If you want to learn how to sustain a creative career over 20 years, talk to Aaron Taylor-Waldman. He’s a graphic designer responsible for the album covers on many Mystery Circles releases, from Hainbach’s to Matt Lowery’s to my own, and on his own Mystery Circles album Concentric.

Aaron is a longtime lover of electronic music who studied sound design under the electronic music pioneer Pauline Oliveros, and somehow managed to get Daft Punk spun at his high school graduation. He also created the hugely inspiring (and giftable) Patch Deck.

But…

• What does he do when a design client brings him a draft they prompted on ChatGPT?

• How did he turn a deck of cards into a font of creative inspiration?

• And how have cold emails and sliding into DMs transformed his creative life?

I talked to Aaron to find out.

Please subscribe and leave a review if you dig it—it makes a big difference. Thanks for being here.

Ben Messelbeck wants you to become a film composer. He's a multi-instrumentalist who’s spent more than a decade as a full-time film composer, scoring documentaries like The Kids Are Not Alright and Zombies: Hung Up on a Dream, as well as narrative films like Adult Interference and The Good Half.

He’s toured the world as bass player for the band Hello Stranger, with Joachim Cooder and Juliette Commagere, and he wants lots more musicians to try their hand at film scoring, especially those who think it’s out of reach.

- But what’s his advice for musicians who want to make the leap to film composing?

- What does he think about AI’s impact on music and film?-

And why is knowing your “why” so important in music—and in life?

I talked to Ben to find out. Please subscribe and leave a review if you dig it—it makes a huge difference. Thanks for being here. 🤍 GS

EPISODE NOTES

Ben Messelbeck website

Ben Messelbeck IMDB

Ben Messelbeck Instagram

Good Sunset Instagram

Good Sunset website

TRACKS PLAYED

"every living thing follows a set path" - Ben Messelbeck

"beautiful voices in the night" - Ben Messelbeck

"we can do this thing" - Ben Messelbeck

"quiet moment" - Ben Messelbeck

"gus van zant" - Ben Messelbeck

"do you believe in time travel" - Ben Messelbeck

"wanderlust" - Ben Messelbeck

"i'm here for you" - Ben Messelbeck

"just keep going" - Ben Messelbeck

"old friends" - Ben Messelbeck

Thanks again to my previous guests: Navin Kala, Guillaume Blanjean, Ainsworth, TJ Dumser, Tyler Pursel, Aqeel Aadam, and Andrea Ragusa of AC Noises.

Special thanks to Navin for the Slow Fade cover art.

Andrea Ragusa is a musician, sound designer, and co-founder of AC Noises, an Italian boutique pedal maker that’s taken the world by storm over the past few years, winning fans from Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite to Nine Inch Nails’ Alessandro Cortini. Andrea runs the company with his partner Claudia Bellotti, an illustrator and photographer. They just released their most ambitious pedal yet, an ambient lofi powerhouse called Continua.

But what is it like starting a business with your romantic partner when you’ve only just started dating?

How did making their new pedal help Andrea survive losing a parent?

What made Instagram AC Noises' secret weapon?

And why is making music crucial for your mental health?

I talked to Andrea to find out.

This is Slow Fade, conversations about finding meaning, building community, and making art that matters in the digital age. Thanks for listening.

- Stephen / Good Sunset

EPISODE NOTES

AC Noises online

AC Noises on Instagram

Mothell on Bandcamp (Andrea's electronic duo with Marco Monti)

Good Sunset on Instagram

Good Sunset on Bandcamp

Songs played (in order)

"Autostrada dei Laghi" - Mothell

"Paranoia Broadcasters" - Mothell

"A Picnic that Lasts Forever with Friends that Never Leave" - Mothell

"Rock is Dead and We're Glad to Be Zombies" - Mothell

"Trains Forever" - Mothell

Special thanks to Navin Kala for the Slow Fade cover art. Listen to our magical conversation in ep. 1 of Slow Fade.

Aqeel Aadam is a Philadelphia-based musician, composer, and developer who’s released four albums combining modular synth soundscapes with crunchy beats. He started designing audio software plugins on a whim—and found such a passionate audience for them that it’s become a full-time job.

