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Ambient Music Videogames

Citizen Sleeper (first impression)

A couple of days ago I Tweeted that I had just completed Elden Ring and that life is now empty. This was a little tongue in cheek, but I have played nothing else for the last two and a half months, clocking up around 190 hours of gameplay. There’s a strange feeling of loss attached to finishing a game which burrowed so completely into my consciousness. I have begun writing something about it so watch this space.

In the meantime, I have decided to try a new game called Citizen Sleeper, recommended by video essayist Jacob Geller (on his Twitter). The game has a distinctive art style, which instantly grabbed me, and is described as a narrative RPG inspired by tabletop roleplaying games. “Roleplaying in the ruins of interstellar capitalism” is the games tagline and now I’m on the hook.

I haven’t started playing it yet but I wanted to share the artwork and the music from the main menu and character class select screen. I’ve kind of frozen up here, unsure of what class to pick, but luckily the music is this gorgeous, echoey piano melody which oozes isolation and melancholy. I have been vibing to this for a good while now. Check out the three classes you get to choose from below for an idea of the art style and give the track by Amos Roddy a play. Watch this space for more.

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Ambient Art Pop Electronic Music Experimental Song of the Day Triphop

Song of the Day (Chaotic Neutral): Björk – All Is Full Of Love

Day 29. The video for this great tune by Björk is sadly age restricted. I do include it below though you’ll have to be logged into YouTube to watch it. The official audio on YouTube is also included below.

It’s one of my favourite tunes by Björk, a sensual downtempo piece which calls to mind the halftime rhythms of Dubstep as much as the murky electronica of Trip Hop. Great video too.

You’ll be given love
You’ll be taken care of
You’ll be given love
You have to trust it

Maybe not from the sources
You have poured yours
Maybe not from the directions
You are staring at

Twist your head around
It’s all around you
All is full of love
All around you

You just ain’t receiving (All is full of love)
Your phone is off the hook (All is full of love)
Your doors are all shut (All is full of love)
And be the little angel (All is full of love)

All is full of love (All is full of love)
All is full of love (All is full of love)
All (All is full of love)
All is full of love (All is full of love)
All (All is full of love)

Looking for some great music? Check the Song of the Day (Chaotic Neutral) Spotify playlist.

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Ambient Experimental Post-Rock Song of the Day

Song of the Day (Chaotic Neutral): Mogwai – Helicon 1

Day 22.

This entry is as much for the video as it is for the song. The aching nostalgia conveyed by the grainy, stop motion footage is supremely powerful. Especially when paired with the grandiose melancholy of the song.

Due to this song being an instrumental, I decided it might be both amusing & informative to quote the Wikipedia page for the song’s description of its composition:

The song begins with almost inaudible guitar, heavily delayed and reverberated, playing a descending three note melody. At (0:25), a bass riff (based around the chords of D major and B minor) enters. At (1:00), slightly distorted, heavily delayed and reverberated guitars begin playing along to the bass riff, swooping in and out. At (1:34), a relaxed, slow drum beat begins. At (2:50), all of the instruments pause for a brief second, then explode into loud guitar-driven noise, backed by a steady, heavy drumbeat (to which every snare drum beat is accompanied by a tambourine clash). At (4:28), the distorted guitars and drums end, leaving the soft bass riff to close the song, aided by the guitar melody heard at the start of song, all of which gradually fade out.

Live versions of the song are performed at a substantially slower tempo.

Looking for some great music? Check out the Song of the Day (Chaotic Neutral) Spotify playlist.

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Ambient Electronic Music Experimental Hauntology

d a r k w a v e – P R A X I S

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Ambient Post-Rock Song of the Day

Song of the Day (Movie Soundtracks): John Murphy – In The House – In A Heartbeat

Day 6. Attempting to stick to the two tunes per movie formula for now & choosing this absolutely huge piece of music from the introduction to 28 Days Later. In The House – In A Heartbeat is the kind of Post-Rock inspired thing which made this film stand out. Ostensibly an action film about zombies, the soundtrack & the acting gave 28 Days Later a distinct & contemporary (2002) vibe. The pretty melody building up into the intense, loud section is textbook Post-Rock & I remember wondering if this was a new Mogwai tune when I first saw the movie.

No lyrics for this one as the tune is 100% instrumental. Here’s some screenshots from the section of the film which this tune plays during.

Looking for some great music? Check the Song of the Day (Movie Soundtracks) Spotify playlist.

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Ambient Art Pop Electronic Music Experimental

‘Wrong Way Up’ – Brian Eno/John Cale and ‘Spinner’ – Brian Eno/Jah Wobble (Reissues)

Check out my review of the two new Brian Eno reissues over on With Just A Hint Of Mayhem.

‘Wrong Way Up’ In an expression of purest irony, the collaborative efforts of two of the most experimental musicians of the 20th century has led to …

‘Wrong Way Up’ – Brian Eno/John Cale and ‘Spinner’ – Brian Eno/Jah Wobble (Reissues)