Blog1 min read
Music for rain
What works in a darker room when the weather has changed the light.
Rain changes the brief for a room. The light drops, the windows do something, the building gets quieter under the sound of water. Music that worked at noon may not work at the same noon if it's raining.
What I look for on a rainy afternoon is closer in tone to the room itself than on a clear one. Slightly slower. Slightly warmer. Tracks where the low end has some weight, since the room is darker. Nothing chipper.
I don't like rain sounds layered into music. The sound is already in the room — the window is doing it for free. Adding rain to a track is the audio equivalent of putting a photo of a fireplace in the corner of your living room when you have an actual fireplace.
Useful pairings: the wellness playlist for an afternoon, lo-fi for an evening, the reading playlist for the long hour you're going to spend with a book because the weather decided for you. Sleep, if the rain runs late. Focus rarely works on a rainy day for me; the weather is asking for less attention, not more.