Album Art

Ask any ambient head: it’s more than new age, it’s more than holding down one chord for 10 minutes, it’s more than just ~ v i b e s ~. In fact, ambient music can be quite melodic. That’s the side of ambient that dj tief (aka tiefling, whose stellar album dj tief’s burner phone made our list of best local releases of 2022) is exploring on their latest EP Ambient 5: Music for Cats, which the dj and producer released on Monday. 

The title itself is a reference to the work of ambient pioneer Brian Eno, who first popularized conceptual ambient in the late 70s with releases like Music for Films and Music for Airports. While dj tief’s effort –clocking in at a solid nine minutes total – is notably more condensed than Eno’s, it still packs that cathartic, meditative lovetap (“punch” feels like altogether the wrong word choice for ambient). Just as you would expect from a collection of songs intended for cats, there is a discernable playfulness across the EP’s three songs. SInce it can be difficult to describe ambient tunes in a concrete way, here are some highly subjective ~ v i b e s ~ that particularly stood out to this writer. 

“rise.” This is how I wish mornings actually felt: peaceful, with none of the monotonous drudgery that comes with living in a grindset culture. 

“and yet i remain.” The piano is playful. I’m picturing a little furry dude scooting about, probably hunting bugs. 

“duality.” God, please bring a cat into my life. 

Stream Ambient 5: Music for Cats below via Soundcloud, and be sure to catch dj tief as they tour in support of this release.