The A.M.

What are the edges of off-beat easy listening? We've got vintage Swedish psych and American jazz-fusion, '90s trip-hop and brand new Canadian neo-classical composition. Excessively eclectic or appropriately laid-back? Judge for yourself.

Playlist:

• Richard Reed Parry, Susie Ibarra - Field II: Slow Drift
• Forgiveness - Next Time Could Be Your Last Time
• Makaya McCraven - Seventh String
• Shabaka - Ital is Vital
• Salamanda - Kiddo Caterpillar
• Patricia Wolf - Pacific Coast Highway
• The Golden Age Of Wrestling - Purgatory for Vancouver Buzz Bands
• Rival Consoles - Echoes
• Hermitess - Spell (Morgan Greenwood Remix)
• Sanctums - Crucible
• Stringtronics - Tropicola
• Sessa - Estrela Acesa
• Loving - The Not Real Lake
• Shintaro Sakamoto - Like a Fable
• Wax Machine - Guardians of Eden
• William S. Fischer - Patience is Virtue
• William S. Fischer - There's a Light that Shines
• Badge Époque Ensemble, featuring James Baley - Zodiac
• Mats Glenngård - Allt på denna runda jord
• Crystal Eyes - No Heaven
• Zoon, featuring Sunnsetter - Red River
• Living Hour - No Body
• Gwenno - Anima
• John Glacier - Some Other Thing
• Stelar Door - A Great Escape
• I Monster - Daydream in Blue
• Janelle Monáe - Mushrooms & Roses
• Tess Roby - Up 2 Me
• Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - Is it Me or is it You?
• Para Palabras, featuring JWMB3 - Threads of Memory
• White Poppy - Hawk

Overwhelmed by the lineup at the 2022 Sled Island Music and Arts Festival? This week's AM has you covered, with a taste of over 20 of the festival's featured artists — plus an assortment of other sounds old and new to start your week on the right note.

Playlist:

• Flore Laurentienne - Route
• Sunalta - Mask Also
• Surgeons Girl - Intimate Advance
• Time Wharp - No Furniture \ Tanagra
• Eine Kleine China - Disko Bay
• Teebs, featuring Lars Horntveth - Wavxxes
• Elori Saxl - Moss II
• Eve Parker Finley - Blocks and Passes
• Mahogany Frog - A Decision of the Flower
• Future Museums - Sunset Hysteria
• Jon Gant - Starting a New Life
• Grouper - Alien Observer
• Cedric Noel - Stilling
• Low - I Can Wait
• Astral Swans, featuring L.T. Leif - Sympathy for the Stupid
• Knitting - Fix
• Sunglaciers - Stayed
• La Luz - Call Me in the Day
• La Luz - Easy Baby
• Hélène Barbier - Unbolted Cover
• David Lynch - Ghost of Love
• Ennio Morricone - Senza Motivo Apparente Version 2
• Nico Fidenco - Make Love on the Wing
• Living Hour , featuring Peel Dream Magazine - Double Bus
• Sound of Ceres, featuring Marina Abramovic - Arm of Golden Flame
• Circuit des Yeux - Vanishing
• Zoon - Was & Always Will Be
• Florida BC - One, Two, and Three Eyes
• Daniel Rossen - Unpeopled Space
• Ruby Goon - Cold Wind
• Cola - Gossamer
• Yoo Doo Right - SMB
• Built To Spill - Time Trap

OK, so this week's episode is a bit scattered. Is that so wrong? The gloomy industrial synths, cheery cartoon soundtracks, experimental folk, food-obsessed easy listening, and space-rock jammers all sounded pretty good to me.

