I’m very much an advocate of escapism in all forms. You can see hints of those deep-seeded desires hidden in my daily life—for example, the page in my journal comprised of a long list of places in the world I want to visit before I die, or how I sometimes procrastinate by perusing articles from the travel section of the New York Times. Having grown up out in rural New Hampshire, something about unplugging and venturing out into the unknown appeals to me on an almost spiritual level. So, it’s only natural that I would also love music that features sounds of nature and field recordings. Enter: Borderlands.
Borderlands is a collaborative effort between Ben, Walker and myself, and one that we’re all quite proud of. The mixtape was inspired primarily by the works of ambient masterminds Brian Eno and Stars of the Lid, who, after Walker turned me on to the wonderful world of ambient this year, have been my go-to musicians for soundtracking my reading, writing and sleeping. With that in mind, a few weeks ago I got the idea to make a mix with Walker and Ben that would focus on the idea of seclusion deep within nature—referred to here as the “borderlands”—and the peace of mind that such a retreat can give, similar to the deep relaxation that SotL and Eno’s music gives me. All of these tracks prominently feature nature sounds or field recordings, and because we were searching for such a specific niche, the artists being well-known or not was unimportant. Still, this is some of our favorite music structured in the style of a rainy August afternoon, and all three of us are really pumped to share it with you all. Enjoy.
Side I
- Do Make Say Think - It’s Gonna Rain
- Ulrich Schnauss - Between Us and Them
- Animal Collective - Two Corvettes
- Baths - Rafting Starlit Everglades
- Nicolas Jaar - Colomb
- Lord Huron - Son of a Gun
- Black Eagle Child - A Different River
- Delta Spirit - Scarecrow
- King Creosote and Jon Hopkins - John Taylor’s Month Away
Side II
- M83 - Birds
- Bibio - Weekend Wildfire
- Shugo Tokumaru - Such a Color
- Kate Bush - Aerial
- Korallreven - Loved-Up
- Koen Holtkamp - You Mean the World to Me
- The Books - Don’t Even Sing About It
- Radiohead - Give Up the Ghost
- Braids - Lemonade
- Yo La Tengo - Green Arrow
mp3 // Borderlands Mixtape
