I've always had a sneaking suspicion that there were ambient artists in Minneapolis. Given the solitary, humble tendencies of the genre, it makes intuitive sense that they wouldn't be the most discoverable. I haven't done a ton of searching, so it's probably also on me. I was very pleasantly surprised when I came across Ambient Endeavors, the project of Minneapolis' Andrew Schibilla. The name gives it away, so I was immediately intrigued, but when I found references to Hammock and Explosions in the Sky on his Bandcamp, I was sold.
"Ogden" is Schibilla's latest dive into beautiful atmospherics. It hums with a sense of natural wonder, each moment more overwhelming than the last. Within the world of the song, there are no boundaries. Textures transfuse into an uplifting mixture of affirmation and awe as spectral piano chords peak out from the heavens. The Hammock influence is especially apparent - I can deeply recognize their gorgeous brand of uplifting melancholy at the core. If you've ever wanted to know what floating in heaven sounds like, check out this track.
Betazoid - "Scam Likely" video (dir. by AP Looze)
It's somewhat ironic that I'm getting around to covering Betazoid's new video just now, after the climate change gods finally decided to let a cold front slap the Twin Cities upside the head. Willful ignorance is the best response to such depressing shifts in weather, so might I suggest that you let the "Scam Likely" video help you out with that?
Taken from the trio's eponymous 2018 EP, "Scam Likely" is a languorous, Popsicle-filled callback to summer. The tune really takes its time, like it's being weighed down by the drag of humidity. It plays with expectations, building false anticipation that some drums will kick in or a new melody will spark momentum. Instead, it ignores that and stays sunnily stagnant across its run-time. Cultivating a mood takes precedence over dynamics, which is quite thematically in-tune with the "ode to summer" the band aimed for.
The video, directed by AP Looze, is delightfully lo-fi, toeing the line between anachronistic spaciness and sun-drenched fun.
Taken from the trio's eponymous 2018 EP, "Scam Likely" is a languorous, Popsicle-filled callback to summer. The tune really takes its time, like it's being weighed down by the drag of humidity. It plays with expectations, building false anticipation that some drums will kick in or a new melody will spark momentum. Instead, it ignores that and stays sunnily stagnant across its run-time. Cultivating a mood takes precedence over dynamics, which is quite thematically in-tune with the "ode to summer" the band aimed for.
The video, directed by AP Looze, is delightfully lo-fi, toeing the line between anachronistic spaciness and sun-drenched fun.
The Nunnery - "Proud" video (dir. by Sarah Elstran)
Somehow we ended up with two distinctly summery videos in this week's round-up, despite the fact that autumn is finally descending. Huh. Weird. Anyways, the Nunnery put out a video for "Proud," and it's great.
I'm not entirely sure how something can be affirming and menacing at the same time, but "Proud" does it. It's sort of like that friend who's really into self-care and kind of aggressively wants everyone to be happy. The song's primary lyric - "I'm proud of you for getting out of your house" - are sung with laser-focused conviction by Sarah Elstran. It's the extremely bare-bones sonic accoutrements (mostly just hand claps) that give "Proud" its edge. That's all it needs, though. Nothing else could stand up against Elstran's voice. It goes wherever it pleases, slipping and sliding across a variety of backing vocals and harmonies.
In the video, which Elstran directed, she bikes around before going to a charming picnic/gathering, which eventually devolves into a joyful sequence of choreography (by Little Works). Watch it below, and make sure to check out We are the Stars, the album that "Proud" calls home.
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