Evoke Some Theta Brainwaves With This Zen Downtempo Compilation

It’s believed the olfactory is the strongest sense tied to memory, but there’s something about sound that recalls some of the most distinct feelings and sensations, and instantly transports you to the most particular of moments.

When it’s time for me to invoke the zen-state before bed or when I want to wind down at the end of the day, this is the music I seek; music that takes me to another place and dispels the day’s rigmarole. It’s escapism in the healthiest way.

Any genre can be considered meditative or zen-like—music is incredibly subjective. Personally, I gravitate toward downtempo, ambient electronic music, but with elements of tribal, eclectic world music, or classical composition. You may say it’s counterintuitive to have some tribal beat above 65-70 beats per minute when you’re trying to get zen... you’re not wrong... but sometimes that consistent percussion is good for meditation.

In shamanic ceremonies, where the goal is to achieve heightened states of consciousness, chanting and drumming are essential modalities for transcendence. When we enter into a meditative state, we’re typically trying to reach a theta brainwave state somewhere between dreaming and consciousness, and in order to find that sweet spot, some type of repetitive, but varied, auditory stimulation is the best tool to keep from dozing off. But if you are in fact trying to sleep, you’ll probably want to minimize the “untz.”

This zen playlist was curated with that in mind, starting with music that evokes imagery and emotion, before slowly phasing into more meditative rhythms.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/03LQ8XZ6CGSvnvubfQPUKr?si=-MNtQEM5Tr2ZGqjdlgVhkw

I like to start my zen session off with something that has some classical instrumentation such as piano, clean guitar, crisp drums and/or soothing vocals. I’m looking for something that’s going to create nebulous soundscapes to take my mind off anything it’s ruminating over.

That’s why I started the playlist with a track by Thievery Corporation titled “Saudade,” off their album of the same name.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oznQNIvnaAQ

Thematically, the word saudade is fitting and one of my favorite Brazilian Portuguese words. It doesn’t have a perfect English translation, but it essentially means a melancholic longing for a person or thing you love, but that you may never see or experience again—a yearning or nostalgia for a happiness that has passed. It’s actually kind of beautiful that there’s no direct English equivalent, as it describes a feeling that’s kind of ineffable.

The track itself has bossanova elements and a very mellow, synthetic-stringed, spanish guitar plucking. Hearing this wistful tune kickstarts my eyelid movies and takes me to a pleasant place from my past I will never experience again.

Next, I want to subtly transition into something with more electronic production as that’s where we’re invariably heading, but while still retaining some organic instrumentation. This is why I’ve queued up “100 Roses” by FKJ.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfxXg6nNdNk

I was introduced to this track while spending a week on a remote island off the coast of Maine with my best friends. After a night of conversing, stargazing, and reminiscing about the trials and tribulations of the year of the pandemic, everyone went to bed except for my friend Harrison and myself. We sat by the fire sipping wine and trading our favorite downtempo tracks, while having a moment of introspection. He put on this track and something struck a nerve, it blew my mind. Whenever I hear it I’m transported to that tiny island 25 miles off Mid-coast Maine where you’ve never seen the Milky Way shine so brightly.

FKJ’s subtle crooning and funky keyboard distortions layered over his patented looping and sampling is a great segue into some upcoming tracks with more electronic production.

Slowing things down a bit, we jump into a track called “The Plug" from Bonobo’s first album. This acid jazz classic is pensive and a little moody, punctuated with some soothing baritone oboe, shuffling hi-hats, and languishing sampled vocals. We’re winding down a bit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gsgg16iQxFA

Tycho’s “Hours” comes next, as any downtempo playlist should contain at least one of his wispy compositions. Delayed guitar pedals and fuzzy filters on some ethereal, tubular keys make you feel a little floaty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tiv_L3egVYs

This floating feeling is going to be followed up by artists who were clearly a major influence on Tycho—a duo who, in my mind, took elements of shoegaze, mixed with carefully composed downtempo and created one of the most novel electronic projects of the late '90s into the early aughts. Yes, up next is “Dayvan Cowboy” by Boards of Canada. And if we were floating from Tycho, now, like in the music video for Dayvan Cowboy, we’re slowly falling back down to Earth from the stratosphere into the ocean.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2zKARkpDW4

And I believe we just plunged into a semi-conscious zen state… now it’s time to drift into theta.

This next track may seem like an odd-pick as it has a consistent Shepard tone throughout; a sonic illusion that sounds like it’s constantly increasing. For some this can be anxiety inducing and it’s often used to keep you on the edge of your seat at the movies, but in “Echoes of My Mind” by Axel Bowman, it’s softened by an incredibly dreamy, oscillating synth that lulls me into meditative bliss. I’ve put this on repeat and used it to drift off on many occasions; my Spotify play count on this track is probably absurd.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McSE1n2jBpo

You’ll be drawn back by the lyrical sample at the end that segues into the next track on his EP, but we’re not gonna go there. We need to go deeper…

Aphex Twin’s “Stone in Focus” is another classic ambient track that has coddled me to sleep thousands of times. Initially included on his Selected Ambient Works Vol. II, it was for some reason removed and not available on Spotify. There are looped versions that go for 10 hours+ on YouTube, and it appears it’s brooding, contemplative nature has also struck those who pontificate in the video’s comments section about the universe and whatever existential musings the song elicits in their minds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q86g1aop6a8&t=258s

Coming out of those 11 minutes of Aphex Twin genius, we delve into “Lace” by Random Rab from his seminal album aRose. This twangy, haunting guitar riff complemented by some soft violin and clapping percussion brings us out of that dream state, just barely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n3I27WSafg

And we’ll stay in this haunting, echoey atmosphere by leaning into a track called “Dusk” by Gidge. These Swedish sonic savants arouse images of nordic landscapes through their multi-textured samples from field recordings straight outta nature. These Foley recordings are literally coming from those spectacular forests and fjords of Scandinavia. And the beat is just upbeat enough to keep your mind eye’s lucid—let it take you there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UU0H4bw2VjE

Finally we’re going to finish this playlist up with some minimalist ambient from Yagya’s Sleepygirl album. The first track is called “Sleepygirl1” and there are 11 more by the same name (+1 of course). If you want to extend the playlist you can segue into the full album, or for your convenience the whole album is also condensed into one continuous mix. Let it keep you in that zen state and take you to deeper realms of consciousness. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi8ryzFqrAE