Three Albums by The Necks for Your Creative & Meditative Moments

I've been grateful to see a few rec requests pop up here recently seeking out instrumental music to soundtrack creative process. When I need to stimulate the ol' grey matter, I likewise turn to some tunes for thought, so the responses to these open requests have been appreciated. I'll share one of my standbys for helping get the wheels to turning, Australian combo The Necks. They are, on the surface, a jazz trio with the familiar instrumental array of keyboards, bass and drums, but what they do with this format is far less typical. I'll quote the bio blurb from their Bandcamp: "The Necks are one of the great cult bands of Australia. Not entirely avant-garde, nor minimalist, nor ambient, nor jazz." Their "songs" often run 30 minutes to an hour and focus on developing a theme through repetition that they then explore the possibilities of through gradual shifts (and the stamina of the players--Chris Abrahams, Tony Buck, Lloyd Swanton--is something to marvel upon). These improvisations can easily become transfixing in a productive way that might assist in guiding thinking during creative expression or just casual zoning out.

Here are three recordings from The Necks that I usually turn to for these purposes:

Drive By (2003)
This is the most "open" of the three selections in this rec in terms of sound. A mysterious beauty pervades this performance, beguiling and alluring.

Stream: Bandcamp | YouTube | Apple Music

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Hanging Gardens (1999)
A rhythmic tour de force over which the keys create an atmosphere of suspense (it feels very film noir in a Blade Runner kind of way throughout). Engaging and intriguing. Works great for racing the clock against a deadline!

Stream: Bandcamp | YouTube | Apple Music

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Body (2018)
There are three distinct sections to this one, the middle of which is perhaps the most surprising...it could be mistaken for a lost Stereolab track from around the time of Transient Random-Noise Bursts! (That's drummer Tony Buck on the electric guitar.) The passages surrounding it are gorgeous, if not a bit eerie. I like to imagine the guitar-driven middle part will time up exactly with when you hit that flow state sweet spot and in turn propels you with it.

Stream: Bandcamp | YouTube | Apple Music | Spotify