Label Description: About this release.

shimmerglisten is the cinematic ambient project of Tim Rabjohns, creating immersive soundscapes for “films that don’t exist.” Drawing on film soundtrack traditions and dark ambient styles, shimmerglisten crafts deeply emotional, hypnotic compositions that serve as sonic sanctuaries for life’s most intense and quiet moments.

At the heart of shimmerglisten’s unique sound is extreme manipulation of guitar textures—transformed beyond recognition through effects pedals and experimental sound design—layered with hypnotic synths – using a mixture of old analogue and modern plugins, choral elements, and collaborations with acoustic musicians (eg gongs, singinbowls, harp, double bass and flute). This blend of organic and synthetic creates mysterious, cinematic worlds that invite listeners into a state of “yutori”—the Japanese concept of leaving space to breathe.

Tim’s background spans two decades as founder of the multi-award-winning music production company Shriek, creating sound for Sony PlayStation, BBC CBeebies, Channel 4, and UEFA. After leaving commercial music in 2017, he founded shimmerglisten in 2020 during the pandemic as a return to his experimental roots. Over ten years volunteering with environmental organisations in and around Lewes and Brighton deeply informs the project’s connection to nature and climate themes.

shimmerglisten has released two albums already: the cinematic debut Sound of Shadows (2023) and a more purely ambient LP Equanimity (2025), The latter was composed for his unborn daughter and was played as she was born in an NHS birthing room featuring various nature sounds with a spacey backing.

Live “sound-bath-concert” experiences—featuring sold-out shows at Brighton’s The Rose Hill and Lewes’ Subud Centre—invite audiences to lie down and immerse themselves in multisensory performances with dreamy lighting and nature-inspired visuals.

“Soughing of the Wild” continues shimmerglisten’s compositional journey, offering listeners a sometimes tender and sometimes troubled look at our relationship with the natural world. 

Credits and track notes.

Song credits: all composition, guitars, synth and production by shimmerglisten apart from:

Holding My Smile – Vocal, lyrics and melody, Nina Luna Fridel

Moonbroch – Vocal & lyrics, Isa Howie

Soughing Of The Wild – Voice, Don Agustin Machacca Florez.

Sweet Rain – Vocal, lyrics and melody & harp, Vic Cooper

Swollen Bones – Co-writer, Marston Mortaine

Velleity – additional field recordings, Darinau

Yutori – Gongs, Jo McEwen, backing vocals, Isa Howie

Rand In The Sand, Woe’s Hollow, Parosmia, Valley Of The Rocks – 100% shimmerglisten

Some notes about the songs.

Soughing Of The Wild – featuring a message from an Andean shamanic elder called Don Agustin Machacca Florez. During a trip to the high Andes in Peru in 2024 I was spending time with Don Agustin and his family. He’s a very wise soul and so I asked him if he could send a message to those in the Western world, what would it be? He replied in Quechua (the only language he knows) and I got his son to tell what he said afterwards. In a nutshell he said we need to all start living closer to nature, and respect the natural world if we were going to have a chance of surviving. This is where I got the idea for the concept and the name of this album.

Moonbroch – featuring the voice of talented upcoming folk singer Isa Howie – known for soulful melodies, heartfelt lyrics, and a deep connection to storytelling. I first met her at a Celtic ceremony on a hill near where I live and knew I had to record her some how!

Sweet Rain – was a co – write and features the harp playing and voice of local sound healer Vic Cooper. She’s such a soulful person and I loved the story and words behind this track that I really wanted to collaborate with her. The words were written after the loss of her grandfather – I turned the song into something more ghostly – imagining her grandfather looking on.

Holding My Smile is another co-write – this time with a very talented 13 year old – Nina Luna Fridel – the daughter of a friend of mine. Her best friend moved from London to Milan and she wrote of having to ‘hold her smile’ in place when she was so utterly bereft inside. I took a performance she did with voice and piano on an iPhone and remixed it and transformed it to what you hear here. It has a beautiful naive quality, I think.

Velleity – is an Instagram collab with a Norwegian ambient duo called Darinau who do a lot of lo-fi ambient sounds and field recordings. I loved that they were very nature focussed, so I asked them to send me something.They sent me something quite minimal and I added layers onto it. The work Velleity means the lowest degree of volition, a slight wish or tendency – which really described the minimalism of what they sent me to begin with.

Yutori – a collaboration with another local sound healer – Jo McEwen. This time recordings of gongs and singing bowls, with added vocals from Isa Howie – I wanted to make this more of a track with a journey, rather than just another sound bath. The Japanese concept of “Yutori” emphasizes the importance of having enough space and time to live a balanced, stress-free life – which I thought was appropriate for a gong piece – I hope that the addition of hypnotic synth lines will allow the listener to get in to that state as well!

Social and web inks for shimmerglisten
Web: www.shimmerglisten.com
Bandcamp: shimmerglisten.bandcamp.com
Youtube: www.youtube.com/@shimmerglisten
Instagram : www.instagram.com/shimmerglisten_
Facebook : www.facebook.com/shimmerglisten