Exploring the Garden of Sound: The Artistry of Alaskan Tapes

Brady Kendall, the composer behind the musical project Alaskan Tapes, has built a substantial musical catalog with his attention to detail and acute creativity. He seamlessly blends ambient sound, striking string arrangements and unexpected guitar elements to create unique soundscapes made to envelope and enchant the listener. Alaskan Tapes' music can also be heard in a plethora of short films, including "Birth Pangs", “Childhood Trauma” and “Mag Sein” by Eliot Rausch, “ABADDON” by Rogerio Silva, and the new documentary "Harvest Season" by Bernardo Ruiz. With over 100 million streams, Brady continues to captivate audiences with his innovative vision, which is showcased in his 2023 full-length album, "Who Tends a Garden".

Support Alaskan Tapes- Who Tends A Garden over on Bandcamp

Inspired by an old book he found on a trip to the Adirondacks, "Who Tends a Garden" delves into the dual meaning of a garden, both literally and metaphorically. Whether digging into the dirt of one’s backyard or arranging soundscapes from seed to harvest, Kendall has cultivated an intimate album of warm tones and earthy atmosphere. The boundary between field recordings plucked from the natural world and strings and keys carefully pressed begins to fade away as the album unfolds into waves of texture and tone. With mastering from fellow Toronto musician Chad Skinner at Half Moon Audio, the final result is a 9 track journey of lush soundscapes and nourishing melodies.

Alaskan Tapes keeps pace, with new EP One Thousand (Mighty) Voices

New album 'For Us Alone' out April 16th.https://www.Alaskantapes.comhttps://www.Alaskantapes.bandcamp.comhttps://www.Twitter.com/Alaskantapeshttps://www.Face...

The producer and composer stays connected to his signature style, but brings forth new emotions in this fresh collection

In his project Alaskan Tapes, Toronto based producer Brady Kendall has found his style and sound. Under his current moniker Kendall has been releasing consistently high quality ambient and drone focused tracks for over half a decade, and over the course of doing so seems to have settled into the soundscape he’s created. Though there’s still experimentalism and creativity at play within his work, it comes from a place of confidence, and sits upon a well-established foundation of delicate synth and ambient vibes.

Alaskan Tapes is also remaining consistent with wider media collaborations, contributing and composing soundtrack work for film and other visual projects. Previous tracks have made their way into short films such as “Mag Sein” by Director Eliot Rausch, and the documentary "Harvest Season" by Bernardo Ruiz.

Next month the artist will announce the full release of his newest collection, ‘For Us Alone’. Pre-release tracks show that gradually evolving ambient synth remains the cornerstone of this release, which moves with deliberation through gentle moods and ponderous melodies. Our featured track from the album takes its time to produce an irresistible, warm space. However, following tracks in the album experiment more with organic percussion than in previous work. Though new ideas are expressed, the personality of Kendall continues to shine through.

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Alaskan Tapes presents piano led downtempo with ‘We’

"We" available now - https://alaskantapes.ffm.to/atwe.oyd https://www.Alaskantapes.com https://www.Alaskantapes.bandcamp.com https://www.Twitter.com/Alaskant...

Releasing a single affected by this year’s isolation, Alaskan Tapes joins with Nettwerk Records

The tracks created by Alaskan Tapes exist in a space which feels deeply personal, rich with organic tones and field recording samples that dissolve the distance between audience and artist. Gentle creaks and physical scrapes bring tangibility to the work of Brady Kendall, who has been developing and evolving the ambient project for the past five years.

In addition to Alaskan Tapes’ substantial discography of downtempo tracks, music from the artist has created soundscapes in a number of productions including both short films and documentaries, as well as featuring in other visual media.

The most recent EP from this artist ‘Sleeping since last year’ arrived back in March, and in the time since then Alaskan Tapes has signed to the alternative rock and electronica label Nettwerk Records. The internationally recognised group is home to artists including ‘Passenger’ and ‘fun.’, and should provide Alaskan Tapes with a more dynamic platform for exposure than he’s previously been able to access.

Alaskan Tapes latest single is therefore his first with Nettwerk Records. Titled ‘We’, the track was released on August 21st and recorded as isolation began to take effect in the first phase of lockdown. The ambient solace is characteristically rough around the edges, and benefits from being so.

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More soothing sounds over on our Ambient playlist!

A tranquil escape with Alaskan Tapes' "Sleeping Since Last Year"

Taken off of my new EP entitled "Sleeping Since Last Year" out March 26th. You can pre-order this track on Cassette, or CD and bundles via Bandcamp, and take...

