Andrew
The first visual memory I have is that of the white upright piano in Singapore, Hell and the Dark Forces lived at the bottom, Heaven and the Angels at the top, they would play battles through my fingers and I was hooked.
As a psychology graduate I studied how sound affects human performance.
As a musician I compose instrumental music that stimulates your brain but doesn't mess with your language centers, leaving you free to write creatively without distraction.
As a curator I research how music can improve your life and create flow - I can tell you what music to listen to when studying for a test and why listening to sad music can make you feel better.
As a creator / contributor at musicto I believe that music can make the world better.
What I'm doing nowPlaylists
Portrait Gallery – Luke Howard
1 August 2017
I love how certain things just start appearing in your world – you know like – if you haven’t heard a certain song for years and then suddenly you start hearing it all the time – I love the weird random shit like that. And while I’m sure there’s some cognitive explanation – I personally think it’s magic and I’m all for it.
On and On – Longpigs
25 July 2017
Have you ever had a song that you found – that wasn’t recommended by a friend or a DJ or some hipster playlist curator – but that you yourself sourced from some weird and unlikely place, and it’s brilliant. It’s the track that you love to introduce people to because it’s that good – yeah – this is that track for me.
Sireli – Viken Arman
25 July 2017
You should probably know by now that I’m a total hippy – that I believe if we all just got to know each other better and hung out and shared our music – that the world would be a happier place.
Indigo – Matthew Mayfield
18 July 2017
I’ve gotta get more miserable! The tracks in the last few weeks have been way too uplifting – oh sure – the subject matter’s pretty down but these songwriters somehow seem to make you feel better. Torch songs coming soon!
Light of the Seven – Ramin Djawadi
18 July 2017
Well come on – the series started again this week so it was a pretty easy choice! Having said that – this is a killer track and really rewards repeated listening.
Gold In Them Hills – Ron Sexsmith
11 July 2017
This is one of those tracks that just oozes hope. It creeps up on you – slowly but surely, inexorably even, and before you know it, your hands are covered and there’s a small spark in your breast that might be, that just might be, the light at the end of the tunnel.
Fiel – Igor Longhi
11 July 2017
Essay writing music is essentially Trance music – well, OK – that might be a little broad but really, what we’re talking about is music that you can fall in to, that doesn’t freak you out, that becomes familiar quickly & allows you to get lost in your own thoughts.
Swear – Moby
4 July 2017
It’s the insistent high hat that makes this perfect for the playlist. I’m all for pure instrumental percussion free tracks – what is often referred to as “New Age” but – there has to be a sense of movement in the track – it has to give energy rather than take it.
Sagres – The Tallest Man On Earth
4 July 2017
Like last week’s track, it’s the lyric that got me:
“It’s just all this fucking doubt…“
Yeah, yeah it is, isn’t it.
Weightless – Neil Cowley Trio
27 June 2017
We don’t allow more than two tracks from any one artist on these playlists but I’m thinking of making an exception for the Neil Cowley Trio ‘cos well, they’re just bloody great! I remember falling in love with this track last week and it sounds even better on the 6th or 7th listen – and the video’s pretty rad too.
God in Chicago – Craig Finn
27 June 2017
At the end of the day, songs are stories – messages wrapped in sound that are designed to make you feel. In some songs the story is simple, the lyric sparse and straightforward – often accompanied by an elaborate musical wrapper that gives the words weight – but in other songs – in a song like this – it’s the other way around. I like songs like this…
Miraflores – Feathered Sun
27 June 2017
So I’m breaking my own rules on this track but hey – sometimes you just gotta try something a little different – this track has words – not a lot – but definitely a sense of lyric, and yet…