If All Else Fails, Be Kind

I’ve learned something over the last few months, and that is that people can be good. It’s much easier to see differences; political, religious, ideological, social, and just automatically build a protective shell between you and them. I’ve done it. It’s natural to protect yourself from those you view as the “enemy”. Some folks can […]

zakè, Marc Ertel, James Bernard, From Overseas : Live At The Gothic chapel

The last place you’d think would be the home base of one of the most prolific and forward-thinking ambient/new age music record labels is Indianapolis, Indiana. But then again, why not? Past Inside The Present has proven to be a most prolific home to the world’s finest purveyors of ambient/new age, putting out music by […]

Hello From Wherever This Is

Hey. Yeah, I’ve been a little absent this week. Call it mental fatigue, preoccupation, or just a lack of hard drive space in the brain to sit and write, I just haven’t been in the right place to expound on albums or tell more Midwest tales of growing up. Sometimes things happen and you start […]

“in the shadow of memory/spirit”: Neil Lord talks Future Museum’s New Album ‘Dorsal Fin’

Future Museums is the musical project of producer/musician/songwriter Neil Lord. Lord locks into both the Komische/Berlin School world of artists like Cluster, Ash Ra Tempel, and Klaus Schulze, as well as ambient/New Age vibes of Windham Hill and Private Press releases of the 70s/80s. There’s always an ethereal and naturalistic approach to his work. Nothing […]

Weird Things On Shelves Are What Life Is

Been awhile since I’ve sat down to just empty the old brain of all the clutter that’s accumulated. Have I been too busy for the mental upkeep? I don’t know, maybe. I doubt that, though. Even at my most time-lacking moments I’ve made space to sit and click and clack on the keyboard to release […]

Rob Mazurek/Exploding Star Orchestra : Lightning Dreamers

Rob Mazurek makes music that tows the line between chaotic musical abstractions and groove-oriented excursions. Composer, cornetist, and visual artist that came up in the Chicago underground music scene, Mazurek made his name in bands like Chicago Underground, Isotope 217, Black Cube Marriage, as well as his project Exploding Star Orchestra. He locked into the […]

Temples : Exotico

Temples dropped their debut Sun Structures in 2014, perking ears with their retro look and sound, locking into the psych pop/rock resurgence brought to the mainstream by Kevin Parker and Tame Impala just a few years earlier. Their 70s haircuts and Partridge Family-adjacent outfits matched perfectly with their slightly woozy but pop-centric sound. Temples has […]

The National : First Two Pages Of Frankenstein

By now The National have become profs in the Indie Rock University and have made tenure. The Brooklyn band by way of Ohio can do no wrong. Their 2010 album High Violet cemented their stature as the voice for the broken-hearted and world weary coffeehouse intellectual. Lead vocalist Matt Berninger has always had the look […]

Paul Riedl : Ocean of Peace

Paul Riedl has proven to be one of the preeminent sonic purveyors of New Age bliss and cosmic ambient vibes. His late night zone out recordings are in stark contrast to his work as frontman for the cosmic death metal band Blood Incantation. Though the band’s last release, 2022s Timewave Zero, was all brooding analog […]

Tim Hecker : No Highs

Tim Hecker works in the electronic music realm, though it’s hard to put him into any sort of neat and easy box. His music is the equivalent of abstract art in music form; he lays out audio maps and we’re tasked to check the coordinates and follow them to some conclusion. His work lays in […]