Playlist:

• Craven Faults - Deipkier
• Sanctums - Radiant Silver
• Drummachinemike - Data Based
• Räven Musen - Editare Rosie
• Neil Cowley - Cloud Machines
• Teen Daze, featuring Dustin Wong - Cherry Blossoms
• Nailah Hunter - Forest Dark
• pesewa - the orbit
• Blomfelt & Narby - Andre Brought his Child to School
• Misha Panfilov - Before the Race II
• Sessa - Canção da Cura
• Yves Jarvis - At the Whims
• Fresh Pepper - Prep Cook in the Weeds
• Sparks - Fletcher Honorama
• The Order of the 12 - Eye of a Lens
• Eiyn Sof - Groundling
• Happy End - Fuuraibou
• Happy End - Mufūjoutai
• Dana Gavanski - The Reaper
• Blonde Redhead - In Particular
• Cheri Knight - Prime Numbers
• Chrisma - C.Rock
• Trees Speak - Stasi
• Warpaint - Melting
• Miracle Fortress - Have You Seen In Your Dreams
• Summer Bruises - Eat Our Dust
• OMBIIGIZI - Birch Bark Paper Trails
• Korb - Megastructure
• The Radiation Flowers - Wall of Gold
• Peel Dream Magazine - Up and Up
• Ghostkeeper - Tropical Metis

Hazy songs for an overcast morning. Vintage synths, Scott Walker's characteristic croon, French psychedelia and other offbeat sounds to ease you into the working week.

Playlist:

• The Black Dog - The Cafe Where We Met - Live
• Moat Bells - Tiny Floating Things in the Air
• Coral Club - Swamp Temple
• Arp - Eniko
• Robin Hatch - Rest Stop
• Easy Idiot - The World of Nöd
• gerry - Grimpy
• Olafur Arnalds, featuring JOSIN, Reykjavík Recording Orchestra - The Bottom Line - Sunrise Session II
• Justin Hopper, Sharron Kraus - Ivory
• tstewart - aeon
• Pye Corner Audio - Warmth of the Sun (Andy Bell Edit)
• London Odense Ensemble - Sojourner
• Esmerine - Entropy: Acquiescence
• Hydroplane - Wurlitzer Jukebox
• Jon McKiel - Mourning Dove
• Halasan Bazar, Tara King th. - Beneath the Golden Tree
• Tara King th., Halasan Bazar - Ventolin
• Sun's Signature - Underwater
• Tara Clerkin Trio - Night Steps
• Zoon, featuring Leanne Betasamosake Simpson - Astum
• The Walker Brothers - Deadlier than the Male
• Ghostkeeper - Summer Child
• Steven Lambke - Truth Marks
• Large Plants - How Far
• Kikagaku Moyo - Monaka
• Cola - Met Resistance
• Crystal Eyes - A Dream I Had
• Apollo Ghosts - Island Kids
• Automatic - Skyscraper
• Rubber Oh - To Be the Mariner
• Porridge Radio - Back to the Radio
• Spiritualized - The A Song (Laid in Your Arms)

Aural wanderings for the end of May. Divine jazz, shambling freak-folk, swooning synth-pop, and a throwback to Meters maestro Leo Nocentelli's long-lost solo album from 1971. Happy Monday!

Playlist:

• Duncan Marquiss - Fixed Action Patterns
• Felbm - Root
• Cool Maritime - Soft Fascination
• Felsmann + Tiley - Vision Night Drive
• Drummachinemike - Still Life
• Stelar Door - A Great Escape
• Kaitlyn Aurealia Smith, Emile Mosseri - Shim Sham
• Belief - Jung
• Röyksopp - How the Flowers Grow
• 10D3R - Let Love
• Akusmi - Divine Moments of Truth
• Surprise Chef - Spring’s Theme
• untrained animals - Lam Entymology
• Yves Jarvis - Thrust
• Steven Lambke - The World Filled to the Brim
• Leo Nocentelli - Riverfront
• Leo Nocentelli - Give Me Back My Loving
• Khruangbin & Leon Bridges - B Side
• Melody's Echo Chamber - The Hypnotist
• TOPS - Waiting
• Soccer96, featuring Rozi Plain - Gatekeepers
• Aaron Booth - Waking Up
• Just Mustard - Mirrors
• Summer Bruises - Drowning Out
• Tess Roby - Ideas of Space
• Kristine Leschper - Blue
• Wet Leg - Convincing
• Yoo Doo Right - The Failure of Stiff, Tired Friends
• Warpaint - Hips
• Mid-Air Thief - 쇠사슬 (Ahhhh, These Chains!)
• Hooveriii - See
• Apollo Ghosts - Soft American

Capturing Calgary's May long weekend vibes in this one, with sometimes sunny sounds, sometimes icy. A mid episode run of jazzy affirmations should lift you up either way. Enjoy the holiday Monday!