But how do you live up to a musician grandfather who played with Charlie Parker and John Coltrane?

What did Aqeel’s years working at Google teach him as a musician?

And how does he make software plugins that feel like bandmates?

I talked to Aqeel to find out. This is Slow Fade, conversations about finding creative clarity, building community, and making art that matters in a digital age. If you like this conversation, subscribe and leave us a 5-star review. It goes a long way.

Thanks for listening.

- Steve / Good Sunset

EPISODE NOTES

Aqeel on Bandcamp

Aqeel Aadam Sound (plugins)

Aqeel on YouTube

Aqeel on Instagram

Good Sunset on Instagram

Songs played (in order)

• ”Transmission” - Aqeel Aadam
• ”Weighted Blanket” - Aqeel Aadam
• ”Obsession” - Aqeel Aadam
• ”Vestigial” - Aqeel Aadam
• ”Crash Landing” - Aqeel Aadam
• ”Beneath Cracked Sky” - Aqeel Aadam
• ”Cosmic Irony” - Aqeel Aadam
• ”Rang like a Bell” - Aqeel Aadam
• ”Fault” - Aqeel Aadam
• ”Nails Grow Back” - Aqeel Aadam

Plugins discussed

Coastline

Outgrowth

Weeping Wall

Special thanks to Navin Kala for the Slow Fade cover art. Listen to our magical conversation in ep. 1 of Slow Fade.

Tyler Pursel is a musician with one foot in the world of Top 10 hits and the other in wildly adventurous ambient and experimental music. He’s been the touring keyboardist for the rap-rock band Gym Class Heroes for nearly two decades, and in recent years he’s released a series of exquisite ambient albums as a solo artist and as one half of the duo Earthroom.

Tyler’s new solo LP, In The Pasture of Obsolete Suns, drops July 24 on Mystery Circles.

[NOTE for Apple Podcast subscribers: the correct Slow Fade feed is at this link -- please click and make sure it's the one you're subscribed to. There is a duplicate listing that I'll be removing soon. Thanks.]

But how did a lifelong introvert get so good at collaborating?

Why did he sell all the musical gear he had—only to start over from scratch?

And what’s the secret to finally sounding like yourself as a musician?

I talked to Tyler to find out.

Please subscribe and give us a 5-star review if you dig it--it really helps. Thanks for listening.

- Steve / Good Sunset

EPISODE NOTES

Tyler on Bandcamp

Tyler on Instagram

⁠Earthroom on Bandcamp⁠

Mystery Circles on Bandcamp

Modartt Organteq & Pianoteq

Madrona Labs softsynths

Tyler's microlabel Lost Pairadice Records

Tracks played (in order):

• "Encode" - Tyler Pursel
• "Pipe Geometry: I" - Tyler Pursel
• "Chartreuse" - Earthrooms
• "Chimayo" - Tyler Pursel
• "Broken Jar" - Memorygardens/Lost Pairadice Records
• "Stairs" - Hillary Wallace & The Death/Lost Pairadice Records
• "Within Luminous Temples" - Earthroom
• "Five Pyramids" - Tyler Pursel
• "A Walled Garden Never Grows: IV" - Tyler Pursel
• "Laandgrave" - Tyler Pursel
• "Resinframe" - Tyler Pursel
• "Encode" - Tyler Pursel
• "Buselik" - Tyler Pursel

Special thanks to Navin Kala for the Slow Fade cover art. Check out our magical conversation in Slow Fade ep. 1.

TJ Dumser, aka Six Missing, is one of those guys who makes you feel better about the world just because he’s in it.

[NOTE for Apple Podcast subscribers: the correct Slow Fade feed is at this link -- please click and make sure it's the one you're subscribed to. There is a duplicate listing that I'll be removing soon. Thanks.]

TJ is a professional sound designer, mixer, and composer whose journey as an ambient musician started a decade ago with an accidental 15-minute guitar meditation that a friend convinced him to release. Fast forward and he’s an ambient playlist fixture with millions of streams who’s had his face on a billboard in Times Square.

