Premiere: Dylan Weschler "Second Memory"

We have a special premiere for you today! Dylan Weschler - aka the “King of TapeTok” - has graced us with the final installment of his “After Ideas” ambient EP trilogy. To celebrate the drop of “Vol. 3”, we are premiering an ear-massaging track from the new EP called “Second Memory”, complete with a Sunroom Motion Pictures music video.

Dylan has been an incredible collaborator and friend, and we can’t wait to see what he comes up with next. Please enjoy the video below, followed by a note from Dylan.

I first started making ambient music in March of 2020. We had been in quarantine for a few weeks and I was desperately searching for ways to feel fulfilled by making music. I'd always had a love for soft, ambient records or even one-off ambient tracks that my favorite bands would stick as betweener tracks on their albums--see "Bells" by Women or "Treefingers" by Radiohead. But I had never really thought about making music like this, it always felt way too distant from the uptempo guitar rock songs I usually make.

This changed when I heard "Morning Dove", a guided relaxation tape made by the good people at Sunroom. If you haven't heard, it's a guided meditation tape narrated by Clare Byrne, she talks you through some meditation techniques, Jake Stolz plays some guitars and synths, and you feel completely relaxed for about 10 minutes. I was struck by the simplicity and directness of the project and felt immediately inspired, so much so that I made a little piece of music that day, here's the Instagram post to prove it.

I've always associated ambient music with feeling relaxed and with being at peace with your surroundings, and although I wouldn't necessarily call "Morning Dove" an "ambient" project, there were enough adjacent vibes there to push me toward making something that I had always admired from afar.

Fast forward a few months and I was making what felt like a new ambient track each day. I had bought a synth, gotten into making tape loops, was endlessly watching YouTube tutorials on sound design techniques, etc. After collecting enough material I put out my first solo release "After Ideas, Vol. 1" in September of last year, and another volume in December.

The "After Ideas" series was a way for me to label the point in my musical career where I was really going after the idea of making ambient music. I told myself I'd write, record and release three EPs of ambient tracks and only after that would I know whether or not I liked doing it, whether I thought I was good enough at it, and that people enjoyed it enough for me to consider making more in the future (I think I knew the answer to each question was "dude...yes" before I released the first volume).

"After Ideas, Vol. 3" isn't much of a departure from the previous two volumes, although I'd say I think I got a bit better at track sequencing and recording in general? IDK! Overall I am very happy with how the series turned out and am very much looking forward to releasing more ambient music in the future.

Also, I am very grateful to the “After Ideas” project because it allowed me to collaborate with the amazingly talented Jake Stolz (twice!). Jake's open and seemingly constant experimental approach to anything creative has always inspired me. He made a video for my song "Twenty Nine" from Volume 1 and another for the song "Second Memory" off Volume 3. Both videos are great, you should watch them.

Also, I couldn't wrap up the After Ideas series without shouting out Wyatt Grant (cover art), and Tim Smiley (audio mastering). They both added so much light and love to the series and it truly wouldn't be the same without them. Thanks boys.

What's next? Thanks for asking, nowadays I'm trying to figure how i'm going to play this kind of music live, so I've been experimenting with a few different set-ups and documenting the progress on my YouTube channel.

Thanks for reading and thanks to Jake and Clare for being my day 1 inspos <3

- Dylan Weschler

Cover artwork by Wyatt Grant