We are worn out, tired, easily distracted. We live in a world that provides us with uncountable ways of losing focus whilst trying to get our job done. This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius, meaning we’re drowning. I see you with your 51 tabs open, Jeremy. Whether it’s Whatsapp, LinkedIn, Gmail, Facebook, Instagram, Hotmail (yes, people still use that, more than you think), endless infotainment is constantly knocking on our digital door.

The Massive HQ is no different: it’s very easy to get distracted, which is why we often work with our headphones on.

Every day there’s (beautiful) music being played out loud, with people bouncing demos around, listening to tracks for a future campaign. Then of course you have Marijn fiddling around on his saxophone just for fun (often enjoyable), Camiel trying out a bass-line (often annoying) or Hans singing the Ajax club anthem for the 7th time in a row (you can fill this bracket for yourself).

If you’re trying to work on an important presentation, or are just in need of some zen, a great way to stay focused is to play music that can influence your spirit. Some people (me) like to play The Beatles, others like to play Après Ski Vol. 13. Just for the record, we fired those people.

After doing some research at the office, it seems that there is a common thread when it comes to the genre that people listen to when they want to get into their own bubble: ambient music.

If you google what the literal meaning of ‘ambient music’ is, you get: “a style of gentle, largely electronic instrumental music with no persistent beat, used to create or enhance a mood or atmosphere”.

Couldn’t have phrased it better. Although there’s a never-ending pool of ambient music online, a little voice in my head (let’s call it Harko) whispered to me: “Why aren’t you creating this yourself? You work at one the best music companies in the world, man. You got this. You’re super cool”. Ok, I made that last comment up, but still. So I made a plan.

I’m not a professional musician (one of the few regrets in my life) but I know that my colleague Job, who is heavily into the composition and production of electronic music, is able to translate my weird thoughts into notes. After explaining the concept (let’s make ambient music), Job got in touch with Halrin, Halrin called Isabelle, Isabelle was sitting next to Tom at the time. Before we knew it, we had a 7-piece ambient band at our disposal.

For several nights during the hot, long and clammy summer of 2018, we got together after working hours, set up a live jam at the office (#lovemyworkingspace was trending back then), poured some drinks and started playing.

This is usually where the magic happens.

As a lot of people at Massive are multi-instrumentalists and highly talented musicians, people tended to hop from playing the piano to singing vocals, before picking up the guitar for another song and ending up shaking the tambourine (that would be me). This way, the band was never the same, which kept the vibe and sound fresh and surprising.

When playing back the tracks in the studio, we all really dug the sounds that we were hearing and the mood it got us into – and believe me, we can be quite critical of our own work.

Could it be better? Probably. Could it be worse? Most definitely. The fact is, it was made with pure joy, love and enthusiasm, without any commercial pressure or specific goal. It was very spiritual, and that’s what counts.

The result is now in front of your ears, ready to be played. We can’t wait to read the emails you’ll be typing after listening to it. Perhaps, we’ll even make some more music if you ask us to.

‘Jambient, Vol. 1 (Live)’ is part of ‘Music x Mind’, an initiative by international creative music agency MassiveMusic with the aim of offering insights on the connection between mental health and music.

💟 Do you want to read more about our ‘Music x Mind’ initiative?

• Music x Mind: let’s talk about mental health
• Mindscape: the app that combines music, voice activation and AI
• AMSTA: Bespoke playlists to support residents of nursing homes
• Sound bath and the healing power of sound
• Instruments for Change: changing the world through music