Riding The Relaxation Hydra – A Look At Sounds Of The Dawn
5.10.16 by Mike Haley

A step through just about any low hanging prism can land ya in world made up of illuminated pyramids, vibrating crystals, and moon-lit dolphins. A microcosm where the floors are grids. Where denizens grasp their zithers tight and keep their pony tails tighter. New Age. The cosmic relaxation zone on the musical spectrum. Flutes to found sounds stretch on for days. Weeks. Months? Anyone who has been to a thrift shop has spotted, purchased, and lost a new age cassette. Or maybe you just dove right on in with that recent, insane auction on eBay (that I may or may not have thrown down a bid or two on).

William (just William) from the Detroit area (possibly thee most un-New Age locale in the country?) has been hitting up the Salvation Armies, New Age book stores, and the good old internet for a few years himself, looking to grip some meditative gems. After amassing enough cassette to fill a floating orb, and working a job that provided both the boredom and opportunity, William started Sounds Of The Dawn. Since December of 2012 he’s been rippin’ and uploadin’. 150 tapes in all, with 100% downloadability.

SotD was originally on Blogspot, and the first cassette put up was “Sunborne” by Constance Demby, a composer from California. “She worked on making her own instruments. Put out a lot of stuff in the late 70’s early 80’s, made/makes spiritual space music,” William said. “Sunborne was the first New Age tape that got me hooked on the music. It is a masterpiece.”

Let’s be real. New Age music gets a bad rap. Mostly due to the over-the-top themes and artwork, which often teeters on the edge of goofy, usually falling off into buttery oceans and super fluffy clouds. But there is A LOT to love about it. And we can all use an extended release, extra strength chill pill now and then. “I do believe music can have a healing, soothing effect,” Williams said of the optimistic genre. “I have never been one to listen to harsh sounds. I get that it’s not for everyone and the aesthetic is not for every one. I am not trying to recreate an era, I just want to appreciate it.”

Yes, you can definitely smell the appreciation. Over the last four years the ever-expanding site has added a monthly radio show on NTS, mixes, and a YouTube channel of digitized relaxation VHS and Laserdiscs called SOTD-TV. With their first release, SotD has also added their name to the long list of cassette labels. Mentioning as an example the “First Light” cassette by Inner Travels, who has compiled mixes for the site, William started finding beautiful, current musicians that were creating chill sounds and releasing them on tape. After some E-digging, he unearthed jams by Russia’s Hybrid Palms (aka Konstantin Skolnikov). The long player “Pacific Image” was released on Sounds Of The Dawn in March, and is described as “deeply weird and uplifting ends of jazz and electronic music in a true hybrid fusion.”

Much more is slated, so check up with Sounds Of The Dawn often. Pick up Hybrid Palms’ “Pacific Image” from Bandcamp.