Legend has it that Brian Eno's concept of ambient music came to him while laid up in a hospital bed after an automobile accident in the '70s. A friend brought him some records, playing them too low to be properly heard, and Eno couldn't get out of bed to adjust the volume. While the record spun softly, Eno's idea for music you could ignore as easily as you could give it your full attention, like a sort of sonic wallpaper, was born. It's in that spirit of quiet isolation that Ghostly International, in association with Adult Swim, shares Ghostly Swim 2. For those keeping track at home, Ghostly wrapped up its 15th anniversary as an Ann Arbor/Brooklyn-based indie in 2014. Throughout the year the company saw soundtracking video games (Playstation's Hohokum), collaborating with awesome companies like Warby Parker and VOID watches, and clearing 300 releases of forward-thinking music with records from Tycho, Com Truise, and HTRK. What better way to end a milestone year than to revisit one of our favorite partnerships from the past decade and a half? Released in 2008, Ghostly Swim was praised for its adventurous survey of exploratory dance and pop music. Our curatorial focus has shifted this time around, moving further inward (spiritually) and outward (as far as our roster goes) to reflect the electronic underground in all of its hazy and vibrant experimentalism. Ghostly Swim 2 is a document of textured ambient zone-outs and woozy, granular house and techno that will help you find some downtime. So sit back, lower the volume, and enjoy our selections.
