Midsummer by Binaural Space

Midsummer has always been a very special time for me for various reasons.

I love the days leading to the summer solstice because they're so long! Nothing can beat the feeling of sitting outside at 10 P.M. here in Czechia (like I'm sitting right now) and reading a book by daylight, or being with friends around a campfire and feeling the dark coming oh so slowly...

Summer solstice has always brought a lightweight sadness to me – because summer vacation hasn't even begun but the days are getting shorter from now on. That bittersweet feeling has been internal to my composing.

But the main charm of the period between June 21st and June 24th (which is my name day, too) is how mysteriously magical its nights feel. Especially the Midsummer Night, called St. John's Night here (which sounds beautiful in Czech: Svatojánská night; and even our lightning bug is called accordingly, Svatojánská little fly). It is a time full of ancient stories about magic and miracles, fires, dances, wizardly herbs and opening of rocks where treasures are hidden. At least according to our traditions and folk tales.

It's supposed to be a night when supernatural powers come alive and the gate between the worlds gets open. A night when one could summon the souls of the deceased and get connected with mysterious powers. The night of rituals with origin in ancient history – like jumping over the fire, foretelling the future or throwing wreaths through the fire or to the water.

The night of magical golden fern, of wild forest women, dangerous nymphs luring men to dance and tearing them to pieces afterwards. Celebrations of love and prosperity.

It is the time when fairy tales are most vivid and believable, time when every forest is even more mysterious than usual and when the deep night gets pleasurably creepy, full of potential creatures and friar's lanterns / jack-o'-lanterns / will-o'-the wisps ready to make one lose their way.

This year I've been looking forward to Midsummer even more than any other year – because I've been composing this eponymous album, trying to elicit that very atmosphere for which I love these precious days between the summer solstice and Midsummer.

And that's why we're pre-releasing it today, on the 21st of June, the Solstice Day, and we'll release the whole album only 2.5 days later, during the night of the 23rd of June – the Midsummer Night.

I hope you'll like these magical 42 minutes of music inspired by ancient pagan festivities and that it will keep giving you some desired wonder and awe because, as Albert Enstein put it eloquently, "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed."

So open your eyes – or, even better, close them but open your minds and ears, enjoy the new music and have a wonderful, fun and beautiful beginning of the summer.

With gratitude for your ongoing interest in independent music and your support of indie artists,

Binaural Space, Solstice 2022

Ambient traditionalists say to Binaural Space what the Emperor said to Mozart: “Too many notes.” In both cases, the rest of the world tends to disagree.

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