Dense, fast and noisy music can feel overwhelming, but some listeners find it calming. A new Heavensouls album, highlighted by the Guardian, has brought that response back into discussion.
Key takeaways
- The Guardian’s weekly Add to Playlist column has featured Cantu of the Sower, a six-track album credited to the artist Heavensouls.
- According to the Guardian, the album is being released by NTS Recordings on 7 October.
- The Guardian describes the record as built on blown-out noise, rapid shifts in style and very fast rhythms.
- The column says such music can feel hellish to many listeners but can feel relaxing to people who enjoy intense sound.
- A sense of calm inside sensory overload is a long-discussed effect in noise, glitch and fast club music, though it does not apply to every listener.
What is happening with this release?
In its regular Add to Playlist column, the Guardian has featured a new project from Heavensouls, an artist it calls ultra-prolific. The column gives his background as Biafra, Nigeria, and Texas, USA. The project is called Cantu of the Sower. It has six songs, and the Guardian reports that it comes out through NTS Recordings on 7 October.
The Guardian’s description focuses on texture and speed. It mentions blown-out noise, frequent sudden changes of style and breakneck rhythms. The writer compares the songs to glittering seams of rare crystal. The column also says plainly that many people would find this kind of sound unpleasant.
This article does not try to profile the artist. Beyond what the Guardian reports, little about the artist’s background, working methods or earlier releases can be verified here. The focus instead is the idea the column raises: for some listeners, very intense music produces calm rather than stress.
Why is it in the news now?
The release is close, and the Guardian picked it as the lead item in a weekly round-up of new tracks. Columns like this are an established way for music media to point readers towards unfamiliar artists. Being featured in one tends to bring attention to an act that mainstream outlets might not otherwise cover.
The column’s framing is part of the reason the item stands out. A typical recommendation simply praises a record. This one says outright that the music may sound unbearable to many readers. It then explains why a certain kind of listener might find it soothing. That honesty about divided reactions touches a wider question about how people experience extreme sound.
What background does a newcomer need?
Music built on noise and speed has a long history across several scenes. Noise music, which grew up in experimental and underground circles, treats distortion, feedback and texture as the main material. Melody plays a smaller role. Glitch and related electronic styles use digital errors, sudden edits and fragmented samples as deliberate effects.
In club music, several regional styles are known for very fast tempos and busy, chopped-up rhythms. Footwork and various hardcore and breakbeat styles are examples. More recently, producers working in what critics sometimes call deconstructed club music have broken dance tracks apart. They cut abruptly between moods, genres and sound sources. Hyperpop and other internet-native genres have brought similar techniques, such as heavy distortion and sharp genre changes, to younger audiences.
The Guardian’s “recommended if you like” list puts the album close to experimental hip-hop, noisy electronic production and fast, sample-heavy dance music. That gives a rough sense of its neighbours, without defining a single genre.
NTS, the organisation behind NTS Recordings, is best known as an online radio station that broadcasts a wide range of underground and experimental shows. A release on its label signals to listeners that the record sits in that adventurous, non-commercial space.
Who is affected, and how?
Listeners who already enjoy dense, abrasive music are the most obvious audience. The Guardian calls them “sensory freaks”, meaning people who enjoy intense sound. For them, a recommendation in a major newspaper is a way to find new work. For listeners who have never tried this kind of music, the column gives a gentle warning and an invitation at once.
Smaller labels and online radio platforms also benefit when mainstream outlets cover their releases. Coverage in a widely read publication can bring listeners who would never come across the music through niche channels. How much that coverage translates into streams, sales or concert attendance is not known.
Critics and editors face a familiar challenge. They have to describe music that resists ordinary vocabulary. That explains why the review leans on metaphor, comparing the songs to crystal, and on reader reactions rather than technical description.
Where do informed people disagree?
Opinions on music like this tend to split sharply. Supporters argue that overwhelming, fast-changing sound can push out ordinary thought. They say this produces a focused, almost meditative state. The comparison sometimes made is to the calm some people feel in a loud crowd or under heavy rain, where the sheer amount of input stops any single detail from demanding attention.
Sceptics say that this response is personal and cannot be assumed. For many listeners, constant change and distortion are tiring rather than calming. Some critics also question whether sudden shifts of style add up to a coherent artistic statement or simply reflect the restless way people consume music online.
