Yimes - Morning Creek (Astrologic) [Chill Out]

Detroit based John Hanson, aka Saltbreaker, is no stranger to TSMM's pages, and neither is his pastoral, cinematic, new-age project Yimes, that he dreamed up in conjunction with the Bay Area's Andrew Taetz. Their self-titled debut album from 2023 really caught my ear with its good-nature, pastoral elegance and warmth.

Well, I'm happy to report that there's another album in the pipeline, the mysteriously entitled YY, and “Morning Creek” - the second single to tease it, is promising more of the same warm, bucolic ambience and beautifully crafted music. The credits also suggest a similarly, if not more ambitious, collective effort, with a whole host of guest musicians involved, including, I'm happy to report, Yali Rivilin and his saxophone.

The track paints a pretty picture from the off, waking from its slumber like the sun creeping over the hill in August; inch by inch lighting and warming the landscape. Gentle tones are looped, strings stroked, keys caressed rather than pressed. Gradually the track rises higher: a south-easterly sax breeze wafts in; worldless, blissful vocals drift through the wildflower-filled fields; guitars are precision plucked and the subtlest of electronic intervention accentuates the track's acoustic ambient nature. As with all things natural, there's a lot going on, but the arrangement is holistic and never for a moment sounds cluttered.

Switch off your screens, go and sit somewhere green - hopefully with the sun on your face, take a moment and chill out. Everything might just be alright after all.

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Playlist Companion

Find Yimes in the Slow Balearic Playlist.