Alaskan Tapes is a Toronto-based ambient producer whose latest album, Who Tends A Garden, is a masterwork in heartfelt beauty. Running the gamut of sounds and styles, the album showcases everything from ambient soundscape songs to melody-driven compositions that take you on a journey from first to last.
And apart from running an exclusive contest where you can win one of two vinyl copies of this album for yourself, we also invited the producer to curate an exclusive playlist packed with some of the records that inspired the album, the music he’s been listening to lately in general, and a few of his recordings as well.
Alaskan Tapes went the extra mile and dropped a little insight into why he loves these selections so much, so read to the end to find out why these records hit Alaskan Tapes as they do.
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“In Evenings” – Ann Annie
“Ann Annie came out with his album By Morning this year, and it’s everything I want in an instrumental record.. Organic sounds, lots of noise and tape warble. When you’re out in the garden with this on, it feels like you’re in a Ghibli film.”
“Minism” – Taylor Deupree
“An absolute classic by Taylor Deupree. Beautiful sign tones run through tape wandering all around you.. Just beautiful.”
“A.D. 2022 – SP#091” – Scattered Light
“Scattered Light doesn’t get enough credit for his unbelievably beautiful, repetitive and sparse work; please give it a listen.”
“Hazel Creek” – Ann Annie
“This track is just perfect for being outside.”
“Who Tends A Garden” – Alaskan Tapes
“With my new album I wanted it to feel like they were inspired by the tracks surrounding this one. With minimal piano, some noise, and organic sounds.”
“Pattern 11” – Jamison Isaak
“Following the pattern of the rest, what Jamison Isaak does with repetitive patterns and tones is something to behold!”
“Shimmer” – Lutes Jennings
“A deep, organic-sounding drone track.. Your plants will really thank you for playing this one.”
“Light Past Blue, pt 1” – Alex Somers & Aska Matsumiya
“Imagine you were hiking through the forest, looking at natural flower beds and animals all while an entire orchestra was following you. This is what that one feels like.”
“Null” – Live Slower
“Noisey Drone made from organic plucks, and synthetic sine waves is right up the alley of a flower bed, trust me on this one.”
“Just Spending Time” – Lullatone
“Ending of on a lovely lo-fi, melodic piece by Lullatone felt perfect for this playlist. An end to the movie.”
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
