VA - Ghostly Essentials SMM One (2009)

While the origin of the acronym remains a mystery (Sensual Machine Music? Sweet, Mellifluous Moodscapes?), the sound of SMM is unmistakable: warm, ambient-leaning textures, subtle dynamics, and a tendency to straddle the synthetic/organic divide in surprising ways. Ghostly Essentials: SMM One corrals some of our favorite examples of SMM into one gorgeous compilation. Highlights include the seasick guitars of Twine’s “Girl Song”, the overcast hum and electronic thump of The Sight Below’s “With Her Kiss (I’d Pass the Sky)”, the sun-dappled lyricism of Christopher Willits’ “Colors Shifting”, and the cavernous atmospherics of Kiln’s skittering “Rustdusk.” The Ghostly Essentials: SMM comp is an indispensable survey of Ghostly’s gentle giants.

Tracklist (00:59:20):
01. Aeroc - Blue Eyed Bitter
02. Cepia - Hoarse
03. Richard Devine - Murman
04. Dykehouse - Sandy Strip
05. Kiln - Rustdusk
06. Loscil - Umbra
07. Tadd Mullinix - Panes
08. The Sight Below - With A Kiss (I'd Pass The Sky)
09. Syntaks - The Shape Of Things To Come
10. Twine - Girl Song
11. Tycho - The Daydream
12. Christopher Willits - Colors Shifting