Buried under a cacophony of noise and desperation with a seemingly endless parade of transmissions, the plight of the demoralized artist blurs into a hazy mantra rising to the surface in a collective sigh: can you hear me?
STOLACE is stepping out of seclusion from the peace and quiet of the ambient music scene to make his mainstream debut with a ground-breaking psychedelic EP. Emerging onto the indie rock scene with a sound that defies convention and industry norms, STOLACE unveils their debut single “Can You Hear Me”, a mesmerizing journey into the depths of the human psyche.
Inspired by the isolating nature of the digital age, “Can You Hear Me” is an open invitation to explore the inner workings of the modern mind through a metaphorical narrative set against the backdrop of indie- and electronic-influenced psychedelic rock. The song is a fictional reflection told by a lone figure positioned at a deep-space communication substation, musing on their isolation and desperation to hear any sort of familiar voice on the other end. Put simply, his reflections mirror our universal longing for connection amidst a sea of digital noise.
STOLACE’s stream-of-conscious approach to songwriting breathes organized chaos into the conventional methods of music production, allowing for an organic exploration of sound, emotion, color, and texture without limit or constraint. With influences ranging from classic psychedelic rock to modern indie sensibilities to the dry warmth of 70s pop rock, STOLACE crafts a sonic landscape that is both nostalgic and forward-thinking.
“I wanted to create something that felt honest and true to my experiences, and yet not be bound to watered-down methodologies,” writes STOLACE. “I took each note, every phrase, and every facet of the arrangement in strands of inspiration, steering clear of my habitual patterns of writing in favor of exploring sonic spaces I’ve never been to before. I’m absolutely enamored with the results — a song that feels both familiar and surprising at the same time.”
STOLACE’s visionary writing and production style generously give the listener a playground for the senses — spacious instrumentation, alluring motifs, neck-rocking bass grooves, wailing guitar lines, and an abundance of ear candy to give you plenty to explore with every listen. In addition to exploring vastly different sonic spaces, STOLACE pushed the boundaries with a wide-ranging vocal performance, from hushed, subdued vocal articulations to intense guttural vocal ululations, expressing dire emotional states.
“Can You Hear Me” is the first single off the forth-coming EP “Transmission”, due out Friday, July 19th, 2024. You can find this single on most streaming music platforms, at stolace.bandcamp.com, and at stolace.com on May 31st, 2024.
// ARTIST BIOGRAPHY //
STOLACE (Michael Tangen) is an electronic psychedelic artist from the Minneapolis area in Minnesota with broad, sweeping influences that have shaped and informed his ambient compositional style, and contributed to the rich tapestry of his extremely prolific catalog of ambient, electronic, and psychedelic music. In addition to his 2021 COVID lock-down project, a re-imagination of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon”, he has amassed over 50 hours worth of composed and improvisational ambient compositions from The Relay Station album series, including the three volume sets, “Artemis”, “Dark Matter”, and “Into the Nebula”, plus his long-form sixty-two, sixty-three and sixty-four minute ambient performance pieces, and tomes of ambient, neoclassical, and atmospheric improv “sketches” and compositions. STOLACE has 36 full-length albums and a handful of EPs and singles. This marks his 46th release, and his first widely marketed single.
Michael Tangen is also the producer of the ambient music program “The Relay Station” which airs weekly on YouTube, featuring two-plus hours of ambient, neoclassical, and atmospheric music from around the world. He is also the host of the long-form conversational podcast series, “Ambient Discourses”, which showcases conversations with musicians and composers on a wide-range of topics, including the deeper metalevel ideas that shape our creative expressions. At the heart of Michael’s endeavors is a deep love for music, his fellow musicians, and the artist community at large, always looking for new ways to help, support, encourage, and promote other musicians besides himself.
“It really is my deep desire to help others out — the music landscape isn’t what it used to be, and it can be a very lonely experience out there, releasing utterly fantastic music to extremely small numbers of listeners. It can feel devastating — and it is precisely why I feel compelled to offer other musicians and artists the sort of thing I’d appreciate — a deep listen to their album from start to finish, my expressed heartfelt appreciation for what they’ve created, and turning around to share about their music with others.”
Welcome, friends! | ambient and neoclassical music
Welcome to stolace.com – home of music by Stolace, The STOLACE RELAY STATION, and Ambient Discourses – ambient music that inspires mindfulness and serenity
###