Many years ago I came up with a blog idea called 'Grounding Sounds', in which I invited an artist to pull together a collection of their influences in a mix, and chat through them. I've decided to recycle this idea with Whitelabrecs artists from time to time and so here's the first one!

I had a chat with Ben Rath about this idea, following the release of his new album 'Hope' under his Slow Heart Music artist guise. He was keen to share some of his music collection and influences with our readers, and has curated this beautiful collection of music that has had a poignant effect on him over the years. There's a great mix of sounds, from guitar-led acoustic pop, post rock, ambient and contemporary classical styles. And, most probably a whole lot more in this varied collection! Simply scroll down, hit play on these tracks and you can read what Ben has to say on these selections. We'll be thrilled if we can connect just one person with any of these records...

I thought I'd start with this as it's the closest in style and tone to the music I make with Slow Heart Music, namely ambient/instrumental music with acoustic guitar as the primary instrument. I'd really enjoyed Western Skies Motel's previous release 'Buried and Resurfaced', but thought 'Settlers' (the album this track is from) was particularly effective, and gave me inspiration in regard to the possibilities of the solo acoustic guitar as a powerful and evocative medium for instrumental, ambient music.

I've put these three artists together in a group as they all represent an important influence on my guitar playing and composition style, and are all excellent examples of players and song-writers who blend improvisation and spontaneity around often very beautiful and heartfelt arrangements and songs.

Richard Dawson is an extraordinary song-writer, but also a really wonderful guitar player. He plays in a similar style of open tuning as I use for SHM, and uses the freedom it gives to make really interesting and bold arrangements where it sounds like he's shifting keys, scales and registers in this really fluid way, as well as playing lines which follow his vocal melody, something which helped me learn to play in a more melodic way. And in terms of emotional punch, Dawson's music, particularly his album '2020', is the one that will most reliably bring me to tears.

Eric Chenaux is another example of a guitar playing style that combines beautifully sweet melodies and arrangements with often strange and playful experimentation and improvisation. Less mournful and intense than Dawson, a bit smoother and more romantic, he uses his guitar in really creative ways. Learning to play 'Put In Music' was one of the early inspirations for starting the SHM project.

And David Thomas Broughton is a master Jedi at the art of mixing lovely folk songs with wild spontaneity and improvisation. Again his songs are often achingly beautiful, but he will then use these as a jumping off point to go on wonderfully strange and idiosyncratic improvisations. His recorded output is great but to really appreciate his craft you need to see some of his live performances. There's a documentary available online called 'The Ambiguity of David Thomas Broughton' that I really recommend.

These three tracks represent the influence of piano based instrumental music on some of the compositions in SHM. I particularly love that really soft and quiet playing style of the Nils Frahm and Lukas Boysen tracks, which really let the notes resonate and the simple melodies speak for themselves. This inspired me to experiment with slowing down and allowing notes to ring out a bit more, and to introduce more quietness and softness into some the tracks.

David Allred is a musician I've only come across recently, but this track has become a fast favourite, the chords in that first half are just so satisfying. Again it's a really lovely example of having a primary instrument provide the backbone of a piece and then adding additional elements to create a fuller sound.

This collection of tracks comes from musicians and bands that were part of an early generation of artists on Constellation Records in Montreal. The music that came from this community in the mid-to-late 2000's was pivotal for me during a really difficult time of my life, from late adolescence into my early twenties, and is some of the most beautiful and moving I've ever heard. Godspeed You! Black Emperor were the most famous out of the bunch, but there were a number of other bands and projects that shared and swapped members and whilst different in style shared a similar aesthetic and emotional resonance, often mournful but always beautiful, earnest, and deeply moving. A lot of the music I've made has been influenced in some way by these records and bands, and they'll always have a special place in my heart.

Finally, these are two tracks from a couple favourite artists of mine, Mamiffer and Songs Ohia.. They again represent two beautiful examples of deeply, emotionally resonant pieces which are shot through with sadness and melancholy, but out of which something triumphantly beautiful is created.

Mamiffer is a duo of Faith Colloccia and Aaron Turner of ISIS and Old Man Gloom fame, and is based around Colloccia's simple but uniquely beautiful piano compositions. Songs Ohia was one of the projects of musician and song-writer Jason Molina, whose music always resonated strongly with me, and whose songs felt like love letters from a fellow weary traveller wrestling with the sadness and grief of life, letting you know weren't alone in the struggle.

If you like the sound of what you hear in Ben's blog post here, you can follow him in these places:
Bandcamp
Facebook

'Hope' is available now in a limited edition run of marble vinyl-effect record wallet CDrs, while stocks last, as well as a range of high quality digital formats. You can take a listen and buy a copy in your preferred digital format by clicking HERE!