Calm — for Radar Systems

Released: November 8, 2024

Fourth album - four letters (and a subtitle). About the state of my mind and world at the time of recording.

The looming threat of self-learning machines, their role in war. The wars themselves with horrifying acts. People being terrible to one another. The constant deafening noise of social media. Overwhelming stream of new, ever-changing information. And amidst all of it, the pursuit of peace.

Looking at the music itself, this album does a bunch of things. It offers my takes on lounge music (05), jazz (04), minimalism (03, 09), emo (06) and post-rock (10 and throughout), all filtered through the atmospheric lens of Approaching Mountains. I've probably broken a few ambient rules and some that I have set for myself, but that's what rules are for, right?

Notes: † symbol is a dagger linking first and final songs. CD version has a bonus track in the middle. All credits and other mentions of songs follow numeration of the streaming version.

Looking for the crossword? Click here.

Tracklist

1. 01. Heart Hz†01:55
2. 02. Frozen in the Searchlight04:24
3. 03. Heaven Dripping Ceiling05:16
4. 04. Riga (Ext. 0+)04:04
5. 05. Bleeding Channel07:26
6. 06. 8.2 Mm // Atlantic Lag05:36
7. 07. Serenity Radar05:48
8. 08. MCH 1503: Lavender01:45
9. 09. Liekanos03:28
10. 10. Deathcoding05:41
11. 11. † // Ø00:58
12. Overall:46:22
[CD_version = false]

Credits

Appr Mounts - alto saxophone, electric baritone, percussion, synths, field recordings, artwork and everything else.

Greg Sheffield - electric guitar (10), acoustic guitar (11), reamplification (03).

Matt Hawkins - electric guitar (05).

Ryan Owens - electric guitar (06).

Trey Cardi - saxophone (04).

Special thanks to people who sent audio recordings: Addo, Ágata, big baws, Concrete Castles, Condor One, Efka, James Schreiber, Kit Le Bihan, Laserheart, Micah Thacker, miffle, Simon, Trey.