Psychic Driving – This Devil Ship
First up tonight, rage bathed in tranquility — or maybe more accurately, a representation of the sort-of relieved quality that resignation can sometimes take on. This song by Scottish producer Psychic Driving (real name Ross Drummond) centers around the final transmissions from Vladimir Komarov, the Soviet cosmonaut who boarded Soyuz 1 despite knowing it was critically compromised, irate at the people who sent him to his death (his was the first in-flight death in the history of spaceflight). While Komarov’s words were apparently furious (he is said to have fumed, “This devil ship! Nothing I lay my hands on works properly”), Drummond frames them in celestial and hauntological beauty, a pining for an unrealized future, the merging of space-age optimism against the corporeality and tangible quality of facing one’s death. You can grab this on bandcamp or find it for streaming, but Drummond was also nice enough to let me post the mp3 for you below.
Psychic Driving – “This Devil Ship”
You Are Here – Hover
For me, so much of the experience of listening to ambient music is down to setting. I’ve been pretty averse to gentle ambient soundscapes lately. It’s likely a result of feeling deeply stressed and overwhelmed at work and having two very young children and not enough money, and those feelings have me gravitating towards music that propels me forward. But I happened to listen to this song by Texas-based composer You Are Here (real name Tyler Martin) while drinking cranberry juice at dusk in my backyard, and in that setting, this hit just the right notes at the right moment. Maybe it will for you too (I recommend it with a cool drink on a warm night). You can grab this on bandcamp or find it for streaming all over.
You Are Here – “Hover”
Sun Echo – Echoes in the Dark
In the same vein as the previous track, this ambient piece by Sun Echo, Toronto-based composer Rob McAllister, embodies setting. The song centers around a field recording McAllister captured on a summer night on the banks of a babbling stream, crickets peacefully chirping away. That recording alone communicates plenty, but add to it some soft, angelic chords and a few subtle interwoven melodies, and you can rest your head on a pillow of sound. This was released by Canadian label Signal Alchemy, which releases loads of serene organic ambient music. If you like this sort of thing, their catalog is a treasure trove. No bandcamp, unfortunately, but you can find this for streaming anywhere, and the label was kind enough to let me share the mp3 with you here.
Sun Echo – “Echoes in the Dark”