Music Stories

From Tehran’s Bernisaun, dreams, cortisol reduction, and analog rituals

In dark times, music and sound can go from seeming irrelevant or empty to becoming a lifeline. The artist Bernisaun from Tehran has been brewing music that can, in his words, “engineer the frequency of your well-being.” It’s healing for headphones. And I know almost everyone I know is going to need to turn to that at some point this week.

Here’s half an hour of string-reed Werner Durand and John Krausbauer drones

Do you love drones? I mean, like you’re craving nothing more than aggressive drones coming right into your ears from violin and self-made reed instruments for 27 minutes, 28 seconds straight? The legendary Werner Durand and John Krausbauer have you covered on label-for-the-heads Moving Furniture Records out of Amsterdam. And then we take a side trip to time crystals, images, and sounds to discover from La Monte Young and Jung Hee Choi.

Peter Kirn - February 20, 2026

Motion Music

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OHYUNG’s IOWA on Trans Music Archive is as powerful as a glacier

Take a moment for the arresting stillness of “all dolls go to heaven.” IOWA, the full-length opus by film composer Lia Ouyang Rusli (“OHYUNG”), hits you deep in the gut. The first 2026 release by must-follow label Trans Music Archive is both an essential meditation and a call to arms.