Hills”
  12. Matrix Metals – “Flamingo Breeze”
  13. Stellar OM Source – “Fantazia”
  14. Stellar OM Source – “Dynamic of Here”
  15. Stellar OM Source – “Rites of Fusion (feat. Oneohtrix Point Never)

It’s not like I’m am “ambient music expert” or anything–there’s just so much out there that few people have heard. So go on, give it a whirl. Who knows, maybe there’s a musical secret waiting to be discovered by you in this playlist! I’ll make more if there’s any interest, and please please please make recommendations if you have. Sharing is caring, etc.

ETA: If you want a preview of general aesthetic at work here:

JAMES FERRARO – LAST AMERICAN HERO, Pt. 3 from OLDE ENGLISH SPELLING BEE on Vimeo.

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