Mike Vernusky is an Austin-based composer and electronic musician who, in addition to residencies all around the world, has released almost a dozen albums (mostly on his label Quiet Design). His latest one is the "Aatma" vinyl, out on the Paris-based label Ferns Recordings. Also subtitled "Textures of Mumbai", "Aatma" is the result of a trip the composer took to the Indian megalopolis of Mumbai, where he collected hours of field recordings with a Nagra SD recorder, he searched through scores of records in local boutique vinyl shops, he listened to and researched Bollywood soundtracks and then collaged and intersected all of the above in these 44 minutes of atmospheric soundscapes. What is most striking to me, is that even though Mumbai is said to be one of the loudest cities in the world (with sound levels in excess of 100dBs), "Aatma" is actually a very calm and eerie voyage of sounds. There are the occasional traffic noises, car honking, and engine revving that anyone who's ever been to India knows well, and there are Bollywood sound bits, the ambiance chatter of the streets, the prayer chants in the distance, but there are also distant fog horns and sounds of water that reminded me of my own trip through river-banked Indian cities like Varanasi and ethereal shimmery textures that make you feel like you are in a Buddhist temple in the Himalayas... The chaotic frenzy is swiftly absorbed by the near-placid forward motion of time and of and the ebb and flows of space, imbued with the visions of peace and infused with the smells of incense. Anyone who's ever been to India knows that it's the land of stark contrasts: unfathomable poverty next to unimaginable wealth, and yet everyone seems to be happy and at peace and this album, in a way, portrays that sense of inner peace to pay tribute to the wonderful people of India. The whole record is sort of an Indian harmonium: it breathes in the surrounding air and gifts you a sense of calmness through the sound of India, in a slow wave-like motion, to remind you of the tide of life and the essence of happiness.