Ambient duo yes/and is the project of guitarist Meg Duffy and producer Joel Ford. But it’s not the type of ambient music that will carry you off to a cozy, dream-filled sleep in which unicorns stroke your eyelids with magical eagle feathers.
It may seem that way at first listen, but below the soothing surface is an uneasiness; an unwillingness perhaps to be limited by the hallmarks of the ambient genre. Rarely on their 2021 self-titled release will you hear droning major-key chords, or eternally echoing piano melodies aimed at making Spotify’s latest sleep aid playlist.
Instead, yes/and prefers to combine Duffy’s guitar loops – which often resist time signatures – and Ford’s subtly odd background textures.
The feeling of their music is perfectly summarized by this track’s title: Ugly Orange. Sweet, but purposely imperfect.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The main guitar loop. Like a mantra that comes and goes throughout the song, it feels to me like it can’t decide whether it’s in 3/4 or 4/4 time, or perhaps even 5/4. If I think about it too much it gets abstract, the way a word begins to lose its meaning when said too many times in a row.
2. There’s a background noise, like voices heard over a cheap radio, that is just quiet enough for the words themselves to remain indecipherable.
3. The ambient synth pads pan slowly and slightly from side to side, wrapping the listener in the fascinating vibe.
Recommended listening activity:
Trying to peel an orange all in one go.