I’ll tell you what. This Radio Quarantine was never intended to be a collection of “Hey I’ll Click On This Weird Shit So That You Don’t Have To.” I have to admit though that it was the image that made me open this one. That’s the best way to find new music sometimes though and always has been. My shelves are full of things I bought 30 years ago solely on the basis of album cover art. That’s always a hit or miss proposition, but mostly hit. This stuff here is great, though it’s hard to say what’s creepy about it. Haunting in a way, yes, but not particularly creepy.

Now, the legendary GASHADOKURO is a creepy bit of Japanese mythology. That can’t be denied. The music here though? Not so much.

The music does fit the rainy morning mood. The rain isn’t even foreboding or unwelcome given the cooler temperatures it’s brought along with it. The hurricane tracking toward Florida with a prediction of skirting the East Coast still seems very distant, a bit foreboding but not a Doomsday message from the South. Maybe it will give everyone something else to talk about for a few days. The pandemic chatter has long since grown old. COVID-19 is just one of those forces that’s so much bigger than all of us, so talking about it doesn’t make sense, aside from the reminders to remain distant, wear masks and keep up with hygiene. That’s exactly what I’m doing. The death toll is above 150,000 including a large number of public figures. Again, each death a reminder that there are forces in the world that we are powerless against. Submit and bend and do what needs to be done. Carry on as best we can. Stop talking and just do it. If you were told that the Gashadokuro was out and about at night, would you go outside? No, wait! Many people would, if only to get a photo on the mobile for social media.

So, yes, I’ll click on the weird shit so that you don’t have to, unless you want to. This mix is traditional Japanese music, koto and flute, mixed down with ambient effects like wind and light reverb for a hollow, mellow space ramble. Call it contemplative. Call it meditative. Don’t call it creepy because it really isn’t. To the contrary, it’s quite comforting and easy. If that’s the mood you’re after, you’ve got it here.

Rain, rain, you don’t have to go away. Hang around a bit and wash everything down. It makes it easier to sit here and look out the window. No sense in pretending there’s anywhere to go.