Imagine a room in an unknown city. You are lying on the bed with someone. The window is open, the curtains flutter softly in the air. Occasionally, you hear the sounds of the city, muffled and distant. Time often seems to slow down, with a feeling of detachment increased by overwhelming heat or the biting cold. Both of you silently share this moment. The songs that play one after another create a dialogue in the absence of yours. You know each other just enough to not feel embarrassed by the silence, but too little to express yourselves over the top of the music.
This playlist aims to translate that feeling. Biosphère’s “Chukhung” is the introduction: it contains all the characteristics of all the following songs: an ambient and airy touch, but with a muffled rhythm as well as notes that evoke distant activity. Andy Stott’s “Numb” adds tension to the fold. Various songs like “Melancholia III”, “Limerence”, “The World Of Love” and “Daysaver” bring back the idea of time standing still. The same goes for Huerco S’ “Sea of Love”, which echoes movement in the distance. For the tracks that include any vocals (Grouper’s “Clearing” and Tomberlin’s “Any Other Way”), their use is subtle and shows a certain restraint. Others, although minimalist at first glance, offer a much stronger and theatrical expression (“Eden” and “Fugaces”). On the contrary, “Vow” or “Very Contrary Mary” represent fleeting and ethereal moments. Lastly, Destroyer’s “Grief Point” is the monologue that ends this lost-in-time moment, bringing the listener fully back into the present.
In the end all that remains is a floating memory of those moments, that you’re unsure were happy or melancholic.
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