"Departure to the West" by Joe Hisaishi
I draw a lot of my inspiration from Joe Hisaishi's work. His soundtracks with Miyazaki were some of the first I remember forming an emotional attachment to growing up. This song in particular has a lot of elements that I hope to create with my own work, both directly musical & in "feeling" too.
"Dawn in the Adan" by Ichiko Aoba
The arrangements Ichiko Aoba writes are always incredibly beautiful & captivating to me. I think the way she blends acoustic guitar with her vocals and other instruments is perfect and I often find myself checking my mixes against her own work.
"Afternoon" by Youth Lagoon
I'm not very old, but at many/most stages of my life, I can remember listening to Youth Lagoon. I based a lot of early solo music I made around Trevor Power's work.
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler
Probably the best song in the world. And the music video is even wilder. Pretty much everything about this song is rogue, the mix, the final lyric... and Bonnie Tyler is such a badass. Couldn't say how this song has directly influenced me, but it sure has played a big role in my life and music.
"Hannah Sun" by Lomelda
I've spent/spend a lot of time listening to Lomelda. When I worked a.m. prep in a kitchen by myself, it was fairly routine to listen through Lomelda's entire catalog. There's so much gorgeous background ambient sounds / textures that sit perfectly behind everything, or [that] sometimes are brought out front.
"Symphony No. 5 IV. Adagietto" by Gustav Mahler
Classical music is the first type of music I remember listening to as a kid: and has always held a large place in my heart. The Adagio movement from Mahler's 5th symphony is one of my favorite pieces of classical music. The harmony and voicing, tempo/meter, are all so beautiful to me.
