Counting Sunsets

I've been a big fan of what is called ambient music for decades. My first foray into that angle of sound came while lying with my girlfriend mostly in the dark on her bed. This was back in the mid-1970s (door open of course).

She wanted me to listen to this new album called Timeless by guitarist John Abercrombie, keyboardist Jan Hammer, and the great drummer, Jack DeJohnette. The 12-minute title song at the end of the record dumb-founded my 16-year-old ears.

The term "ambient" music wasn't really used much back then. The most common category would have been "experimental" music, possibly "atmospheric" jazz-fusion. Whatever they were going to call that stuff, it was on the rise. Brian Eno, Tangerine Dream, Laurie Anderson, Klaus Schulze, Kraftwerk and so many more were gearing up back in those days.

One of the most prolific groups doing this kind of work here in the 21st century is called SUSS. They actually operate out of New York City, but their sound is 100% nighttime desert and mountain driving music — spooky, dreamlike, and very much located in spirit west of the Mississippi. SUSS's newest collection, which came out in mid-May, is called Counting Sunsets. It consists of 10 songs titled, simply, as numerical sunsets.

One reason I enjoy ambient music is that, just like sunsets (and sunrises), there is usually a combined sound of ephemeral beauty mixed with the mystery of distant longing, and an awareness of how, like sunsets, change occurs in extended moments played out long enough for us to appreciate before they gradually fade.

There are dozens of fine ambient music creators everywhere in the world these days doing astoundingly beautiful and powerful things with sound if you know where to look and you are willing to open up your ears. Go check out Counting Sunsets to get started.

Counting Sunsets, SUSS (Northern Spy Records)

Thanks for reading.