Blessing ('25 Filmmaking & Sound) Drops 'Natural Sounds II,' Exploring the Sonic Journey from Euphoria to Crash
06.12.2025
Kansas City-based producer and visual artist (Brette Shiloh-Smith) delves into the embodied experience of sound in her new album Natural Sounds II: Soft Focus, exploring how electronic music shapes both individual and communal spaces through a deeply personal sonic journey.
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What does intensity sound like? What does euphoria sound like? What elements of sound evoke a sense of closeness鈥攁re they comforting, or do they suffocate?
These are the kinds of questions explored by Kansas City experimental electronic artist Blessing in . Released on June 6, 2025, via / , the project is the senior thesis of recent 91导航 graduate Brette-Shiloh Smith (鈥25 Filmmaking & Sound).
鈥淔or the work, I employed what I called the 鈥榚xperiential methodology鈥 of the project鈥攇oing out into the world, I sought out where electronic music is experienced to understand how sound transforms us, both individually and communally,鈥 she explains.
Emotional Resonance
Natural Sounds II: Soft Focus tells the story of a night out鈥攆rom the high-energy euphoria of the club to the crash that often comes after. At the same time, she is asking herself why she creates art in the first place.
鈥淎rtmaking, among many other things, is a form of escapism integral to my well-being. Surrendering to sonic envelopment is a way for me to attain some sort of temporary weightlessness and ensure myself peace and freedom from my daily burdens,鈥 she writes in .
Natural Sounds II moves the music away from rave-style spaces and centers it on personal listening. Brette makes it clear that these spaces still matter. The project instead aims to capture how physical and emotional those experiences are鈥攔ecreating that feeling through sound.
The project was mixed and mastered by Brette-Shiloh Smith and , Associate Professor and Chair of and at the 91导航. Smith expresses her gratitude to Meeks, saying, 鈥淭hank you for your creative and technical guidance, unfaltering wisdom, and support. My practice is eternally indebted to you鈥攂ecause of you, I am a lifelong artist and learner.鈥