Playlist:

• Group Listening - Wenn der südwind weht
• Coral Club - High Temple
• Home Baker - parrot
• Para Palabras - Follow Me
• wihtikow - ceremony
• Sinewave - Wizard of Ahhhs
• Angel Rada - Basheeba
• Modus - Nel Misolidio
• Hiro Ama - Free Soul
• Santpoort, featuring Louk - Last Day Here
• Flanafi - Under the Moon, Asleep
• Yves Jarvis - Endless Tube
• Jane Inc - Pummeled Into Sand
• Wai Wai Music Resort - SNJO - ロング・ヴァケーション(カバー)
• Dana Gavanski - Bend Away and Fall
• Monster Rally - Golden Shores
• Pharoah Sanders - Love is Everywhere
• JOYFULTALK - Blissed for a Minute
• Alabaster dePlume - Don’t Forget You’re Precious
• Reverie Sound Revue - Rip the Universe
• Jenny Hval - Year of Sky
• Kikagaku Moyo - Dancing Blue
• The Besnard Lakes - A Jacket for a Rainy Lady
• Sound of Ceres - The Glare
• Living Hour, featuring Jay Som - Feelings Meeting
• Crystal Eyes - Pretty Dumb
• Frog Eyes - Scottish Wine
• Ghostkeeper - Ancestral
• The Still - The Ecstatic
• ecotype - Inner Order
• Beach House - Sunset

What's the right music for a snowy day in May? Icelandic pop, sad turn-of-the-millennium songs from Germany, ascendant electronic jazz, subdued synth-pop and intercontinental collaborations all take a shot at setting the tone. We'll see what sticks.

Playlist:

• Esmerine - Entropy: Acquiesence
• Skúli Sverrisson - Sería
• tstewart - baxter climb
• GoGo Penguin - Ascent
• Golden Brown - Mammoth Star
• In The Well - Lakes Reader
• The Golden Age Of Wrestling - i miss eating big league chew and watching nitro in the basement of your old house
• Röyksopp - The Ladder
• Cylindricon - 100m Water
• Den Osynliga Manteln - Vindebagge
• Nömak, Ö - St Henri
• LTLeif and Amber PB - Clam Jam
• Eve Parker Finley - Blocks and Passes
• Dirty Eddy - The Ooze
• Helado Negro - Ya no estoy aqui
• Dana Gavanski - The Day Unfolds
• Múm - Don’t Be Afraid, You Have Just Got Your Eyes Closed
• Múm - Green Green Grass of Tunnel
• Sankt Otten - Fernfahrer
• Einstürzende Neubauten - Sabrina
• Spiritualized - The Mainline Song
• Jane Inc - Picture of the Future
• No Joy, featuring marsfade - Pure Shores
• Tess Roby - Up 2 Me
• Maria Chiara Argirò - Greenarp
• I Am A Coyote - Deneb
• Mazzy Star - Fade Into You
• La Luz - Goodbye Ghost
• Congotronics International - Resila
• Kurt Vile - Like Exploding Stones
• Ghost Woman - Do You
• Various Artists, featuring Body Breaks - Satisfaction
• Manfred Mann Chapter Three - One Way Glass

New music from Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser, a throwback to Tinariwen's 2007 global breakthrough, Green-House's ode to life-giving fungal networks, Field Works sharing the songs of the tectonic plates — just another Monday morning listening to the world around us on The A.M.

