Brooklyn-based composer Conor C. Ellis returns with his second album titled 'Dreamless' – "a celebration of life's many colors". Tender and delicate throughout, 'Dreamless' radiates a warmth unlike any of Ellis's previous output.

Consisting of personal recordings and improvisations from his childhood home, these pieces are like glimpses of special memories. "This album is about finding beauty in both joyful and sad moments," shares Ellis. "I wanted to make something full of love, honesty and emotion." On 'Dreamless', Ellis embellished his trademark abstract electronics and ambient sound design with meandering piano melodies, processed voice and intimate field recordings of markers on paper, his two year old nephew, and natural soundscapes. It's a marked progression in the composer's approach. His direct, almost clinical compositional style was evident on his debut 'Soft Earth' but here, the music is looser, gentler and more poignant.

The track titles reflect Ellis's slightly diaristic approach too, directing one's imagination towards concrete moments in their past; drawing the same picture of a sun over and over again on a piece of paper, dogs barking in the distance as the sun shines through the window panes… Pieces like "Every Moment Is A Celebration", "Dream Dog" or the closing "Mother's Beach" are beautiful piano meditations, "The Wishing Well", "I Drew The Sun 1000 Times" bring to the fore more spectral, abstract textures, while "Protector" and "A Lucid Understanding" are notable for their use of voice. Despite the variety of approaches across its seven tracks, the intimacy and honesty shines through on 'Dreamless' – Conor C. Ellis is closer than ever before.

Words by Adam Badí Donoval