One Fine Day

Long before streaming services, you had to buy your own CDs and that's what I used to do. My favorites were electronic, tribal, and new world music, songs you didn't hear on the radio at all.

"Buddha Bar" was big during this time (yes, I am showing my age), lounge and supper club type music that weren't cheap at all, and they were usually tucked away in the World Music aisle at Borders.

I still remember easily losing myself in this aisle on Friday nights as I’d go there after work, looking for the next CD to add to my collection. They usually came in 2-disc sets and featured well-known and not-so-well-known (at least to me) artists.

I’ve since stored these CDs in my attic, arranged in two large plastic bins. But before I stored them away, I transferred most of them to my hard drive so I could later sync the albums to my phone.

There's no feeling like having your favorite lounge music playing in the background while sipping that glass of wine with a special someone, or as in most cases, while writing as I let the Muse run free to the sensuous rhythms playing on my headphones.

Incense optional.

One of my favorite albums back then was Ministry of Sound's The Karma Collection Disc 1 and it is still one of my favorites to this day. I even have it in my car so I can queue it up before a long drive and is the best cure to road rage especially given Los Angeles traffic.

But for now, allow me to play it while I’m home (lockdown edition) and give you a little tour.

First up is One Fine Day by Jakatta with vocals by Beth Hirsch. Ah, the perfect introduction to a fine album. Take that first sip as you close your eyes and let your inhibitions go.

Lemon Jelly's Ramblin Man is next and as it's a travelogue for the mind, from its first note to its last. I can still name the places he’s rambled to. Paris, Tibet, Sydney, Rangoon, Rotterdam., Uganda, Sri Lanka, Stockholm, Lexington, Harlem, Ipanema, Damascus, Mandalay... I could go on but I have to tell you what's next on this disc.

Bent by Private Road featuring vocals by Zoë Johnston eases you sweetly into the rest of the album. Take another sip of that wine. Inhale the scent of the incense.

Dive deeper.

Love Theme by Moby gets you in deeper into this ambient mindset. Its sensuous beat has my once chaotic mind settling even deeper into a zone unlike any other. Relax, it says. Fall in love. Sink in.

Albatross by Chris Coco and Peter Green picks up the beat here, more open, urging you to move a bit more, even smile.

Waltz for Koop (Bacon & Quarmby Mix) featuring ethereal vocals by Cecilia Stalin picks up the beat even more but not so fast. That's for Disc 2 (I think, because I've only ever listened to Disc 1 on repeat).

My other favorites are After the Rains by Ravi, and Pozo del Deseo by Songhai. I just love losing myself in this album again and again. The songs help me stop worrying about whatever is weighing on me that day, and I feel light and carefree for just a few hours.

It's also my go-to for writing if I want to lose myself in the world I'm creating, especially when I'm meeting deadlines. Like right now, which is why I can't linger too long.

I have to hit play and listen to them all.

CD optional.