The Refuge

With this format, I want to document the music I am listening to at the moment. Of course, there are automated services doing that for me such as Spotify with its yearly Wrapped format or last.fm with its scrobbling functionality that has helped me track every single listen of music since 2018. However, these services don't really tell me why I've liked something or how I found out about some song or another.

That's what I'll be trying with these (probably semi-regularly) posts. I am calling it "The Refuge" as that's exactly what music is: a momentary escape from whatever is around us, be it distractions when we need to focus, worries of our day-to-day life, the fear of just being with our thoughts, or our current mood.

Sinfonia No. 11 in G Minor - Bach, Glenn Gould

So let's start with a soothing, slow piece originally by Bach and interpreted by Glenn Gould.

Classic is not my main focus at the moment, but I just couldn't get the sample out of my head after hearing this next track. Featuring some radio interview snippets of the man himself.

Caligula - Delachute

Speaking of not getting something out of my head: this guitar riff accompanied me for some days after hearing it for the first time. While I am not the biggest fan of high-pitched male voices, I did like the way they interplayed with the melancholic vibe of the whole track.

Nerve - Huess

Can't remember where I found this track but I really like the clear vocal sample bouncing around the headphones, the heavy delay and the gritty bass pulling it all together. Reminds me of a more dirty I'm God by Clams Casino or a much slower and less digital Untrust Us by Crystal Castles.

Oda do butli - QueQuality

As my Spotify Wrapped undoubtebtly showed this year, I have been listening to Russian rap quite a bit since starting to learn the language last year. Listening to music in another language I can barely grasp opens a whole new world for listening. Sometimes, I venture out into completely unfamiliar languages like with this track from Poland. Reminded me a bit of 6/12 by Всё будет хорошо.