mattyblog

Ambient music past bedtime

As I start typing, it is eleven minutes after midnight on December the 16th. I am in bed with a computer in my lap and music in my ears. This is well past the bedtime of any reasonable person for whom Monday morning requires them being alert and awake, taking care of pets or dependents and going to work. Tonight I am not being a reasonable person. I am tired, but I am unable to sleep. My mind is racing towards the winter solstice.

I am awake listening to the late Hiroshi Yoshimura's ablum GREEN from 1986. It was reissued in 2017 by Light In The Attic Records I'm not really sure how I found it. Most likely it popped up as a YouTube recommendation during some music video diving. Electronic ambient is a genre that I've not spent significant time with. I've been enjoying Yoshimura's stuff though. I've been listening to some of his records this past week while I wind down my day, and also to mask the road noise I normally hear while walking the dog.

As someone not very accustomed to ambient music there was a bit of an adjustment period over the more relaxed and unhurried pace that this style of music has. Slowly, and with a little patience, Yoshimura's songs started to reveal their layers to me. Listening to Green makes me feel like it is summer time, and I just parked my bike next to a creek. If I close my eyes I can see the water moving.

If you're up late and not ready for Monday either, you can find Hiroshi Yoshimura's 1986 album Green on YouTube.