as i write this, Glen Miller’s Moonlight Serenade drifts through the room. the same old recording—Glen Miller and His Orchestra from wartime america, 1944. you’ve probably heard it before. i’m thinking about a few things as i sit over here mulling over the rhythm. along the lines of how a tune, in its peculiar ways, holds the weight of the person who created it. like the way strands of hair can hold onto trauma? apparently so. each note holds together a kind of bottled-up longing.

i enjoy this exchange of energy. of a person who has extracted their heart’s longing into a capsule of sound, the vibrations of which ring every cell in another’s body. connected by a thread of chance—an unexpected, life-changing moment. the fire is inextinguishable. it sparks a real source of hope, for a turnaround, a softening of the world’s edges. but with a tinge of hopelessness.

hopelessness like in the way Chet Baker croons in Almost Blue. my brain feels like it might burst, even for the nth time it plays, and a tear wells up despite myself.

only the rhythm hits hard in the gut always, jazz especially, and blues perhaps. chaos and harmony, truth and ache—everything i am, pressed into the curves of a trumpet or the mild sway of a fingertip on the keys. it understands without needing to explain. & on that note, some music from me to you:

for your pleasure

1/5 Flam by Gunn-Truscinski Duo
free jazz, experimental

this is a slow burner. it has a sprawling, open-ended vibe, painting landscapes and reflections of a struggling childhood. the themes are warm, yet slightly tainted with pain and deep sorrow. it’s an album for a long afternoon—instilling patience. it understands, it guides, but never overwhelms, walking slowly back down memory lane.

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2/5 A Paradise in The Hold by Yazz Ahmed
experimental, arabic jazz

psychedelic, sensually-rich jazz from the british-bahraini musician. such a beautiful kaleidoscopic world it holds within. every note sounds like a poem made in the name of the night. percussive cuts, arabic vocals, silky trumpets, and so many textures playfully intertwine in an intimate moment. full-bodied and warm, the sound slips through, wandering the path ahead of it, slowing down and picking up pace, teasing the listener along the way. real justice can only be done by playing the album end to end.

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3/5 A Guide To Hellthier Lifestyle by Bjarki
experimental, IDM

Bjarki is an artist in flux. i recently interviewed him for the IA mix series on Inverted Audio. both the album and the mix follow the same critique—a surreal, self-aware meditation on the absurdity of performative well-being on social media. the music is impossible to bracket, moving through states rather than styles—thoughtful, meditative, ridiculous, and deeply melancholic all at once. it’s a trip, in every sense. and, as always with Bjarki, it’s best not to ask where it’s going.

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4/5 Search History by Brassfoot
experimental, electronic

got a sneaky edge to it. the album sleeve comes with a funky note—a data privacy disclaimer that feels more like a wink and a nudge. it’s as if Brassfoot is offering a musical take on how misinformation and perspective bias spread across the web. the tone runs on a stealthy, slightly dangerous, eerie undercurrent. here sound mimic’s the web’s tangled narratives, and how easy it is to get lost in the computer bleeps. it’s kind of a very interesting thing to a) find inspiration in and b) make music about, and that’s exactly why it’s on my list.

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5/5 You Forgot It In People by Broken Social Scene
instrumental, alternative-rock

saved a little softy for last. i love this album, and especially the tune i’ve recommended below, because it feels like a memory. a friend recently said, “music makes you experience a moment you have not even lived yet,” and that’s exactly it. it’s an album that sits in the background when you’re riding the underground tube, the sun hitting your eyes and rosy cheeks every time the train resurfaces on land. it makes you love people a little more.

thank you for reading and listening. i’ve got a lovely interview coming up next on the stack. stay tuned xx