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Blanket of Calm

by Healing Potpourri

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Limited to 350 Copies. Released by Run For Cover Records.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Blanket of Calm via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $24 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $8 USD  or more

     

  • Limited Edition LP - Clear with Green & Orange Splatter
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Limited to 150 Copies.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Blanket of Calm via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Sold Out

1.
Dream Vacay 01:52
2.
Sprouted a new leaf today And nothing is wrong, a blanket of calm fills my home, I’m floating on and on. We shared a nice meal, she knows how I feel, it’s been a perfect day it’s only one in the afternoon. My feet barely touch the ground, I’m smiling and nothing’s funny, an evening alone with honey feels so right, the sun’s shining so bright.
3.
Put on a jacket hadn’t worn in a while, found smokes in the pocket, the surprise made me smile, today’s gonna be a good day. Walked down my alley and I hopped in a cab, ran into a friend, she told a joke and I forgot I was sad, today’s been a pretty good day. I’m seeing someone new, not thinking of you, I’m glad there’s no fuss, cuz all my days feel long when I think about us. Went for a walk and I got something to eat, then the sight of some flowers looked like the magnolias on our old street, today could have been a good day. I’m seeing someone new, not thinking of you, I’m glad there’s no fuss, cuz all my days feel long when I think about seeing someone new, and not thinking of you, I’m glad there’s no fuss, cuz all my days feel long when I think about us.
4.
Moment Alone 03:05
Need a moment alone, I can hardly read what my phone has to tell me is it truly that you’d toss me like a stone? Cuz you’re through with me it grew fast but died slow. I’m avoiding those songs, cuz the words would all come out wrong in my headphones off my cell phone when I get home I’m alone cuz you’re through with me it grew fast but died slow. I can’t believe this has happened to me, I hope that you’ll see things differently. Walking home from the bar, my fingers light a spark, for a fiver I can lie here as I slowly fall apart, cuz you’re through with me it grew fast but died slow.
5.
Laney 04:00
I’m in love with a girl, and she goes to community college, I like her style, I could see us hanging out for a while, and when I’m down I’ll go find her by the center of town, out by the lake, relax it’s gonna be great. With Laney, Laney I’m crushin’ on Laney, Laney Laney Laney, Laney I’m goin’ to Laney, Laney Laney. I love reading her letters cuz the curls calm me down, the perfect green, Laney you’re so serene and when I’m down I’ll go find her by the center of town, out by the lake, relax it’s gonna be great.
6.
Your mom’s new boyfriend he wore camouflage, and made us listen to Metallica, to which we would then play air guitar. But I won’t forget falling asleep to the rain and waking up to hear you flip the tape again and again. The last day of third grade was bittersweet, cuz I’d be changing schools eventually. My sister asked me if I’d miss my friends, I can’t remember feeling anything. Sometimes I wonder if we’d still be friends if then it hadn’t just come to an end. You were tough and almost senselessly, I can’t help thinking you forgot about me. One thing you don’t forget is falling asleep to the rain and waking up to hear you flip the tape again and again, again and again.
7.
Camellia 02:00
8.
Pieces 03:24
Pieces of my brain ache and strain to deal with the pain, left feeling bored, don’t wanna think no more. Pieces pieces pieces pieces Resting my head, notice something at the foot of my bed but no one else is home, something’s wrong. Pieces of my skin rip open, it’s happening again, left feeling sore, don’t wanna hurt no more.
9.
The Page 04:52
I’m working up to it every time I close my eyes, I try to align the page. I’m warming up to the possibility that this is all that there is to say. I wonder if you ever think about the days, and all the songs we used to play, I wonder if you ever think about the way that we used to be, used to be okay. I’m living up to the stories that we used to tell, believe and it will again.
10.
11.
Invite me to your show based on sidewalk glow cuz if the ground doesn’t light up I won’t go. Planning my route based on sparks about, shining blinding glimmering within throughout Glittery sidewalks, glittery sidewalks. Catching my eye, doesn’t that look nice? Something I couldn’t dream up guiding my night. Glittery sidewalks, glittery sidewalks.

about

Healing Potpourri want to create songs that make you feel good. “I want the music to have this feeling of comfort and healing,” says Simi Sohota, leader of the San Francisco-based band. “I wanted to bring those elements of new age and ambient music to pop songwriting.” It’s not often that we take a moment to appreciate music that specifically exists to comfort and rejuvenate – music that aims to sound as pleasant as its intentions - but that’s exactly what Sohota achieves with Healing Potpourri’s new full-length, Blanket of Calm. The album is a collection of 11 effervescent songs to soundtrack better days—and hopefully inspire more of them.

