Drawing us in with an astral synth energy and luscious riser, Damn Stargazers opens Bask with intrigue and dimensionality, as we are immersed into a glistening universe. The opus expands into a chill wave meets trip-hop hybrid vibe, and we are taken on a transcendental journey with the composition. We immediately appreciate the intricacy of the mix, which also showcases an out of this world guitar performance from our protagonist.
Speaking on the release, Damn Stargazers, who is also known as artist and multi-instrumentalist Dan Morrell, confesses, “Bask is inspired by sun-soaked afternoons during a solo writing road trip this past summer where I produced a series of songs while travelling.”
We learn that for the creative process to design Bask, Dan took an “organic approach that focuses around improvising across various instruments and layering them together produces a vibe that captures the highlights of musicianship from live performances.” We can feel this authenticity come through on the composition, and there is no doubt that what Damn Stargazers is highly unique.
The artist cites Tycho, Bonobo, Emancipator, Cloudchord, Washed Out, Wes Montgomery, Miles Davis, STS9, and Lotus as some of his influences, but it is clear that Damn Stargazers is creating a sound of his own. He tells us, “The coolest thing about making instrumental tracks to me is turning moments into music. I’ll solely focus on a specific experience while writing each song. So even though there aren’t lyrics, there’s still a story that’s being told. It’s an act of melodic meditation.”
We have added Bask to our New Music Spotlight playlist, whilst we continue to stream Damn Stargazers‘ wider discography including Terra and Aether.