Looping State of Mind

Looping State of Mind is the third studio album by Swedish electronic music producer Axel Willner under his alias the Field and released digitally on 5 September 2011 by Kompakt. The production stemmed from the use of guest musicians for Willner's previous album as the Field, Yesterday and Today (2009), and his use of live instrumentation in a music tour. The songs in Looping State of Mind were produced at Dumbo Studios, Cologne, where live instrumentation, performed by Dan Enquvist and Jesper Skarin, were added to demos composed by Willner. It is an ambient and minimal techno album that develops upon the Field's previously established music style. Each song is formed by musical loops that are layered and evolve over time, creating immersive and intricate songs. "Then It's White" was posted on SoundCloud the same day as the digital release of Looping State of Mind, which was released physically on 10 October 2011. A promotional tour ran throughout North America and Europe from October–December 2011. The album received critical acclaim for its composition and development of the Field's style and was listed on several year-end lists. A remix EP based on it was released on 30 July 2012. Background and production Looping State of Mind is Axel Willner's third album to be produced under his alias of the Field, after the well-received albums From Here We Go Sublime (2007) and Yesterday and Today (2009). Yesterday and Today featured several guest musicians such as drummer John Stanier from Battles. Though the album was less well-received than From Here We Go Sublime, it encouraged Willner to go on tour with bassist Dan Enquvist and drummer Jesper Skarin, which culminated in the production of Looping State of Mind. Looping State of Mind was Willner's first album to be produced in an official studio; his previous albums had been made at his home in Berlin. The album was produced in Dumbo Studios, Cologne, over the course of four days in 2011. For most of the songs, Willner composed demos out of microsamples at his home in Berlin before taking them to Dumbo Studios. These demos intentionally left elements out of the song in anticipation for the sessions. During the studio sessions, Enqvist and Skarin provided improvised live instrumentation through several instruments including a guitar, a drum set, a piano, a double bass, a vibraphone, and a few synthesizers such as the Elektron Octatrack and the Akai MPC.