My CD player doesn’t get much of a look in these days. Stuck in the badlands between vinyl and downloads/ streaming it seem to represent something that is neither contemporary nor organically analogue. Heck even my cassette deck seems to get more love these days. That was until the last few weeks, when it has all of a sudden become something of the device of choice once more.
The most significant reason for this is the arrival of a couple of packets of CDs from the rather mysterious multi-instrumentalist behind Tuluum Shimmering. I say packets, because, as you can see below, each set of CDs comes in a nicely stamped paper bag with a self-designed printed design. In addition each individual CD comes in an individually painted folded cover (see the main image) inside an envelope, all made from recycled card.
So while you also get a download of the music when you order it from the Tuluum Shimmering Bandcamp page, there is something special about the way that this music is presented that makes to want to listen to it in a physical format. I think it is because there has been such obvious care and attention put into the making and packaging of this music that I want to honour that, and there is something about the ritual of putting in the CD tray that seems somehow appropriate.
That’s because this music is very spiritual, and in essence rather ritualistic. Each CD, and most have just one track on them, is around an hour long and just lull you into their own universe… you can find yourself sitting down with one of these albums and suddenly re-emerging an hour later wondering exactly what happened in the interim, yet feeling in a better place for it. That’s because this music just exudes peace and harmony which you just can tune into… and that’s the ritualistic bit I think.
However, I’m not going to pick out any particular box set, or particular album or track here because I think different people will naturally tune into different ones… what I would say however is that there is probably a set or two for you here, and at around £3 per CD it’s probably the biggest bargain on Bandcamp… in fact you could probably get the whole back catalogue for the price of a couple of therapy sessions and, given the amount of well-being that I’m feeling after listening to a couple of these, that cannot be a bad thing.
I wish I had found Tuluum Shimmering earlier on in the lockdown because I would have definitely been listening to this music a great deal before now, as it is my CD player will be getting a good bashing over the coming months, and I’ve a feeling that I’ll be investing further in Tuluum Shimmering’s music on future Bandcamp Fridays. I urge you to too.
Tuluum Shimmering’s back catalogue can be found here.
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Hey,
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