Thank you for being here for the 22nd installment of this newsletter.
Some updates from Foggy HQ:
I just finished a film score for a short documentary. I can’t wait to share more soon.
To catch all of my official releases, including a delightful new remix of my song ‘An Opening’ from the wizard Wowflower, be sure to follow along on your favorite streaming platform. As a reminder, every song I write is shared here with you first.
Foggy merch — available now!
🎵 This month’s piece is in F minor.1
This is not, as I had predicted, a simple-ish piano piece. Well, it starts that way. And ends that way. But somewhere in the middle I took it in a different direction. I started this newsletter in the spirit of learning and exploring, and I promised myself that I would keep trying new approaches to production and instrumentation, and that’s what you hear with this one — an exploration of textures and sonic choices.2 (The birdsong you hear comes from a recording of a cardinal my brother sent to me — thanks, Greg!)
We’ve been getting some intermittent rain here in the Northwest — stretches of hot days punctuated by short but strong storms. It’s reminded me of growing up in the Arizona desert, where, all summer, we would hope to see the sky above the mountains darken, heralding the potential of a much-needed monsoon. There’s something so special about a summer rain — the petrichor lifting from the earth and permeating the air, the feeling of surprise, the contrast of the cold rainwater against the heat of your skin, the joy of children splashing in puddles, the subsequent hush that arrives after people rush indoors, abandoning their towels by the pool to ride out the storm inside with a good book or movie.
This song is a meditation on that feeling — that simple, fleeting joy.
📷 This month’s photo is on film from a visit to Silver Falls State Park in Oregon.3
The rain had let up and left the trees dripping with moisture, the sun breaking through retreating clouds.
I invite you to sit with this month’s song, photo, and poem and make them a small part of your day, whether that’s your morning ritual, afternoon break, or your evening wind-down.
As always, if you feel like it, let me know what you think in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.
Thank you again for being here.
A Poem
by Izumi Shikibu4
Come quickly — as soon as
these blossoms open,
they fall.
This world exists
as a sheen of dew on flowers.
Currently
Reading
Listening to
Telepath by Manchester Orchestra (Listen)
Note: I put all the songs shared in the newsletter into this Spotify playlist
Sharing
Wowflower recently remixed my song “An Opening” — it’s streaming now:
After a Summer Rain in F minor / Written and produced by Fog Chaser / Recorded in Logic Pro
Theory notes: You’ll hear some modal interchange in this song (i.e., chords borrowed from a different key). I borrow a Cmaj7 chord (what is referred to as a “V7”) from the song key’s parallel major (F major). The E natural in that chord (as opposed to the key’s E flat) creates a stronger pull back to the key’s tonic, F, so, I use it instead of the key’s minor V chord.
After a Summer Rain / 35mm film (Fujifilm Superia / ISO 400) / Silver Falls State Park, Oregon, USA / Order a print.
Translated by Jane Hirshfield with Mariko Aratani. From The Ink Dark Moon, Scribner, 1988.
Meditation 022 | After a Summer Rain