Diamondstein / Sangam – Lullabies for Broken Spirits
10.16.17 by Ryan Masteller

[Turns away from the audience, motions toward the director]: This is one of those split tapes right, where the one side is the one artist and the other one’s on the other? Yeah, it sounds great, can barely tell the two sides apart. That’s what they call “flow” I guess, right? So you want me to talk about it? I had a bunch of other stuff queued up. No, no, this one’s good, I’ll pop it in. Next break, can I get a water with some lemon? I know we’re back on in a minute – oh, thanks Cheryl, you had it all ready. Fantastic.

[Turns away from imaginary director, faces imaginary audience, which is essentially the front-facing laptop camera]: Hey gang, have I got a treat for you next, one that’s guaranteed to knock the socks right off your feet, but in a very QUIET, very CONTEMPLATIVE sort of way. Got a good grip on those socks now? (You’re really gonna need it!) We’ve got not one but TWO artists on this recording, each of them sharing the real estate, separated only by the direction of the magnetic tape. OR SO IT WOULD SEEM! Actually, it’s mostly that way, but the entirety of the release is sandwiched between collaborative tracks, the gripping “I Wish I Had More to Offer” and the nocturnal “Evenings Fly By.” But don’t be fooled, as Diamondstein and foil Sangam – or is it the other way around? – are perfectly capable each on their own to wield the mighty responsibility of atmosphere and mood, creating for you, dear audience, the perfect soundtrack to your late-night reveries.

[Turns, faces a different direction like there’s another camera over there, spends rest of time NOT looking at front-facing laptop camera]: But what IS the perfect late-night soundtrack? What does it entail? Surely some of you prefer the mournful, longing synthesizer leavened with field recordings of Sangam’s “Knowing Loss,” a passage not unlike Angelo Badalementi’s incidental synthesizer music on the original run of TWIN PEAKS, a damn fine television show if I should say so. But maybe you’re partial to the noir arpeggios of Diamondstein’s lengthy – at eleven and a half minutes! – and beautiful “The Praise Chorus.” Surely these two standouts are enough to sate your desires!

[Eyes close, breathes deeply, raises hand in a “stop” motion]: But no, the tape continues, and its loving embrace extends for its duration, its oddities and excursions illuminate its darker corners so that it at once presents itself as a unified whole. And this is why you must attend to “Lullabies for Broken Spirits” with the utmost care: the deeper you plumb its depths, the more you’re bound to uncover. And isn’t that the point of the adventure anyway? Your time on this planet is too short to not hold close the most profound mysteries you can uncover. Start here, start with “Lullabies for Broken Spirits,” start LIVING.

[Pauses, dramatic effect.]

[Presses stop, eats Cheeto. Is content.]

[Hovers cursor over Doom Trip Bandcamp site, notices only 12 of 100 copies remain, panics for a second, calls 12 friends, hopes to god they all buy a copy, realizes that the 12 friends don’t exist, considers buying them all anyway. GUYS, HURRY, I DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER I CAN HOLD HIM OFF…SOLD OUT!]