MoonDreams Music

POTW (2019/27): Stress-Free Zone

I chose Susan Moss’s Stress-Free Zone as this week’s Playlist of the Week. Who doesn’t want to be stress-free, after all? I’ve shared a few of Susan’s playlists before – the most recent being her excellent Eclectic Female Fusion playlist. (Susan is a musician herself: if you’d like to find out more about her and her own music, a good place to start is her Moondreams Music website.)

I set Stress-Free Zone to play whilst I read a few articles on the interwebs and then got a bit lost in the rabbit holes of Twitter. It was a good playlist for this, as the music here is generally gentle and unobtrusive, soothing even. Most of the playlist is instrumental, in meditative through to ambient styles, but there are also a small number of songs with lyrics. Although the style of the music in this playlist is a tad more sentimental in a few places than my personal taste, I was lulled into a sense of timelessness; a span of nearly two hours vaporised before I knew it.

Some of the stand out tracks for me were Jim Sande’s ambient track Diamant, and Crows Labyrinth’s Heliograph, neither of which should be played anywhere power tools are operated, as well as Enriclinaire’s haunting Thanks Pat.

I’d say this is an ideal playlist for reading fiction or studying, provided that you are not someone who will get distracted by there being a few songs with lyrics. You could spend your nearly-two-hours quite productively, if you choose, as it gives you the space to focus in deeply, whilst helping to put your mind in a state of flow.

Duration: 1h 45min, 25 tracks.

Rating: U (suitable for all listeners).

POTW (2019/24): Eclectic Female Fusion – Indie Collection

It’s been quite a while since I featured one of Susan Moss aka Moondreams Music’s playlists, and she’s been doing great things in the meantime. She’s been creating and growing a bunch of new playlists, such as her successful Billboard Top Hits and Indie list, which has nearly 400 subscribers. I thought I would focus in on another, brand new list for this week’s Playlist of the Week, however. I’ve selected Eclectic Female Fusion – Indie Collection, a hand-picked set of her favourite female indie artists’ songs.

With a list featuring some of my indie favourites like Tracy Colletto and Luna Keller, I knew I was in for a treat, before I’d hit the play button. The list kicks off with Autumn Dawn Leader’s wonderful new single, Lament for the Living, and goes on to Duffy and Bird’s 50 Paranoid Thoughts with its tight pop-folk harmonies and honest lyrics. As if that wasn’t a strong enough start, we then get Jakals’ offering Porcelain, a punchy post-rock anthem sung with real conviction. Other highlights are Sophia Garvey’s Ink, which reminds me of Paolo Nutini’s vocal style, and Lyia Meta’s rich voice on She’s Searching.

I’ve heard a few female indie artists for the first time through this list and discovered some new songs from artists I already know. I could go on, but why should you waste time reading a long article when you could be listening to the playlist for yourself?

Duration: 1h 19min, 21 songs

Rating: U – All listeners.

POTW (2019/2): Chillout at the Moondreams Cafe

Apologies, this is almost a day later posting than expected – I got knocked out of action by a New Years’ cold for a few days there. (Recovering now; normal service to be resumed ASAP).

This is one of my favourite playlists at the moment for when I’m doing non-musical work like filing my tax-return, which I did the other day. It does exactly what it says on the tin, as they say, with a bunch of songs familiar and new, many from artists you may well not be familiar with. There are covers, acoustic versions, and original versions and all perfectly suited for that half-listening-but-definitely-enjoying thing you do when the music is in the background to your main task.

The brains behind this list is Susan Moss of Moondreams Music, whose playlists I’ve featured before. This has got to be one of her best yet – enjoy!

Playlist of the Week (2018/43)

Playlist of the Week: Susan Moss's Monday Playlists - MoonDreams Music Monday and Monday Monday.

One playlister whose name has come up again and again in this series is Susan Moss, because of her dedication to getting independent artists heard. Today I’ve got not one but two playlists of the week for you, both designed to cheer up your Monday (or other days of the week as you see fit), and both compiled by Susan : Monday Monday and Moondreams Music Monday. There’s a variety of music on these playlists, so there’s something in there for just about everyone – except maybe hardcore metal-heads.

