Thomas Howard, aka Orchid Mantis is an artist in Atlanta, Georgia but his music could be from anywhere, made at any time in the past 35 years.

Howard's music is lush, layered, textured, lovely and full of longing.

The music he's chosen for his guest DJ show is insightful, genre-defying, delightful and emotional.

 

The music on In Airports is all Howard, except for a few guest vocals and instruments. His second full length in his ten year career is In Airports and the inspiration came from his being stuck in an airport for a week, unable to return home.

"A few years ago I found myself stuck in an airport for about a week, spending every day walking around the terminals, watching people come and go. I'd always liked the transient feeling of temporary spaces like that. Being there for such a long time didn't detract from the magic, it only strengthened it. For almost a week, I had no purpose or goals beyond waiting for my flight. I didn't have to do anything, or change anything. Thinking back, I'm not sure I fully wanted it to end.

I think a lot of people live their life in airports. Stuck, waiting for something just over the horizon. Travelers come into their life, and leave when the time is right, but they just keep waiting. I've had a lot of conversations recently about agency and preserving your passions. About not letting yourself drift. Living with a purpose, and avoiding that sense of complacency that creeps in as you age. There's so much we can't control. So much so that it can blind us to how easily we could change. Tomorrow, you could catch that flight. You could go anywhere. You could be a new person. You could leave the airport.

Where does the time go? Everywhere."

 

SETLIST:
WEM Lagoon Jump - Khotin
Dust Beam - ML Buch
Puddled In The Morning - Bibio
A Rain Discretion - Sugar Plant
Owari No Kisetsu - Rei Harakami
Ef - Chanel Beads
I Think It Is Beautiful That You Are 256 Colors Too - Black Moth Super Rainbow
Lord Knows Best - Dirty Beaches
Slow Boat - Ryuichi Fujimoto
Sckrpnch - Melaina Kol
Sad And Beautiful World - Sparklehorse
Andata (Oneohtrix Point Never Rework) - Ryuichi Sakamoto, Oneohtrix Point Never
Everything I Have Is Yours - Billie Holiday

 

LINKS:
https://orchid-mantis.bandcamp.com/music
https://beacons.ai/orchid.mantis