Aus einer getrennten Welt by Hoshiko Yamane and Makoto Sakamoto

When an expert guides you through meditation, they may ask you to perceive your thoughts as clouds passing by in a peaceful sky, a spectacle no doubt, but also an object so remote as to bear little influence on your emotions. Most people, including myself, struggle with these instructions, and for me this sort of command elicits a response similar to Aus einer getrennten Welt by Hoshiko Yamane and Makoto Sakamoto, a spiky yet elegantly beautiful ambient album that flawlessly fuses acoustic and electronic sounds. As cognitive clouds pass by, their shade captures our attention, blocking us from our source of self-assuredness and optimism while they gradually increase our unease. Musically, competing drones from violins and synths slip in and out of tune, creating subtly pulsing sonic textures that chart our slow arcs through the shade of worry. Finally, the skies clear, the clouds march on, and we realize the extent of the control we’ve relinquished, resharpening our resolve until the shade comes crashing down on us once again.