Since I last covered one of her playlists, Susan’s released a new single under her Moondreams moniker, called Tropical Breeze, and you will find this on the playlists.  It has a nostalgic 80s vibe to it with lots of vocal layers; I’m hoping that I’ll get to do a remix of it at some point in the next few months, ready for next Summer. Meanwhile I can dream of sunny beaches while I navigate the storm puddles in a relatively wet and chilly UK!

Playlist of the Week (2018/34)

Playlist of the Week (2018/34): Relaxing Ambience, compiled by Susan Moss

This week we have another of DJ Sue’s playlists as POTW, and this one’s a cracker. Her Relaxing Ambience playlist brings together globally stellar artists such as Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, Lana Del Rey and Ed Sheeran. But it doesn’t stop there: a selection of unsigned artists feature, including Dan Fogelberg, Tracy Colletto, the must-hear Zialand, and yours truly. Barry Mcloughlin, whose Acoustic Treasures playlist was POTW a fortnight ago is also included, with his song Far, Far Away.

It’s a good playlist for working to, but you’ll need to put it on repeat or combine it with other playlists for a full workday, as it is one of the shorter playlists, at 50mins.

Playlist of the Week (2018/14)

Morning all!  Time for another POTW. I promised that Susan Moss’s name would crop up again, and here she is with another MoonDreams musicplaylist. This time we have some seriously chilled out tunes with a playlist called Dreamy Ethereal Soundscapes.

There are some fine mainstream artists in this list, such as Radiohead (Daydreaming), Nils Frahm (Ambre), Florence and the Machine (Long and Lost) and Sarah McLachlan (Possession). I’m honoured to be one of the indie artists who have snuck into this list, along with GJART, Røverann, Leg Puppy and others you may not have discovered – yet.

Playlist of the Week (2018/10)

What’s really great about being in a community of independent musicians is how many artists really understand that we’re in this together, and that we all benefit when we do things that help each other out and work together.

My POTW for this week is another female-focussed playlist, drawing attention to lesser-known women in music. Let’s Hear it for the Girls is another playlist from Susan Moss / MoonDreams, who has been amazingly supportive of my work; she’s even been very kind, putting Sleepwalker at the top of this list (at the time of writing) – the best spot. Being a fairly prolific playlister, her name will crop up again – I just haven’t written that article yet!

One of Susan’s most recent offerings, Keep Moving (Basement Recording), is on my Chilled Retro playlist currently, and is a raw folk-rock song about keeping going when the going is tough, which I can rather relate to after everything that’s been going on with my Dad’s health the last few months.

I hope you enjoy listening to this little slice of girl-power… more to come!

Playlist of the Week (2018/1)

I’ve seen a teeny weeny bit of growth in the number of people listening to my tracks over the last few months, mostly via other peoples’ Spotify playlists. This has been a big encouragement to keep going – the last couple of months have been pretty tough.

So, this year, I thought I’d do a new series of posts with playlists that I’ve been included on and give a shout out to the fantastic people who have been willing to add my music to their lists. If you like the list, give it a follow of course and listen again! I’ll keep going with the series for as many weeks as there are playlists with my music on, so if you’ve got a public playlist and I’m on it, let me know! (NB: your playlist needs to be suitable for all-age listening! I don’t think my music is likely to fit too well on a seriously dark playlist or one that has a lot of swearing anyway, so it’s unlikely to be an issue, but just saying…)

My first playlist of the week in 2018 is Our Fierce Female Friends. It’s by Susan Moss of MoonDreams Music, who makes beautiful lullabies and gentle music suitable for young children (make sure you listen to track 4 for a sample of her work). Susan’s an avid playlist creator, often featuring independent artists like myself amongst better known tracks, which is hugely appreciated.

So, I hope you enjoy listening. Hopefully it will brighten up your commute or chillout time or when you’re doing the cooking.