Reed Mathis has built an impressive career and body of work by following his intuition as an instrumentalist and classically trained musician. For over thirty years, this intuition has taken the musical polymath to countless interesting places, from experimental jazz (Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey) to jamgrass (Tea Leaf Green), classical music (Electric Beethoven) to the Grateful Dead (Billy & the Kids), and his latest album, The Somnia Variations, has taken him somewhere quiet, introspective, and relaxing.
Mathis himself recorded every sound on The Somnia Variations, which he released unannounced on Christmas Day after five years in development. “I designed this album specifically to help with stress,” says Mathis of the single 28-minute long piece of music, presented as one long track followed by separate tracks for each of its ten component variations. Inspired by the likes of Steve Reich and Aphex Twin, Mathis utilized no synths or loops in creating The Somnia Variations, recording the entire album with instruments and manual effects: first piano, then bass, guitar, and Wurlitzer, and adding analog effects to each instrument before moving on to the next. He also included some old recordings of lake frogs in Oklahoma, chopped up and interspersed amidst the music, and the result is as beautiful as it is restorative: it’s almost guaranteed to help you breathe more deeply and melt into a restful slumber.
If you suffer from insomnia, like a little help easing into a nap, or just want to vibe out and appreciate an experimental musical collage, The Somnia Variations is worth a spin.
