FREE Songs For Fast Introspective Flats

I get e-mail reminders numerous times a week about new tracks posted on Ektoplazm, a music website that posts electronic music that is free and legal via the Creative Commons License. This one popped into my inbox today and I thought I’d share it with everyone, not just ICA members.

Announcing the release of Technologia, a new album by Chronos, with luscious downtempo soundscapes from Russia.

This is the description from the Ektoplazm website:

Mystic Sound Records celebrates the 10th anniversary of the founding of Chronos with a special three-part anthology breathing new life into tracks released through the entire history of the project. This initiative began with Spiritus and continues here with Technologia, the second chapter in the trilogy. Included are ten magnificent downtempo songs fully demonstrating the magic and mystery of the Chronos sound.

This release, Technologia, has three songs that are good for the cycling studio. Most of the others are more fitting for yoga or daydreaming.

My favorite is “Sacral Meetings,” which is 100 bpm and 7:48 long and is a great introspective fast flat after a short climb. It begins slowly, with ethereal sounds, as if you are climbing through the mist to the top of a summit. Stand up and climb until 1:17. Then the 100 bpm tempo picks up. Now, imagine you are on this plateau, high above the valley below. It is flat right here, and you are pedaling quickly at 100 rpm to get you to another short climb ahead. Work on your smooth pedal stroke as you stay connected to the beat.

Then at 4:00 the tempo falls away; you stand and climb at whatever climbing cadence you like (between 60 and 70 rpm).

At 5:22, the fast tempo returns. Imagine pedaling on a slight downhill and staying completely focused and connected to your bike, until the end of the song.

Second is “Solar Movement (Paleolithic Edit).” Like the previous song, it’s 100 bpm with a few energy breaks for standing climbs. Even though it’s the same tempo, I think you’ll agree that it has a little more of a hectic feel to it, which would be better in a scenario in which you are trying to get away from another rider.

The third song is “Deus Ex Machina (Festival Edit),” which is 90 bpm and 9:54. This one has a couple different personalities, at first slow, then rhythmic with some strange sound effects, then it gets more lively about halfway through, and then about 6:45 it gets very jazzy with piano, horns, and flutes. You can have a lot of fun with this varied song!

The song “Spiral Clouds (Kumharas Edit)” has been in my library for a long time. It’s got a great rhythm, but has some strange sound effects and chants. For a certain audience and profile, I can get away with it. But it’s not for everyone.

I’ve been using Chronos since 2007. A few of their songs are among my most favorite songs to use for FTP field tests at 90 bpm, with driving rhythms to keep my riders engaged, as well as many other tracks that are great for intrinsically focused endurance rhythms.