Some people journal with words. Matthew Richter journals with music. He wrote and recorded these ambient pieces during the short time his father was in hospice two years ago. As the song titles indicate, this is a rumination on death and loss, though it's a lot more uplifting than might be imagined.

autodealer Conclusions (Somewhere Cold)

Is a peaceful death the reward for a good, long life? Is death the beginning of something new? How do we say goodbye in a way that means something to someone who won't remember it in the very near future. Are we saying goodbye for us or them? I think these are many of the questions broached in these pieces, though obviously they don't have any lyrics and, more importantly, they don't even try to give any answers. Sometimes asking the question is the whole point.

And while this does fit into the ambient, it's not abstract. These are songs, ruminations that have beginnings, middles and ends. There are solid constructs within the pieces themselves. That is, they make sense. They're not just random noodles on the wind.

Richter says he found these recordings and decided they were better than he remembered when he made them. I think he's right. He's also had a couple of years to gain perspective. If nothing else, this set is just that: one path toward seeing things from a different angle. When a parent dies, life changes irrevocably. It's neither good nor bad; it just is. What happens next is up to you.

Jon Worley