Blog1 min read
Music for the first night in a new place
The walls make different sounds. The music does most of its work by not adding to the strangeness.
The first night in a new place — a hotel, a sublet, a new flat — has its own kind of unfamiliarity. The walls make different sounds. The pipes run at unexpected times. Music for it does most of its work by not adding to the strangeness.
Familiarity matters more than usual. New music will make the room feel even more unfamiliar; an album you've heard a hundred times will make it feel slightly more like yours. Lo-fi at low volume is a small comfort here, the way a lamp is.
The sleep room is harder to use on a first night because the test that earned each track its slot was someone else's room. Wellness fits better for the hour before bed. Reading works if you brought a book.
By the second night the room has begun to settle. By the third it has its own sound. The music you put on the first night is doing slightly more work than the music you'll put on later. Be kind to it, and play familiar things.