Music is to the ears what photography is to the eyes. Together, they satisfy the soul.
Music is the soundtrack to our lives, work, and to our waking dreams. I only played an instrument (the clarinet) briefly in elementary school and failed to see past the ornery, uninspired ways of my fourth grade teacher. A mistake. However, I've been a lover of music all my life, particularly classical, film music, world beat, and EDM. Here's a sampling of music that inspires my creativity and the sounds through which I see the world.
MIXTAPE
MAX RICHTER [VIVALDI'S FOUR SEASONS]
The concerto you've a million times as you've never heard it before.
ÓLAFUR ARNALDS
For when you're in flow (also, listen to him live in concert and enjoy his [perhaps] accidentally hilarious stories between songs! wait for the whale in the bathtub story . . .)
LUDOVICO EINAUDI
Anything and everything by Ludovico Einaudi. Start here.
IAMBEAR
It sounds how Iceland feels.
ERIK SATIE - GNOSSIENNE NO. 1
Under umbrella on rainy streets of 19th century France.
ALEXANDRE DESPLATS - RIVER
All things DesPlat are wonderful.
SHIGERU UMEBAYASHI - IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE
I imagine this Japanese movie to be the most haunting romance ever.
PARADIS - RECTO VERSO
Jovial French low-fi. The whole entire album.
RYUICHI SAKAMOTO & ALVO NOTO - THE REVENANT
Low resonance.
MATTHEW SCHOENING - EMOTIONAL CLOCKWORK
Infinite loop and recursion.
CLANN'S SEELIE
Universal pulse.
AGNES OBEL - THE CURSE
Soft, undulating, harmonic.
FEJKÀ
Dulcet tones.
DEVORZHUM - DEAD CAN DANCE
Melancholic World Beat with a soothing Eastern rhythm.
JAMIE XX - I DON'T KNOW
Hypnotic club beat.
AYUB OGADA - KOTHBIRO
(from the Constant Gardener)
Literally "rain is coming" Dholuo. Soul saddening and soothing.
TWO LANES - LIVE FROM MÁLAGA, SPAIN
Smooth tracks.