who is your “you were there for me. every time.” person?
who are your people, in your corner, through the thick and thin?
the ones who stay.
who remind it’ll be alright.
those in your lovelights.
𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘐𝘵’𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵”
𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘥𝘦
𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴
𝘖𝘩, 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘵’𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵
𝘐𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴
#indiefolk #altfolk #folkartist
“Silver Oaks” is the first single from my new Blurstem album, Cedar Grove. It’s a return to where this project began—raw, late-night piano-led improvisation on my old muted spinet. The piece moves through quiet moments and dynamic swells, and to me, it feels like a continuation of the mood and spirit of my debut, Among the Oaks—improvised, unfiltered, and human.
It’s been 6 years. But no matter. We’ve got a new song for you in a few weeks, ‘Melting on the Moon’🌙 Here’s a taste. It’s fuzzy, fun, MySpace-era-infused synthpop nostalgia. Pre-save it if you’d like - that helps 🙏🏼
It’s album release day for @lumadomusic ’s “Midnight Motions” 🎙️🕕
Across his many projects, Chris Bartels has treated sound less as arrangement and more as environment. With Lumado, that approach gradually converged on one element - the voice - not as a focal point, but as material. Over years of experimenting, stretching, and re-recording, his vocals began slipping between roles: sometimes a melody, sometimes a pad, sometimes a percussive fragment, sometimes barely human at all.
That evolution reaches its clearest form on Midnight Motions. Here the voice moves in and out of the music’s center of gravity - dissolving into synth tones, reappearing as warmth, or breaking into small rhythmic artifacts that carry emotion without announcing it. The songs don’t frame vocals over production; they breathe through it.
The result is a cohesive emotional space rather than a collection of tracks. Slow grooves and softened pulses allow feelings to linger, while the vocal presence anchors them just enough to feel shared. Listeners recognize themselves in it, even as the sound remains distinctly its own - electronic music where humanity isn’t added on top, but embedded inside the texture.
Midnight Motions captures that balance: the moment a voice stops performing emotion and simply becomes part of the atmosphere that holds it.
“we got another chance, love swollen…”
A bit from the Love Swollen visualizer / music video / whatever you wanna call it
Filmed at @parlorhotel and various spots around Wisconsin
@lumadomusic album Midnight Motions coming this week on @tonetreechill & @anthemfalls
Aporia is a spacious, analog-driven ambient LP by Emerald Ancients, the tape-focused moniker of Minnesota multi-project artist Chris Bartels (Elskavon, Blurstem). Rooted in the idea of aporia - a state of doubt, impasse, or unresolved questioning - the album unfolds as a study in intentional uncertainty. Rather than seeking resolution, it lingers in the in-between: slow, meditative, and deeply present.
Shaped through tape loops, studio accidents, and restrained electronic processing, Aporia leans into process over polish. Textures drift and degrade, tones blur and reform, and moments of imperfection are left exposed - not as flaws, but as the core language of the work. The result is minimal yet immersive, tactile in its construction, and quietly disorienting in its patience.
At its center, Aporia invites a different mode of listening. Not to search for answers, but to sit with the unknown - to observe, to question, to remain.
•••
#ambient #ambientmusic #cassettetape
last single before the albummmmm.
Love Swollen.
you’ll see we’re spinning in the moments
you’ll feel the simmer in the motion
we can’t ignore it, feeling golden
we got another chance, love swollen
you’ll see we’re spinning in the moments
#newmusic #electronicmusic #altpop #melodichouse
