Sonic Gardens: Quarantine Day 14
It’s 3 AM and the rain is falling as I put the needle to the grooves of Evidence’s The Weatherman LP - an album I’ve consistently kept in my ears since its release thirteen years ago. It captures a grimey west coast style of production rarely found on other LA releases. The mood is set via heavy drums, rattling bass and knocking syths. Tunes are bright, banging and uplifting. Samples interspersed with original compositions, a production style that today seems commonplace but was just beginning to evolve upon the album's release. It’s an album for the ages. It’s an album for quarantine.
I’m on day 14 of no work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No lies, the first week I treated it like a vacation, processing heartbreak I ignored the warnings and did not practice social distancing one bit. The sun was out in the Pacific Northwest and I stayed surrounded by friends, hitting parks and inviting people over for communal meals. I kept my usual mix of turn up rap and modern jazz playing but wasn’t really tuned in. I was distracting myself from the flip my life had taken.
As the government instituted stricter policies and took to selecting industries they deemed “essential” my conspiratorial mind couldn’t help but fear the worst. Suspension of civil liberties, restrictions of freedom, chaos and a change to the way neighbors look at eachother. Of course this catastrophizing wasn’t healthy and I retreated to music, my constant uplifter, to realign myself mentally, spiritually and emotionally. Life really isn’t all that altered. And there are people dying due to a disease we know little about but are rapidly getting familiar with.
I came out of this downward spiral with a burst of motivation to move into a new room in my house. I live with 7 other guys, so in many ways I have absolutely nothing to complain about in this interlude to a new way of life. I moved to the sounds of another more modern LA rapper/producer Pink Siifu, whose blunted rhythms merge jazz and hiphop sensibilities in an almost indistinguishable manner. Black Sands is a collaborative journey with Akai Solo that is reminiscent of the Lootpack. It’s a hypnotic journey that begs to be played on loop, sound waves to be soaked up via your whole body like the grass does the rain that’s returned. Siifu’s breakout project Ensley, a dance party future funk record from Japan based Night Tempo and Joyner Lucas ADHD also crept into my ears - each one distilling a vibe over my shifting of space that set a mood as I set to decorating and organizing.
As the quarantine orders evolved and my selfish mind settled on the idea that I had a part to play via interacting less with the world these sounds helped restore peace to my soul. There is an unknown factor to what’s to come, but I’m ok with that today. Music has that transformative power of instilling a safe space atmosphere over whatever it touches, and it touches everything. I used to write these columns, and distractions removed that connection from me. But as I put the latest episode of Soulection radio on I was flooded with the urge to write - call it the vibe in my new space, acceptance of the state of the world, a shifted mindstate that was clouded by substances for fifteen years. If there is any reason to put words to a screen after a far too long break it’s to document life as we know it changing.
The rain has let up, one of my house mates with “essential” paperwork is leaving for work and “Chase the Clouds Away” comes crackling through the speaker. The Weatherman LP is at different turns dark and light. Ev crafted an LP that captures these dualities of life few rap projects do. He offers hope over chopped vocals and sunny keys. It’s a perfect album for the contemplation we are stuck with today.
“It’s just today the world don’t feel ugly.”
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