Style: Instrumental hip hop
Primary Emotions/Themes: A deep sense of release that comes after working through an exceedingly stressful situation for an extended period of time
Thoughts: Life can get complicated. The older I get the more I realize that the simplicity of childhood was is a luxury that I simply do not have anymore. Too many things are happening at once, too many interconnected pieces that are no longer able to be ignored. It can get to be too much in a short amount of time.
Reflecting back the ignorance of youth is something that drive my nostalgia. It's this idealization of life back then that can lead to dangerous decision making for me now. I don't remember what life was like back then, only glimpses of distant memories that I had decades ago. Those memories often show me a life that I thought I had... things that made me happy. It further drives the nostalgia for simplicity.
This is the overwhelming feeling that I get when I listen to Peaceful Places. This short collection of eight songs funnels that exact same feeling of innocent nostalgia that I have memories of when I was a kid. The music and melodies captured in this record emulate those peaceful moments nearly perfectly.
The music revolves around simple melodies that repeat after just a few moments structured around a beat. These melodies would easily be a hindrance to my enjoyment of the album if they weren't so damn good. The way that the songs are produced and structed really make this a pure joy to listen to.
Instead of being annoyed by the repetition, I'm lulled into a peaceful trance instead. As the music progresses and layers on more harmonies throughout the songs I find myself swaying to the groove. Instead of irritation, the beats ground me and remind me that these moments in my past are important, but not as important as the current one. I'm able to channel the feeling of simplicity from back then to my current state, bringing in an air of tranquility.
Peaceful Places is a blissfully simple album. It hides nothing from the listener and is simply content to be. This album may not have the same effect on others as it does myself, and that's ok. That's part of the beauty of music. As far as I'm concerned though, this is what instrumental hip hop is all about.
Written June 13th 2024
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