Sam Recommends: “Mirage” by Toro y Moi

Take me far away…

The first line of this song perfectly describes why I love it: listening to it always transports me from whatever thoughts had been hamster wheeling in my brain to somewhere else.

Sometimes it is the melody that lifts me up and takes me to a calmer place. A room or a cave, someplace bathed in violet light. Maybe candles are burning, maybe stars are glittering in the periphery. Maybe I can smell the ocean or hear waves crashing nearby.

Other times it is the steady bass drum that my brain latches on to; it makes me feel like I have some control. Reminds me of the games I used to play with myself, when the ground was lava, or stepping on a crack could leave my mom with a broken back. The threat of danger that, if I was careful & vigilant enough, could be avoided. I just have to find a pattern in the chaos.

Sometimes, it takes me back in time. That synth soaring through the song like a boomerang reminds me of the new wave songs they used to play in the mall when my mom would take me shopping with her, which in turn reminds me of being four or five or six or seven. Before I had any responsibilities, insecurities, or traumas to fuel the anxiety that lay in wait, patiently biding its time because it knows it will have plenty.

But now it has less, because I’ve reclaimed another five minutes with the help of Toro y Moi.

(Song recommendation by Samantha Lamph/Len)