Music for Your Studio; Vol. 23

A while back, I bought a one dollar cd called "The Sea" (pictured above) at the Salvation Army on a total whim. Over time I've played it far more than I ever expected to. I think the joy is in its simplicity - the entire cd consists of field recordings of the sea. There's no ambient soundscapes or soft beats - just waves, seagulls and shifting sand. I love how unadorned it is.


Today's pick for your studio is a recording of a summer thunderstorm in Washington state. It is related to my gem of a find - "The Sea" and equally simple. I don't know about you, but I love falling asleep while its raining. Can't beat it.

If you've been missing out on some nighttime rain or just want to clear your head- Carl Lierman's recording may be just what you need. His description of the recording says that it is a "Extract of a rainstorm in the Puget Sound area of Washington State. The rain is hitting a pavement roadway and surrounding rooftop, with intermittent rips of thunder. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50, Summer, 2009."

Get the free (and legal) audio here - who knows, this might be your new nighttime reading or sleeping music.

An Island for Everything Left

Photo of the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone by Nathan Abels

Where We Are

Fog in the morning here
will make some of the world far away
and the near only a hint. But rain
will feel its blind progress along the valley,
tapping to convert one boulder at a time
into a glistening fact. Daylight will
love what came.
Whatever fits will be welcome, whatever
steps back in the fog will disappear
and hardly exist. You hear the river
saying a prayer for all that's gone.

Far over the valley there is an island
for everything left; and our own island
will drift there too, unless we hold on,
unless we tap like this: "Friend,
are you there? Will you touch when
you pass, like the rain?"

William Stafford

Rain

It is finally raining here in Denver, and I'm a feeling a little drowsy, so I'll just refer you to some archived posts featuring art about rain -

Kana Tanaka "Passages in the Rain 2"

and

David Fried Rainscapes

Spring Snow and Rain Mix

Detail of David Fried's "Rainscape No.4", 2003,
archival c-print on diasec, aluminum, 100 x 130 cm.  

It's the first of May and it is snowing here in Denver. It was 80 degrees yesterday and snowing this morning. We sure do get some strange weather here. In light of that, I was thinking about an old post I made this time last year about David Fried's "Rainscapes" photography. Check out the post here.

And I made a Rain/Snow Mix for you:

Kana Tanaka "Passages in the Rain 2"

Kana Tanaka, "Passages in the Rain 2"
Her statement reads, "As I work with glass, I encounter diverse expressions of visible phenomena. These phenomena are everywhere in daily life, wherever light interacts with glass: windows, tableware, and fixtures. When a sunbeam enters a window, it is often scattered by small prisms. When a car passes at night, the texture of the window glass is projected on the wall, traces appear in the room, then disappear creating "trigger moments." My interest lies with these so-called "trigger moments" as they shift awareness with an instant as if suspended in a daydream."

You can see a video of the installation here.

5 Albums for Rainy/Overcast Spring Days

I have "music, and inspiration" under the heading of the blog but I haven't posted anything about music yet. Given the current weather conditions, I'll highlight some great albums to listen to on a overcast or rainy day.

Slowreader "Slowreader" - this self-titled album by former members of the Impossibles is one of my all-time favorite cds. Recommended for fans of Elliot Smith, Beck's "Mutations" album (if there were more piano than guitar), and a hint of Simon and Garfunkel, this album is perfect for a quiet day.


Blonde Redhead "Misery is a Butterfly" - sophisticated and symphonic with beautiful vocals by Kazu Makino - they were recently featured in Domino Magazine for their interior design style which compliments their sound very well.


The Radio Dept. "Pet Grief" - melancholy guitars, soft digital drums, and what one reviewer on amazon described as "electronic warmth". Well put.


The second half of this short ep which includes "Monterey (Lounge Version)" and "Droned (In Love Version)" is very quiet and spacy. I prefer shoegazer/hazy music for hazy days.


Starflyer 59 "Fell in Love at 22" ep - a short, blurry, soft album with a 14 minute instrumental epic "Traffic Jam" that I've played over and over again. I would recommend most Starflyer 59 albums, but these brief eps are right on the mark for a day like today.