Alaskan Tapes is the ambient music project of Toronto based artist, Brady Kendall who has been steadily releasing his productions on albums and EP’s since 2015. Intent on creating music that is defined not only by catchy melodies, but also by texture and depth, he is often incorporating live tracked instruments into his compositions. He is well known for his melancholic and dreamy use of piano, alongside field recordings and electronic elements. 

Alongside his steady stream of releases, he is regularly composing soundtracks and film scores. His music can be heard in a variety of short films, including “Childhood Trauma” and “Mag Sein” by Director Eliot Rausch, or “ABADDON” by Director Rogerio Silva, to name a few.

Sleeping since last year is Alaskan Tapes’ most recent drone based EP. Throughout the 6 minutes, drifting chords and notes collide and embrace with heavy reverberation. Reaching its peak, the same elements unweave and cascade away with subtlety. Appropriately titled, the title track off of Sleeping since last year offers the listener an invitation of tranquility, a much needed escape in hectic times.

Grab the album on cassette, CD, or digital over on Bandcamp

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‘Sun Rain’, fresh beats on a new path

Creating music within the Canadian electronic scene, Chad Skinner has been half of the talent behind ‘Snow Day’ (a duo we covered way back in 2015), and worked out two neatly produced albums while the group was active. Independently, Skinner works under the name of ‘Legs Florentine’ when performing DJ sets across Ontario. The sound resulting from these sets has a little more drive and pulse, but Skinner’s work is more identifiable by the pensive glow that emanates from many of tracks, freedom of exploration in his music encouraging freedom of thought for the listener.

In move that embraces and cultivates that contemplative element, Skinner has launched a new solo project ‘Sun Rain’, with an eight track debut album. This collection of organic beats and electroacoustic sound has been released with the support of Hush Hush Records, the Seattle based label known for their preference of introspective sound that soundtracks moments of calm.

The track showcased today works from another Toronto based artist with a talent for capturing thoughts in soft focus: Alaskan Tapes. In his remix of ‘Views from Sixteen Stories’, Sun Rain avoids treading old ground and picks his samples with care, beautifully genuine percussion serving as the keystone to his own unique creation.

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Patient Serenity with ‘And, We Disappear’ – Alaskan Tapes

Track 7 of 'Views From Sixteen Stories' out Sept.19 Pre-order the 12" Vinyl, or CD here: https://alaskantapes.bandcamp.com/album/views-from-sixteen-stories French Horn played by Jay Austin Mastered by Taylor Deupree

Hailing from Toronto, Canada, Alaskan Tapes is a producer whose work demonstrates a consistently impressive level of talent in the creation of ambient music. A few tracks even include full vocals; the artist’s skill evident in just how well those additions complement each melody.

Compared to other productions from Alaskan Tapes, the track ‘And, We Disappear’ is one of the most gentle. Previous tracks show a more deliberate movement to construct an environment around the listener, with a more powerful undercurrent. Certainly, behind the creation of this recent track lies both experience and effort, but despite these qualities (or perhaps because of them), the sound produced is never overbearing. Instead it’s patient, warm, and softly quite emotional.

The samples feel organic and physical, backed up with a light addition of field recording style scrapes and creaks. This level of the track plays off the more overarching orchestral layer, giving a sense of detail and texture. When a more individual string melody does emerge, it’s already late in the song, and past the point of acclimatisation. Despite the delayed entrance of the sample the harmony is perfectly maintained and the latecomer rounds off what really is a beautiful track.

Grab the whole album “Views From Sixteen Stories” now available on vinyl, cd and digital.

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From Toronto to the Far North with Alaskan Tapes

Track 1 of The Ocean No Longer Wants Us.

What do the expanses of Alaska and Toronto ambient producer Brady Kendall have in common? Well aside from the obvious namesake (Alaskan Tapes) there is certain feeling of calmness one gets surrounded by nature out in the great wilderness. This same tranquility can be found in Kendall’s ambient pieces, often incorporating field recordings, piano, and elements of peacefulness.

Kendall describes the opening track from his most recent release.
”Untitled #1 is apart of my new 4 Track EP entitled "The Ocean No Longer Wants Us", it's a long drone track, that incorporates subtle melody through piano, and other instruments run through Granular synths.” 

Untitled #1 strikes a delicate balance between melody, texture and depth. Soft and gradual ambiance rises and falls, accented by floaty touches of piano, contrasting coarseness of field recordings, and a final touch of nostalgia.

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