The Kids And The Cosmos is the alias of British producer/composer Justin Lee Radford. He is already known as one half of the ambient/electronic duo HIN, along with Jerome Alexander (Message To Bears), having released their highly acclaimed debut 'Warmer Weather' EP on Sound In Silence in 2019. Radford has cultivated extensive collaborations with film makers, environmentalists, astronauts, scientists and social activists whilst composing music for film, VR, commercials, art installations and theatre. In late 2018 he released a 2-track single of solo piano pieces under his own name and, along with his childhood friends Jerome Alexander (Message To Bears) and Maximilian Fyfe (Paint Splat Faces), he is also member of the project Human Suits composing original scores for the documentaries of Planetary Collective.

Well, that was all lifted verbatim from the SIS Bandcamp site, but they do a better job on bio material than I could. 'Ambient Mixtape vol. 1' is five tracks in 28 minutes, 8 minutes longer than HIN's 'Warmer Weather' EP that I reviewed positively back in 2019. I'm not going to spend much time comparing this one to that one, except to say they're both really different. 'Warmer Weather' was more song-oriented with lyrical vocals, but still on the ambient side. The vocals on 'Ambient Mixtape' are far more abstract, likely sampled, and only on the first track. "Arrival in Mystery" sails in on a thickly padded cloud with regal majesty and operatic vocals that just may be castrato. The piano left out in the rain on "Shinshan/We Shine" soldiers on, gradually giving way to ambient synth pads and a gentle synth sequence; repetitive but delightful. In "TKATC x message to bears" more complex ambient chordal forms are displayed, and even a little percussion, but it ends before it becomes fully developed, in my opinion.

I think the next couple of tracks are about death, dying and what comes after; something I've thought a lot about lately. "Transition" is the longest track at 7:26, and also is the most musically elaborate. Over the ambient chords and piano there is a voice-like synth, and eventually a string quartet (not sure if it's really a quartet, but it does sound like more than a couple) enhancing this composition well beyond your average ambient piece. "Afterlife (Neon Ecstatics)" sounds like so much fun I can hardly wait to die...no, not really but The Kids And The Cosmos make it sound that way. Midway through it does break into a kind of happy beat with joyful musical expression. Great way to end an album, and I really appreciate the tone, and I think Mr. Radford really has a handle on the cosmic cycle. Listen to the whole thing and I believe you'd feel the same. Once again, limited to 200 delightful handmade copies, or you can do the download thing for less.