Dinner Music #141: The weekly lineup
ambient western, Yugoslavian folk, "radiant slowness"
Over the weekend, the Texas Hill Country, including my hometown, experienced extensive, devastating, and fatal flooding. I have always said that Texas is not, and has never been, an easy place to live. I thought this as my mother sent me videos of her neighbors flooded homes. I thought this as I saw an RV in Lake Buchanan, sunk nearly up to the roof. I thought this as I watched all of the videos and followed all of the live blogs. Texas is not an easy place to live, no, but to so many of us, it’s our home. Please consider donating directly to Kerr County, or find other ways to help out.
This week, we’re listening to “radiant slowness,” a phrase used to describe the music of Ana Roxanne, the last artist on our weekly lineup.
We begin with Marisa Anderson’s Into The Light, a cinematic and experimental album “written as the soundtrack to an imaginary science-fiction western film” that tracks a journey into the heart of the sun. Listening to the album reminded me of something I learned recently: wide-open landscapes allow our eyes to relax, which can reduce activation of the sympathetic nervous system (responsible for stress responses), which, in turn, activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which gives us a sense of calmness. That’s what listening to this album sounds like. That calm only the wide open space of the desert can give. Next, we move into the ghostly and equally cinematic sounds of 1974 Yugoslavia, as imagined by Serbian–American folk guitarist Branko Mataja. To his son, Mataja once said, “music is beautiful – it will open doors for you that you didn’t think will open.” If you listen intently enough, these songs will no doubt open something for you, something you’ve likely long forgotten. On the opposite side of this feeling, we get Cameron Knowler’s CPK, an album that feels as though he’s writing and playing his toward remembering something forgotten or left behind. The album begins with a spoken-word poem floating over drifting guitar plucks, aimless and narrow, like a long and winding path, then moves into bigger chords, bigger feelings, reminiscent of William Tyler or Chuck Johnson. If you like the ambient western sound, don’t miss this one. Next, we have an album I’ve returned to again and again, Hermanos Gutiérrez’s Sonido Cósmico (DM’s best of 2024). We reach a peak of “radiant slowness” here, with the reverberation of a pedal steel set against a finger-plucked electric guitar, evoking a sense of the sublime, danger and melancholy and all. There are highs and lows on the album, with nods to higher energy Latin sounds, like cumbia or salsa, laced between the stark openness of desert sounds, the reverberation of everything against nothing. We end with Ana Roxanne and her album of experimental slowness, radiant in its ambiance.
Enjoy.
The playlist: Spotify / Apple Music
Paid subscribers have access to the full Dinner Music archive (via Spotify and Apple Music), an after hours playlist, a “New York Grooves” playlist and more — hundreds of hours of groove, jazz, folk, samba, hi-life, disco, funk and more, lovingly selected.
Plus, paid subscribers get a monthly playlist (check out the playlist for May here + June will publish on Wednesday), albums recs for new music, and access to the “for consideration” weekly playlists (2-5 hours of additional music!).
Monday
Into The Light - Marisa Anderson (2016)
Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Tuesday
Traditional And Folk Songs Of Yugoslavia - Branko Mataja (1974)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Wednesday
CRK - Cameron Knowler (2025)
Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Thursday
Sonido Cósmico - Hermanos Gutiérrez (2024)
Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Friday
~~~ - Ana Roxanne (2019)
Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Pair with
Asparagus pasta. An easy, cheesy weeknight pasta with some crunch from the asparagus. If you want to amp up the healthy, add squash, spinach, tomatoes.
Sparkling coconut water with yuzu. Got this over the weekend and wow, delicious. Run to trader joes! Get your own!
Nobody cares if music is real anymore (an essay from The Atlantic). “Music used to define someone’s identity: punk, rock, country, alternative, and so forth. Asking “What music do you like?” could elicit a person’s taste, values, and fashion sense…not so much today. The internet has fragmented and flattened subcultures.”
From the archive
Dinner Music: 2024 favorites | Since we’re halfway through 2025, it’s a good time to revisit DM’s favorite songs and albums from last year
Dinner Music #125 | bossa nova, psychedelic funk, japanese boogie
Dinner Music #124 | experimental pop, dirtbag wave, french synth
Thank you, thank you. Have a great week.
The “for consideration” playlist is here: dinnermusic.substack.com/chat. 3+ hours of ambient western, experimental, and more.
Huge fan of Branko Mataja, always at a loss for words / too many words when I try to tell people about him. Always room for him in the mix, excellent edition as always.
man this one is exceptional. a true standout! we feel the love that went into this. sending care and strength to hill country 💛