Oakland’s Inner Islands knows a thing or two about dropping tapes and records that are primo zoning material. I could go on and on about their stellar back catalog, but their latest release, Soft Harbinger, a collaboration between Ang Wilson and Braeyden Jae (under the name Zazz), is the real deal, near forty minute ambient epic. We here at TMT don’t usually give in to hyperbole, but since I first tuned in to Soft Harbinger, that sense of hearing something great for the first time, the way it clicked with Eno, Harold Budd, and Yoshimura, is apparent throughout.
The album’s A-side, “Forever is a Distance,” glides on a melody that’s familiar and otherworldly, composed of soft synths and flute. The B-side, “Garden Approach,” combines bucolic field recordings with ambling keyboard loops. Soft Harbinger is available now in digital and vinyl formats. Both options are perfect for throwing on the stereo, while you’re laying down, eyes closed, and in the mood to get lost in some choice ambient cuts.
More about: Ang Wilson, braeyden jae, Zazz