There is also debate about genre labels. Writers often struggle to place artists who move quickly between hip-hop, noise, club music and other styles. Some argue that such labels no longer describe how music is made. Others see them as useful signposts for listeners. Comparison lists like “recommended if you like” sit somewhere between the two positions.
Scientific claims about why noisy music relaxes some people are not addressed in the Guardian column. Any detailed explanation would go beyond what the source supports.
What are the practical implications for listeners?
If you are curious but cautious, consider the setting. Intense music often sounds very different on headphones than through small laptop speakers. Volume is another factor. Distorted, high-energy recordings can be tiring at high levels, and taking care of your hearing matters regardless of genre.
It can also help to approach the music on its own terms. Listeners who expect regular verses and choruses may find frequent shifts frustrating. Those who treat the sound as a changing texture may respond differently. Short sessions are a reasonable way to find out whether the effect the Guardian describes works for you.
For people who follow underground scenes, weekly playlist columns remain a useful filter. They highlight releases from smaller labels alongside more familiar names. They also tend to give context, such as related artists, that makes unfamiliar music easier to place.
What should readers watch next?
The main event is the album’s release, which the Guardian reports for 7 October through NTS Recordings. Further coverage in other publications, and the kind of language critics use to describe it, will show whether the Guardian’s “beautiful chaos” framing catches on.
It is not known whether the release will come with live performances, radio sessions or other formats. NTS’s broadcasting activity makes radio exposure plausible, but nothing has been confirmed in the source material.
More broadly, the discussion about intensity and calm in music is likely to continue. More artists are mixing noise, club rhythms and fast genre changes, and audiences who grew up online are used to rapid switching between sounds. How critics, labels and listeners respond to that trend will shape where releases like this one end up.
Frequently asked questions
What is Cantu of the Sower?
Cantu of the Sower is a six-track project credited to the artist Heavensouls. It was featured by the Guardian in its Add to Playlist column of new music recommendations. The newspaper describes the record as full of blown-out noise, rapid stylistic shifts and very fast rhythms. It reports that the release is coming out through NTS Recordings on 7 October.
When is the Heavensouls album released?
According to the Guardian, Cantu of the Sower is due for release on 7 October via NTS Recordings. The source material does not include details of formats, such as vinyl, digital download or streaming. Nor does it say whether the release comes with any tour or live dates. Readers looking for those details should check announcements from the label itself.
What kind of music does Heavensouls make?
The Guardian describes the music as hyperactive and fast, mixing distorted noise with frequent changes of style. Its comparison list points towards experimental hip-hop, noisy electronic production and fast, sample-heavy dance music. The source does not give a single genre label for the work. Beyond the newspaper’s description, detailed information about the artist’s broader catalogue is not available here.
Why would anyone find noisy, chaotic music relaxing?
Some listeners report that dense, overwhelming sound pushes out stray thoughts and creates a focused, almost meditative state. The Guardian column describes this as intensity tipping over into relaxation for certain listeners. The response is personal, though. Many people find the same music stressful or tiring, and the column itself acknowledges that the sound may feel hellish to many.
What is NTS Recordings?
NTS Recordings is the label connected to NTS, an online radio station known for broadcasting a wide range of underground, experimental and specialist music shows. A release on the label usually signals music outside commercial mainstream formats. The Guardian reports that Cantu of the Sower is being released through this label. That places the album within NTS’s adventurous, genre-crossing output.
What is the Guardian’s Add to Playlist column?
Add to Playlist is a regular Guardian music feature that recommends new tracks each week. It often leads with a lesser-known artist. Entries usually include a short description of the music, where the artist comes from, comparable acts and upcoming release details. The column helps readers discover music from smaller labels and scenes that wider media coverage may not reach.
Sources and further reading
- The Guardian, music section: the Add to Playlist column covering Cantu of the Sower and the week’s new tracks.
- NTS Recordings and NTS Radio: official label and station announcements about release formats and dates.
- Music criticism publications covering experimental, noise and club music: background on the scenes the album draws from.
- Academic and cultural writing on noise music and listening: context on why intense sound affects listeners differently.
Surfaced from the rss:guardian_music signal “experimental album recommendation”. AI-assisted draft, editorially reviewed.