Playlist:

• Green-House - Mycorrhizae Dreams
• The Golden Age Of Wrestling - Koala Kisses
• Heavy Stars - Sutra
• Ben Lukas Boysen - Love (Mogwai Remix)
• Field Works - Station 8 Review - Amulets Remix
• ecotype - Inner Order
• drames rurals - l'empelt
• Lifeformed, Janice Kwan - Forget to Forget
• In The Well - Lange
• Tenda Senda - Rain Finally Fell
• Amp Sessions - Wu Wei
• Fresh Pepper - Congee Around Me
• Flanafi, Ape School - Gjuijar
• Oren Ambarchi, Johan Berthling, Andreas Werlin - II
• Tinariwen - Ikyadarh Dim
• Tinariwen - Matadjem Yinmixan
• Dobrotto, Yasmin Williams - Nova to Ba
• Duncan Marquiss - C Sweeps
• Easy Idiot - Monkey Fancy
• Soccer96 - Speak More of Love
• Kit Sebastian - French Disko
• Sun's Signature - Golden Air
• Fog Lake - Rattlesnake
• Cindy Lee - One Second to Toe the Line
• Large Plants - The Carrier
• Mats Glenngård - Djuret
• Şatellites - Seni Sen Olduğun İçin Sevdim
• Klaus Johann Grobe - Les Grecks
• LTLeif and Amber PB - Hewmidoo
• Painted Fruit - Judgement
• Yves Jarvis - At the Whims
• Crystal Eyes - I Still Believe in Love

Quote of the week: "For small creatures such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love." – Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan // This week's episode: Joe Hunting, director of CUFF selection We Met in Virtual Reality, joins at the 2:15 mark to discuss shooting documentaries in VR. That conversation, plus your usual mix of dreamy electronics, slow-building post rock, swooning dream-pop, and other laid-back songs for a Monday morning.

Playlist:

• Tangerine Dream - Continuum
• The Golden Age Of Wrestling - Rottweiler
• LTLeif and Amber PB - Jacket Jacket
• Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Emile Mosseri - Green To You
• Para Palabras - Boreal
• Olafur Arnalds, Reykjavik Recording Orchestra - Loom
• SAULT - Luos Higher
• Moon Mullins - Beyond the Reef
• John Carroll Kirby, featuring Laraaji - Dawn of New Day
• Caribou - Hannibal
• Eric Chenaux - Say Laura [Abridged]
• Tindersticks - Willow
• Modern Nature - Build
• Parquet Courts - Plant Life - Yu Su’s Transient Version
• The Cape May - Old & Early Numbers
• The Cape May - Spider’s Heart Attack
• Jung People - His Shining Fur is Said to Fill the Sky, Trees and Sea…
• gerry - Low Prophie
• Kikagaku Moyo - Cardboard Pile
• Congotronics International - Mulume/Change
• Lionel Limiñana, David Menke - Doin' It
• Purple Desert Rain God - Bridge to Nowhere
• Cymande - Getting it Back
• Khruangbin & Leon Bridges - Mariella
• White Flowers - Are You
• Sunglaciers - Best Years

Playlist:

• Forgiveness - Rainbird
• Shabason, Krgovich & Harris - Osouji
• Acid Twilight - Outdoors Mantra
• Charbonneau / Amato - Light Memoir
• Para One - Silicon Jungle (Sofie Birch Remix)
• ecotype - Emergency Locator Transmitter
• Kreidler - Arise Above
• Hercules and Love Affair, featuring ANOHNI - Poisonous Storytelling
• The Frenzied Bricks - Entropy
• Bristol Manor - Feels Like...
• wihtikow - stories my father told
• Molly Lewis - Balcony for Two
• Damon Albarn - The Bollocked Man
• Dummy - Atonal Poem
• In The Well - SEM
• Ursa - Sunday Morning
• Ellis Island Sound - Unwinding Not Unravelling
• Ellis Island Sound - The Villagers
• Dana Gavanski - I Kiss the Night
• TOPS - Perfected Steps
• Melody's Echo Chamber - Personal Message
• Crystal Eyes - Don’t Turn Around
• The Besnard Lakes - She's an Icicle
• Horsegirl - Billy
• Alabaster dePlume - Do You Know a Human Being When You See One
• Jenny Hval - Freedom
• C.Y.M. - Super Cannes
• Charles Spearin, iiis, featuring Petite Amie - Al Revés
• Heaven For Real - Sweet Rose
• La Luz - Goodbye Ghost
• Hana Vave - The Expedition