Healing Potpourri’s music is defined by its affability, so it might come as a surprise that Sohota’s earlier musical endeavors ranged from rowdy punk to psych to black metal. Much of this eclecticism is owed to his time spent at UC Davis college radio station KDVS. His tenure there exposed him to new age music, lounge, ‘70s soft rock, and ambient artists. That constellation of genres would eventually form the colorful palette that make Healing Potpourri’s music so vibrant. “I’ve always been attracted to beautiful music more than anything else, and I wanted an outlet to try and write music like that,” Sohota explains. “I love ambient loops, collages, very calming music, but I also love pop music and I wanted to blend those things together and apply that meditative, introspective element to pop songs.” Sohota began to experiment with that idea on Healing Potpourri’s early releases, 2014’s The Way Water Bends Light and 2016’s My Eyes Never Really Adjusted To The Light. Those albums are charming, home-recorded explorations that show the undeniable potential of Sohota’s soothing songwriting, but it wasn’t until moving to San Francisco and immersing himself in the city’s music scene that he began to truly manifest his vision.

As Sohota continued to hone Healing Potpourri’s music he recruited a lineup of musicians that would blossom into the seven-piece group found on Blanket of Calm. Backed by Geoff Morris (saxophone, flute), Ian McBrayer (drums), Luke Sweeney (lead guitar), Jon Chaney (electric piano, synthesizer), Jack Brown (bass), and Jon Wujcik (percussion, congas), the ensemble allowed Sohota’s (vocals, guitar) ambitious songs to come to life for the first time. Recorded by Jason Kick (Mild High Club, Young Prisms) and Sami Perez (Sonny & The Sunsets, Cherry Glazer), and co-produced by Kick and Brown, the resulting album is a maximalist take on warm chamber pop that immediately welcomes the listener into a buoyant, breezy world. “I really wanted to push myself and learn how to write more complex songs and arrangements,” Sohota explains. “I feel like the best music can have different levels, you can just roll down the windows and have a good time or you can put on your headphones and really listen to it.”

Sohota’s focus on making Blanket of Calm as aurally pleasing as possible is more than an exercise in musical prowess (although the album is certainly impressive in that right): it’s a deliberate expression of his desire to concentrate on the restorative power of music. “There’s a lot that’s wrong in the world but I think calming music has always had a comfort to it. It’s my refuge,” he says. “I don’t want to escape those negative things but this kind of music is how I cope.” Blanket of Calm offers sanctuary sonically and lyrically, often capturing small but meaningful moments, and painting vivid pictures that remind us to appreciate everyday beauty. Songs like the title track and “Laney” highlight this observational writing alongside some of Sohota’s most infectious hooks and serene vocals. On opener “Dream Vacay,” Sohota’s stable of dexterous players introduce themselves with what he playfully describes as the “Healing Potpourri Theme,” while elsewhere “La Vida Tranquila” combines his admiration of Burt Bacharach and ‘70s Italian film soundtracks to create Healing Potpourri’s version of a James Bond tune.

While not every moment of Blanket of Calm is perfectly sunny, they are all very human. Songs like “Think About Us” and “Dustin’s Rain Tape” touch on interpersonal relationships and longing; the latter an ode to a childhood friend, while the former explores the sometimes fleeting nature of connecting with another person. The album’s closing song, “Glittery Sidewalks,” pulls many of these lyrical themes together along with returning musical cues. “It’s a very sweet and happy song and playing it with the band really gave it a new life,” Sohota says. “It’s about how something can become wallpaper and we don’t realize how special it is. There’s beauty all around us.” It’s a fitting way to end Blanket of Calm, an album that reminds us that sometimes a musical salve is exactly what we needed.

credits

released June 12, 2020

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Healing Potpourri San Francisco, California

the sound of a bottle missing the trash can
sssohota@gmail.com for booking

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