dark wurlitzer e. piano evolves into peacefully anthemic synths as sleeping opens into expansive, beautiful dreams. a meditation on the value of leaving idle space for our imagination, this episode of synthquest invites you in on the dive into nothingness.
welcome to synthquest: relaxing, ambient soundscapes, 100% improvised, unedited, live and of the moment. meditation music for music lovers and an ambient music anti-show! put on your sleep mask, sit in meditation, settle into shavasana, embark on your evening walk, draw yourself a bath, and get ready for synthquest!
you know those really great weekend dreams that are so good that when you wake up , you do everything you can to fall back into them? dreams with substance and plot and people you’re enjoying. you end up sleeping 2 hours longer just seeing how many times you can doze back into the dream story.
I used to summon immersive dreams like that daydreaming as a child. bored suburban blank spaces I was eager to fill with the contents of my imagination. whole worlds to contentedly get lost in for hours.
I think that’s why so many people think of music and other creativity as a kind of magic — it comes from nothing. a necessary ingredient for its creation is substantive, paradoxically purposeful blank, open, spacey nothingness. our dreams and visions and creations and art are a mysterious alchemy in defiance of the first law of thermodynamics: something really can be created from nothing.
today i invite you into our dreamy dive into nothingness. may i give you nothing.
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i highly recommend listening to synthquest through headphones. i'll also suggest settling into someplace comfortable to listen, or listening during a bath, massage, on a walk, while you make dinner — basically wherever you go or whatever you do to relax and decompress.
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about jen starsinic
synthquest is created by Jen Starsinic, a music artist, multi-instrumentalist, and community organizer from Harrisburg, PA currently living in Nashville, TN. In addition to her creative work, she is the co-founder and artistic director of Girls Write Nashville, a nonprofit organization providing music mentorship and creative community to youth artists, whose works as been featured on NPR's Here & Now and is a winner of the Lewis Prize for Music. Said of her last studio release, EP Bad Actor —"there is a blissful aura that surrounds Starsinic’s sound, making for one of 2020’s must-hear albums."
about synthquest
synthquest is recorded live and livestreamed on Twitch currently on Monday and Wednesdays at 9pm CT/10pm ET/2am GMT. It is 100% improvised and unedited.
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You know those really great weekend dreams that are so good that when you wake up , you do everything you can to fall back into them?
Dreams with substance and plot and people you’re enjoying. You end up sleeping 2 hours longer just seeing how many times you can doze back into the dream story.
I used to summon immersive dreams like that daydreaming as a child. Bored suburban blank spaces I was eager to fill with the contents of my imagination. Whole worlds to contentedly get lost in for hours.
Now, I have no shortage of things to take up my brain space. And when I encounter the rare unscheduled, unbusy moment, I reflexively reach for my phone and Tetris and the newest most horrifying news and television television. Filling every blank space with something, dear god anything, I reflexively don’t even allow myself the space to dream.
There’s actually a part of the brain called the default mode network that plays an integral part in mental processes like mind-wandering, spontaneous thinking, imagination and creativity. And, the default mode network is only activated when we are bored, when we are daydreaming, and when we are not focused on the outside world. If you’ve ever been stuck on a problem to later have the answer suddenly come to you in the shower, you have experienced the default mode network.
I think that’s why so many people think of music and other creativity as a kind of magic — it comes from nothing. A necessary ingredient for its creation is substantive, paradoxically purposeful blank, open, spacey nothingness. Our dreams and visions and creations and art are a mysterious alchemy in defiance of the first law of thermodynamics: something really can be created from nothing.
As someone who makes a living from her creativity, I’ve obviously been trying to find more space for, well, boredom. In a big F-you to every teacher who told me to stop zoning out, I was extremely day dreamy and not paying attention for this piece, an exercise in finding that space where I am momentarily innocent of all the obligations, roles and assignments of my adult so called life, free from the restrictions and expectations of reality.
Dear synthquest listeners, I hope that while listening to this, you find yourself some nothing. Yes, I wish nothing for you. I hope you lose yourself entirely. And in that space you made, I hope you journey to your best, weirdest, most expansive and beautiful dreams.
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Hello and welcome to synthquest. For anyone new tuning in, I am your host and performer, jen starsinic. Synthquest is a weekly improvised ambient soundscape that i record during a livestream every week. If you ever want to tune in to the livestream, I’d love for you to join us monday and wednesday nights on twitch.tv/jenstarsinic. You can go to my website at jenstarsinic.com for my full calendar and to sign up for my email list for notifications. You can also follow me on instagram and twitter @jenstarsinic.
Because synthquest is an improvisation recorded live, you will hear me finding sounds and probably making some mistakes. It’s all part of the fun of being in the moment together.
I also recommend that you listen to synthquest through external speakers or headphones, so if you’re just listening through your phone speaker right now, maybe hit pause for a second if you can to grab a pair of headphones or something. (If not, that’s fine)
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I hope you all enjoy episode 12, music for dreaming.