POTW (2019/26): Long Afternoons

I’m shocked! We’re already half way through this year’s playlists. It doesn’t seem all that long ago I was writing the first few entries. Michelle Qureshi joins us again as this week’s curator, with her fantastic relaxation playlist, Long Afternoons. (You can check out her Yoga Chill playlist here.)

Almost as soon as the opening track by Stars of the Lid began, I could feel a wave of sleep catching up with me. Now I am typing this yawning my head off, about 20 minutes in. (My excuse: it’s late and it has been a busy day).

I would recommend this playlist for siestas or late night pre-sleep listening, or to accompany slow food with slow music. It would also work well in a spa or massage setting if that’s your thing.

[Pauses for sleep before resuming writing…]

With the aid of tea and toast smothered with marmalade I managed to keep awake and listening for about another hour. After that I resurfaced several times with the playlist still going next to my pillow. As a relaxation playlist it definitely works.

One stand-out track for me before I got too drowsy was the melancholically beautiful collaboration Renewal between Al Jewer, Andy Mitran and Michelle Qureshi. There was also Max Richter’s Dream 8 (Late and Soon) which was beautiful and irritating in equal measure; I couldn’t decide which side I was going to fall on. The last track that I remember noticing before I drifted away was Tiempo from Lionel Scardino, a solemnly evocative piano based piece with atmospheric synths and beats.

Duration: 3h 53min, 33 tracks.

Rating: U (suitable for all listeners).

POTW (2019/5): Yoga Chill by Michelle Qureshi

This week’s playlist of the week is Yoga Chill, from Michelle Qureshi, and brings together a selection of beautiful pieces in the chill out, new age, ambient and acoustic genres. You don’t need to be doing yoga to enjoy this playlist – it makes great background music for reading, studying or other non-physical activities, which is great if you’re an unbendy couch-potato like me.

Michelle Qureshi is an acoustic artist in her own right, writing and recording almost classical style new age and ambient pieces, often guitar based. She has several tracks in the playlist, so you can get a feel for her style. (She’s also included a couple of tracks by Andy Salvanos, who I’ve mentioned before in the blog.) Michelle brings a great deal of feeling to everything I’ve heard her do, and pieces like Never Odd Or Even can leave you floating off into some imaginary sunset, so I think you’ll really enjoy listening.