Calming Pot

Nathaniel Leaves

ambient guitar · guitar

Releases

One piece per stone, listening for the note held inside the mineral.

I write ambient guitar on the guitar. Mostly it's about gemstones and crystals — ordinary things, made a little more visible.

There are a handful of records — “Existence Patterns”, “Noble Stones”, “Passed Autumns” — and they belong together.

Liner notes

Existence PatternsA single mood held for the length of the record — gemstones, mostly.
Noble StonesA single mood held for the length of the record — crystals, mostly.
Passed AutumnsA single mood held for the length of the record — stillness, mostly.

Principles

Field notes

How “Existence Patterns” started

The first sketch for “Existence Patterns” was almost nothing: crystals, held too long.

Each pass got quieter until only crystals was left.

I hope it meets you somewhere quiet.

Hope it keeps you company.

A season of gemstones

People hear ambient guitar and expect calm; underneath it, for me, it's mostly gemstones.

It is ambient guitar, so nothing hurries — the guitar is allowed to just sit in the room.

I hope it meets you somewhere quiet.

“Noble Stones” — a note

I didn't plan “Noble Stones”. It arrived as one image of crystals I couldn't put down and asked to be finished.

I wrote it at the guitar, mostly late, mostly by deleting.

That is all it wants to be.

Hope it keeps you company.

“Passed Autumns”, a few words

“Passed Autumns” came from a long look at stillness, and then refused to leave.

The guitar found the shape before I did; I stayed out of the way.

I hope it meets you somewhere quiet.

Hope it keeps you company.

How to listen

Made for headphones at midnight, or a room with the lights down.

Listen

Spotify Apple Music

In the lineage of William Ackerman · the Windham Hill school · nylon-string folk · Durutti Column

Questions

Vinyl / physical?
Nothing pressed at the moment. If that changes it'll be announced here first.
What should I put this on for?
It's made for gemstones and quiet attention — reading, working late, the last hour of a day. Play it low; it was made low.
What am I actually hearing?
Mostly guitar, in ambient guitar. Influences somewhere in the background: William Ackerman, the Windham Hill school, nylon-string folk.
Do you take commissions?
Occasionally, for the right project. Enquiries via the label.
Is more music coming?
Yes, when it's ready and not before. New pieces appear quietly; the best way to know is to follow on your streaming service of choice.

Live — intimate shows

Plays now and then, small rooms only, mostly around the UK — a hall, a back room, sometimes someone's front room. Nothing big. If you'd like to host one, get in touch.

Booking enquiries

Small music, made carefully.

How it sounds

It's mostly guitar, close-mic'd, with the room left in.