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The Art of Slow Listening.

Thursday 2nd March 2023

This week’s film is all about listening to vinyl. Specifically, it’s about intentionally sitting down and doing nothing but listening. Preferably with headphones.



The first vinyl record I ever bought was, ‘These Semi Feelings, They Are Everywhere’ by Czech artist dné, in 2016.



It’s a lovely record. It feautures quite heavily in the film I made about slowing down, and it’s a great album to unhurry with.



The record was a part of a limited run of 200, which, of course, sucked me in. That’s how they get ya. But that’s one of the many reasons I love vinyl in the first place.

Slowing down is a big part of what vinyl is about to me. You have to be intentional with it. You drop the needle and sit and wait for the record to begin. 

You have to turn the record over halfway through. It’s not like hitting shuffle on your 49 hour long playlist and leaving it going all day. It forces you to think more about what you want to play. And to repsect and enjoy the listen with a presence of mind.

I suppose there’s also a difference between appreciating something that you physically own; something that you’ve paid specifically for, rather than it just being one album among thousands of others in your library that all come under the banner of a regular £10 a month direct debit. It makes you more thoughtful about the value of an album, and makes it feel more meaningful to you if it’s become a part of your collection.


7 years later, my collection is currently 49 strong.

Before I shot this film it had been a while since I’d just sat and listened to an album. It’s not something we, even as music lovers, do enough.

Admitedly, I rarely have the patience to sit through a whole film, let alone sit and listen to an album whilst doing absolutely nothing else. So I’m trying to encourage myself to appreciate it more.

After hitting record (on the camera. Not ‘record’ as in a ‘vinyl record’. English is confusing), I sat down and chose what record to listen to. I didn’t plan in advance what I’d hear. I wanted to choose in the moment. I tried my absolute best to do this whole ‘experiment’ as authentically as possible.

I chose James Blake’s 2021 record, ‘Friends That Break Your Heart’. It’s a fantastic record. It’s really layred, which was perfect for this investigation. I’ve listened to this album countless times since it’s release, yet in listening to it in this really intentional way I heard so many elements that I’d never noticed before.



Album sequencing is an under appreciated art. It’s the difference between a coherehent masterpiece and a mess of tracks that don’t flow naturally.



When listening to a record that flows as naturally as FTBYH it’s a delightful experience. You’re never bored waiting for the next track, even if the one you’re listening to isn’t your favourite, because it makes sense in context.

Sometimes, after listening for a bit, particularly if it’s a record you’ve heard many times before, you’ll get complacent, and it will be hard to think of new things to listen out for.

Here’s a helpful list of some questions or prompts I was thinking to myself as I listened:

Try and pick out all of the instruments and elements you’re hearing.

Focus on the lyrics and what’s actually being said, then perhaps what’s being unsaid, or what’s implied.

How it was mixed?

Which things are front and centre and which things are pushed to the edges? Why is that?

What is the artist feeling? What are they trying to say?

How does it make me feel?

What does it remind me of?

What does it make me think about?

What else does it sound like?

Who else does it sound like? Why?



What you’re left with at the end of all of this is a deeper appreication for something than if you had just chucked it on on Spotify and given it very little thought.

Hear me, I’m not trying to discourage any other way of listening to music than this.This is just one of many ways to really enjoy an album.

But I think this is the way that’s least practised, by all of us, including me. I’m not preaching to you, I’m preaching to myself. I’m leaving this blog post here as a reminder to myself to practice this more.

Any thoughts? I’d love to hear from you.