Manifest Bliss – United Freedom Collective

With the sun out as it is today, there’s a lot to like about this record.

Manifest Bliss is the debut single from United Freedom Collective, a new project from Mathieu Seynaeve, WaiFung Tsang and producer Robbie Redway. They say their music draws on the clinical work of Seynaeve and Tsang while also taking influence from worlds of Zen Taoism, Chinese plant medicines, and worldwide healing traditions. Lofty goals, but it really does come through, in a Bonobo and Maribou State kind of style. Enjoy!

Signals – Marconi Union

Marconi Union will probably forever be known as the guys that produced the album that was found to create a 65% reduction in anxiety, and a 35% reduction in physiological resting rates, aka the most relaxing album ever.

Given that reputation, I was surprised to find that I was not just enjoying, but really getting into their latest release, Signals.

The style is closer to modern jazz than ambient. Driven by rhythm (and not the subs that you would normally expect) it almost feels like the kind of release you would expect on Gondwana. Despite its moody energy, the album is also great for relaxation.

Bonus album: here is Weightless, the album I described up top. I challenge you to put this on and not fall asleep.

Whities 029 – Lord of the Isles

It is so hard to do spoken word over music without it sounding forced. For me, producers who dabble in the genre tend to turn out tunes that disappoint (recent examples include Wayward and Tom Demac). So it is always a bit of surprise when I come across one that I love.

Maybe it is because I am a sucker for an accent, but I can’t get enough of this all-Scottish partnership: producer Lord of the Isles, and poet Ellen Renton.

The highlight is Inheritance, but the EP delivers a beautiful ambient soundscape throughout.