But he’s as open, introspective, and committed to music as a mental health practice as ever. His recent album “Without Mind,” which you’re hearing now, began as a score for ketamine therapy sessions.

But what kind of ambient musician thrives on pressure?

How does he balance the demands of audiences and playlist editors with his own impulses?

How does he feel about AI-generated ambient?

And what is it like owning the tyrannosaurus rex of vintage analog synths?

I talked to TJ to find out.

We’re just getting started at Slow Fade, so please subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend if you dig it -- it really helps. Thanks for listening.

- Steve / Good Sunset

Episode Notes:

Six Missing's latest EP, Passed Self

Six Missing on Instagram

Six Missing on YouTube

Korg P-3100, "The Polyphonic Tyrannosaurus"

Good Sunset on Instagram

Good Sunset on YouTube

Tracks played (in order):

• "Not Alone" - Six Missing
• "We Took Control" - Six Missing
• "The Whole Ensemble" - Six Missing
• "Sit Down and Play" - Six Missing
• "Took a Moment" - Six Missing

Special thanks to Navin Kala for the Slow Fade cover art. Check out our magical conversation in Slow Fade ep. 1.

Ainsworth is a Toronto-based music producer, multi-instrumentalist, and social media synth jam maestro. If you’ve spent any time in the synthier corners of Instagram or YouTube, you’ve bobbed your head to the irresistible beats he makes on synths the size of matchboxes.

But Ainsworth also has decades of experience as a gigging musician, composer, and songwriter. And over the past five years, he’s put out a series of albums I can’t get enough of—especially Jazz Blaster, which you can sample in this episode. He blends retro electronic sounds with horn parts, hip-hop vocals, jazz chords, and one of the rarest and most refreshing things in music: a sense of humor.

I caught Ainsworth in a moment of transition: he’s in a new studio, making career moves, and most importantly, he’s just become a father. So how does parenthood change your art? Why are audiences so much bigger for social media jams than full albums? How do you escape the black hole of endless gear acquisition? And does your music get better when you stop trying to be cool? I talked to Ainsworth to find out.

Episode notes

Ainsworth on Instagram

Ainsworth on Youtube

Good Sunset on Instagram

Good Sunset on YouTube

Tracks played (in order):

• "Don't Be Sentimental" - Ainsworth feat. Luc Wiebe
• "Fight for Love" - Ainsworth feat. Lank
• "Tony" - Ainsworth
• "Things change" - Ainsworth
• "Afternoon Adagio" - Ainsworth
• "IKWIWB" - Ainsworth
• "Coffee with Jay" - Ainsworth
• "Infinity Pool" - Ainsworth
• "I'm Just Saying" - Ainsworth feat. Lank
• "Self Care" - Ainsworth feat. Lank
• "Enter Alpha" - Ainsworth

Special thanks to Navin Kala for the Slow Fade cover art.

What’s the secret to building a passionate creative community that doesn’t turn into a circular firing squad? How do you become the kind of grown-up you wish you had around as a kid? How do we tap the wisdom of Aphex Twin?

[NOTE for Apple Podcast subscribers: the correct Slow fade listing is ⁠at this link⁠ -- please click and make sure it's the one you're subscribed to. There is a duplicate listing that I will be removing soon. Thanks.]

I talked to Guillaume Blanjean to find out. He's a French musician based in Copenhagen who makes electronic music as CSTL, as well as playing bass in the progressive metal in the band Only Human.

He’s also founder and curator of one of the most dynamic electronic music communities/labels I know of: Petite Victory Collective, which just celebrated its 5th anniversary.

Guillaume goes deep on his musical origins, how EDM & prog metal feed each other, how synths help reach troubled kids, and much more.

Check out Guillaume's music and everything PVC is up to...playing in this episode is my favorite release of Guillaume's, the album Patterns, released under his former moniker Atlas Castle.

And if you enjoy this conversation, please drop a 5-star rating and tell a friend -- it would mean the world to me.

Thanks for listening. - GS