---
title: three albums - may 2023
date: 2023-06-01
---

this month's playlist is [here!](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6BU15m431CObSKIN0FeLgQ?si=6b85e44c13e6416a)

### 3. hello, my name is pipotaku - pipotaku  
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 320px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2704358402/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/artwork=small/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="https://pipotaku.bandcamp.com/album/hello-my-name-is-pipotaku">Hello, My Name Is Pipotaku by Pipotaku</a></iframe>  

i'm going to talk further down this post about my sickly game score depedency and the lengths that i've gone to to kick the habit. while something like the skyrim soundtrack is a bit more complicated, the breakbeat tracks from neon white are a lot easier to emulate. while machine girl has plenty of albums with a similar vibe ([gemini](https://machinegirl.bandcamp.com/album/gemini) is a great example), i'm always keeping an eye on new artists coming into the scene

what sets hello, my name is pipotaku apart from the rest of this flavour of music is a little difficult to pinpoint exactly, but from a purely subjective angle it does scratch a happy little itch in my head. it may be as simple as it being a full half hour of tracks without a dud, or the way that it takes many common breakcore sounds but sharpens them to a razors edge for a really satisfying final experience

this should also be a subtle push to go through and listen to their entire discography, as it sits just barely over an hour and has a comprehensive feel that lets you jump from one directly into the next

### 2. ultraviolet - kelly moran
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 320px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3704305105/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/artwork=small/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="https://kellymoran.bandcamp.com/album/ultraviolet">Ultraviolet by kelly moran</a></iframe>  

i adore prepared piano and have since i first listened to [jynweythek](https://aphextwin.bandcamp.com/track/jynweythek) many years ago. you can get really ridiculous about it if you want to, but sometimes simply adding some items to make a piano sound harsher and tinnier adds all the spice that's really necessary to elevate the experience. the piano drives all of the tracks with some light drones performing a harmony role to fill in the overall tone of each piece. i found this  super refreshing after both the high energy of pipotaku's discography and the more complex ambient and modern classical music i was trying out through the month

### 1. asperities - julia kent  
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 320px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3258924639/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/artwork=small/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="https://music.juliakent.com/album/asperities">Asperities by Julia Kent</a></iframe>  

i think (embarassingly) that this album caught my attention because the first track, hellebore, sounds initially like something from the dark souls soundtrack. the string melody fading in and out of the piece in layers reminds me of [firelink shrine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJhVgB_H-Q8), but thankfully the rest of the album isnt just aping this same aesthetic

asperities has the aesthetic of a more progressive ambient album, but uses entirely orchestral instruments rather than drones and synthesised sound (at least as far as i can tell). the melodies are repetitive but driven, almost like the opening build up to the big crescendo of a pivotal scene in a fantasy or historical drama, except that crescendo never comes. that might sound negative, but it just means that you get to really absorb the mournful beauty of the sound

### other musical musings

#### the skyrim soundtrack minus the skyrim soundtrack  
anyone who has had the misfortune of digging into [my last.fm](https://www.last.fm/user/uuupah/library/albums) might have noticed an absurd trend in my listening habits: close to 10% of the music i have listened to in the last five years has been the skyrim soundtrack. i could gush for hours about how well composed this score is (and i probably will at some point), but it A. makes my spotify wrapped look very embarassing and B. doesnt really contribute to my media literacy in a meaningful way  

my solution? create the skyrim soundtrack without using the skyrim soundtrack

<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/65Zz0fFlrTOtBDt5O8bVBR?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="352" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>

now there are plenty of half assed equivalents to this kind of project, where someone grabs six albums that sort of sound similar to something else and just call it a day, but because this is something i want to listen to regularly, im taking it deadly serious. i'm being very precise about tone, volume modulation and the instruments used in each track, and being quite brutal with cutting out tracks that aren't quite there. i'm also trying to avoid artists whose whole thing is to just make music that sounds like game score (scorewizard in particular), just because it sort of feels like cheating; ZXi want the final product to also be a great source of new inspiration for easing people out of the soundtrack space and into the larger world of ambient music, and that kind of work doesnt really assist that task

this is still a huge work in progress and will probably continue to be so for a while, but blog readers will definitely be the first to know when it's finished

#### nadia birkenstock  
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/jUdV_ZRrZes" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>  

i have a soft spot for hippie instruments. there, i said it. the harp, hand pan and marimba all have this natural warmth that i simply cannot go past. i suspect that the prepared piano also scratches that itch, hence kelly moran making it big on the list this month. i had the sincere intention to dive into nadia birkenstock this month, so much so that i put her name on the early draft of this blog four or so weeks ago, but that didnt end up happening  

#### trauma center 2  
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/dRBoQqgBF_A" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>  

i just remembered that this exists and i like it a lot