Desert Disks

Mar 16

Distilling Your Musical Soul Down

“What are your desert island disks?” - what is the shortlist of albums you would absolutely need to have if stranded on a deserted island? This shortcut to unveiling someone’s musical compass has served cocktail parties and content creators so well that it’s the subject of nearly 2,500 BBC Radio 4 documentary-style episodes with “celebs”. It’s a fun exercise in the hypothetical, no doubt. But it’s not quite what I have in mind for this post.

Instead, I want to talk about the albums you must hear while in the desert, as a matter of practicality. This was a real world exercise for us last weekend when we packed up our record player and just one crate of ~50 records for a Mojave desert retreat. These are the essential accompanying vibes to heat, seclusion, desolation, contemplation, star gazing, crackling fireplaces, heatstruck chapped lips, bone dry huffs of air, and of course, fuzzy, cholla cactus-esque psychedelia.

I took to the backyard of our Air BnB to document what just some of these must-hear albums look like embedded within the boundless landscape of one of our favorite ecologies. Below, some choice words about three of these mind altering selections, and a gallery of more must hears.

The Standouts

Suss - Suss (2022) Long, sustained, droney notes, comforting swoons of a pedal steel guitar, and full-bodied acoustic guitar strums done in slow motion - these are the sounds of this pioneering “urban Americana” band. Think Brian Eno meets Ry Cooder doing a Hex-era Earth album.

The Chemical Brothers - Exit Planet Dust (1995) A raving dance party befitting the celebration of a UFO landing or benevolent alien abduction.

Ufommamut - Eve: Live at Roadburn Festival (2011) Incredibly spacey doom metal that equally crushes and inspires. This powerful Italian trio channel Pink Floyd and Electric Wizard for an expansive, bassy, highly rhythm-centric, and hypnotic psychedelic sound.