Relaxing music for stressful times.

Recorded live at ROAM 2020 NYE.

2020

2020 (Part 1)

2020 (Part 2)

2020 (part 3)

Smoke & Tea is your companion on a journey you didn’t realize you needed. Just like the faint smell of salt as you lay on the beach or the chirping of birds as you do yoga outside, the music of Bernard Farley and Patrick Blinkhorn’s ambient project enhances your experience wherever you are. The delicate vocals and electronic textures are not satisfied to sit in the background like a painting, but evolve into a slow story arc like the color of the sky as the sun rises and then sets.

It all started as a conversation at an after-hours party in late 2017 when Bernard asked Patrick to name his favorite album of the year. Patrick said that he resonated most with Reflection, an hour long meditative ambient work by Brian Eno, which also happened to be Bernard’s favorite album as well. This led the duo to start recording music on Sunday afternoons over tea in Bernard’s attic.

The opening and title track, “Sunday Afternoon” begins the album with a resounding gong surrounded by the soothing sounds of flowing water and birds chattering. It’s a simple introduction that reorients to the spiritual landscape of the music.

“The Forge” exemplifies the modus operandi of Smoke & Tea. The sound of metal being forged slowly transforms into chimes that reflect rays of lights as they swing in the dawn between the trees. Bernard’s vocals dance like a breeze blowing through a forest: heard and felt, but invisible except for the bristling of the leaves. It’s an effortless auditory experience that reminds us how rewarding it is just to be.

Farley and Blinkhorn explore moodier territory in the center of the album. The eerie melody and churning sound effects of “Dunes” convey a feeling of desert-like isolation while the vocoder and manipulated thunderstorm samples in “Stormy Weather” remind of the pristine, yet bleak futurism of Vangelis’s work on the Blade Runner soundtrack.

The 11 minute closer “Oahu” ends the record in epic fashion. Bernard’s vocals travel to shore in slow waves that build and crash on top of each other until they transform into a vast ocean of sound that drowns the listener in ecstasy.

Composed, recorded, and mixed by Bernard Farley and Patrick Blinkhorn

Mastered by Christopher Willits

Album Artwork by Bernard Farley and Kristopher Pritchard

Logo by Fady Rizk

Smoke & Tea

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