This morning, we embrace the abstract in the ambient: the otherworldly and the primal. Press play and let your thoughts unravel like folded laundry, let them breathe and wave in the wind of these melodies. This Sunday morning, peace is no longer quite so elusive, it exhales in these rhythms before us.
The pleasure is ours to welcome [Curved Light](https://curvedlight.bandcamp.com/) to MailTape for a carefully curated selection that strives for introspective, transcendent, and even ethereal forms. Based in Austin, Curved Light releases music that border fourth world and psychedelic expressions of electronic and new age music.
Curved Light’s selection
Alice Coltrane – Hare Krishna (Universal Consciousness, 1971)
Curved Light: “I love all the complementing textures of this piece. If you only knew that the ensemble for this free jazz record included two simultaneous drummers and a string quartet, you’d never expect to hear a piece so sublime and transcendent, jubilant and ecstatic - a perfect way to rise with the sun.”
Tatsuro Yamashita – Ride on Time (Ride on Time, 1980)
Curved Light: “Clearly, the popularity of this song, and city pop as a whole, resonates so deeply with our current times. It so earnestly captures a feeling of nostalgia, yet was created as an artificial response to yesterday’s pop - and now, we’re rediscovering it through algorithms and other newly disseminated forms. Still, there’s a reason this song remains relevant - it’s a banger and really just gets ya movin’.”
Robin Guthrie, Harold Budd – Snowfall
Curved Light: “This one is probably a better pick for a dreary Sunday morning, or after a late Saturday night. Its slow-moving current and masterful restraint lends itself to moody introspection, as expected of these brilliant artists - I could just listen to this one over and over.”
MailTape’s selection
Curved Light – One Moment in the Sun
Sarah: “Expansive and yet minimal, this track brings a tremendous sense of peace and healing, especially to Curved Light themself. Recorded during tumultuous times, the track served as a space for Curved Light to craft their own moment of tranquility. The track’s evolving arrangements of snyths wash over like currents of sun rays. The analog synth halfway through must be what plants sound like when they think about growing tall :)“
36 & awakened souls – Past Self
Sarah: “Coming off the 2021 album, The Other Side of Darkness, this track’s vocal texturing reaches into celestial expressions. Love the embrace of this ambient soundscape. Such subtle calm in this one, as well as the whole album.”
Mytron & Ofofo – Red Bird
Sarah: “Off of Myton & Ofofo’s 2018 Ceremony album, this track never fails to groooove. Love the pairing of these tribal percussions with the bouncing synths. Mytron & Ofofo cultivate such an engaging meld of psychedelic and club beats, you might put this one on repeat :)“
YOM– Celebration
Sarah: “This track comes off Paris-based YOM’s newly released album, Celebration. Full of classical and jazz reflections, YOM pushes tracks into spiritual planes. Love the spiraling melodies in this track. Magical :)”
That's all for this morning! Thank you for spending your Sunday with us. Thank you to [Curved Light](https://curvedlight.bandcamp.com/) for his introspective and blissful selections and to our fantastic [Camille Célestin](https://camillecelestin.com/) for this episode's illustration!
