I admit listening to drone is an acquired taste. Although droning has been an integral part of music since the medieval times or even before in the case of music coming from Southeast Asia; electronic textures and drone seem to be the perfect match for this concept to manifest itself as a “genre”. It might sound boring to listen to an evolving hum or chime for a given amount of time and most people certainly find it as such, yet over time I’ve been more and more attracted to searching for perfect moments of peace listening to drone.

Drone seems to create a constant meditative state of mind unlike contemporary musical forms it creates a blissful mental plateau in which the drone transcends into a tangible being. Listening to drone on sunny days, by the seaside or in the park will greatly add up to your experience.

One drone artist that I love is Japanese sonic sculptor Sawako. Currently residing in Brooklyn, she’s released lots of CDRs before releasing her 2005 album “Omnibus” on Community Library, which has been featured here before with Christmas Decorations. Her last one “BitterSweet” is released two albums on Taylor Deupree’s 12K label which is a top notch label specializing in micro music.

Sawako’s sound incorporates looping, field recordings, gentle noises all modified and blended in a chiming drone sound. It’s easy to make it noisier and darker since noisy music tends to sound dark. That’s probably why there are so many crap dark ambient acts. Her latest effort is a testimony to this bright chiming sound, bringing to mind Alvin Curran’s classic Songs and Views of the Magnetic Garden from 1974, or recent works by Stars of the Lid. Her previous work has shorter less drony experimental stuff, not as textural as her latest with more loops and more melody.