Lately my music has been all over the place. The gentle, minimal music still holds the top spot in what I have been listening to but I have broken away from that with a couple of exceptions. I think I will hi-light a few albums that have been keeping my ears busy in the last week or so, some old some new…

I will start off with an older album that is one of my very favorites and over time is one that I come back to time and time again when I need something like a lullaby. The album is called Heart and Crime by Julie Doiron. Her music on this release and many others by her is like a whisper, she has a deep calming breathy voice that always manages to calm me down when I get worked up about something. She sings of things I’m not much in the mood to talk about but ends up being a perfect match to the subtle music. Highly recommended. link

Next I think I will talk about the new Autechre release, Quaristice. For those of you who may not know, this duo is kind of the default experimental IDM masters and I have a funny feeling that fans would like just about anything they release. I have been listening to them as long as I have been listening to electronic music and with this new release I find I am having more trouble than usual getting into it. As usual they are taking an interesting new approach to what they release and more than ever I feel that they are letting things hang a little looser with this album. I feel like I made this music 5 years ago which is such a pompous thing to say but its true. I love this artist and the music they create but the simplicity of it can not be denied. I am tired of other musicians making music that sounds anything at all like it be immediately compared to them. Wow, I must be in a grumpy mood or something. At ay rate, it is a great album. I still like the first song on it the most which is a really simple ambient song. Head over to bleep to hear it and make up your own mind. link

Back to the singer songwriter genera I’ve been listening to a good bit of Damien Jurado as of late. Mostly his album Where Shall You Take Me which I really love. Its another one I have had around for quite some time now but one I often come back to. He always seems to like to tell stories with his songs which I like. Its nice to listen to music and be told a story all at the same time. I had the opportunity to mix the audio for him at a little radio station on air sort of a thing a few months ago which was great. Anyways, Im not sure what else to say about him at the moment, these are more suggestions than anything. Link

For those of you who enjoyed my last suggestion of the super minimal Daisuke Miyatani album Id like to suggest you check out a compilation album called schole compilation vol.1. Which contains a song by Daisuke as well as a bunch of other equally amazing music that will leave you with no choice but to meditate while you listen. Music that is just enough to fill your ears and mind with feeling but not so much that you feel distracted by it. Really wonderful compilation and is highly recommended. Link
Also, I somehow became hooked on the LCD Soundsystem song, All My Friend’s and I have no idea why other than the fact that it makes me feel both claustrophobic and energetic and completely depressed all at the same time which is an impressive feat. I think its a song that needs to be listened to really loudly…Thats all for this edition. Thanks for reading, and please, for your own sake, close your eyes and listen.