At first glance, the title of Taby Cheng’s piece looked like ‘Amager Strangepark’ to me (the correct title is Amager Strandpark, as you know). This slip of the eye is what guided me through the creation of this playlist; the photograph’s pink and blue wash read like a hazy love letter to a place to which I had evidently never been, but could still feel close to. The strangeness enters in quickly—where do the edges of one colour fade and become another? Is the sand grey, or is it blue? I hadn’t noticed the tiny row of neon buoys along the left side of the horizon at first, but now they prick my eyes incessantly. The bridge in the distance seems to change length, height, and shape every time I glance at it. I can’t stop staring at the seemingly endless stretch of hazy, melting sky, at its details, and at the image as a whole. This is what a photograph is meant to do, I believe—pull your attention in many directions, while still inviting you into its existence as one complete entity.

The songs on this mix are also meant to have the effect of lengthening time and focus as you listen; they stretch, melt, prick through the haze from time to time, and then diffuse. It took me longer than usual to curate this playlist, maybe because I kept getting lost in the strange landscape of both Taby’s image and my ever-changing perception of it. Give ‘er a listen, why don’t ya?

Love,
Sarah B.