WARM WAVES

Description

‘Warm Waves’ first appeared in 2020, ten years after Turn On The Sunlight’s debut self-titled album was first released in Japan. During that decade, Turn On The Sunlight’s Jesse Peterson and Mia Doi Todd welcomed their first child and co-founded a music venue in Los Angeles. When performance spaces were required to close at the start of the pandemic, Jesse’s focus shifted back towards home recording. Since ‘Warm Waves,’ five more Turn On The Sunlight albums have followed (including ‘Drives To The Beach,’ also on Tokonoma Records), all of which can be seen as an expansion of the musical direction set forth on this album. The group heard on ‘Warm Waves’ consists of musicians who Mia and Jesse were regularly playing with at the time - Sam Gendel, Mitchell Brown, Andres Renteria & Gabe Noel - joined by Laraaji, Arji & Luis Pérez Ixoneztli, making their first recordings together. The group’s blended signal was routed through Mitchell’s tape loops and modular synthesizer, which contributed to the unique communal sound of these recordings. Further extending this approach, Carlos Niño then reprocessed and reimagined ‘Passing Rain’ with Jamael Dean for his Elemental Beat Mix. Originally released one week into the official lockdown period, some listeners found the warm, collective sound well-suited for the time of introspection and shifting priorities that followed. Now, in 2026, ‘Warm Waves’ returns on vinyl to once again encourage peaceful contemplation and open-hearted togetherness, in echo of the spirit of its creation. Credits Sam Gendel: Saxophone & Electronics on A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3 Laraaji: Voice & Zither on A3 Luis Pérez Ixoneztli: Bird Sounds on A1, Aerophones & Water Drums on B2 Mia Doi Todd: Voice on A1, A2, B2, B3; Piano on A3 Jesse Peterson: Guitar, Bass, Organ & Bird Sounds on A1; Organ on A2; Guitar & Bass on A3; Wooden Whistles, Guitar, Ukulele & Piano on B1; Ice Breaking on B3 Andres Renteria: Percussion on A1, A2, B1, B2, B3; Marimba & Percussion on A3 Mitchell Brown: Synthesizers & Magnetic Tape on A1, A2, A3, B2, B4 Gabe Noel: Bass on A2, A3, B1 Arji: Bells & Shells on A3 Carlos Niño: Production / Remix on B4 Jamael Dean: Additional Keyboards on B4 Produced, mixed & recorded by Jesse Peterson Except B4, produced by Carlos Niño