Forward
I met Randey long before Softerfields existed. We were film school classmates, spending more time talking about music than actually finishing our assignments.

Back then, we took very different routes. I was playing in a shoegaze band, buried in pedals and reverb, chasing texture and atmosphere. Randey went in the opposite direction. He found his way into bluegrass. Acoustic, disciplined, and rooted in tradition. At the time, it felt like we were listening to completely different worlds.

We stayed in touch through conversations rather than collaborations. Every now and then, he would share stories about what he was learning. At one point, he went to the United States for a bluegrass camp. Immersed in a culture where the music is passed down in person, learned by ear, and shaped by community rather than ambition. Hearing him talk about it made me realise how seriously he approached the craft.

What connects us now is not genre, but intention. Both of us care about listening. About process. About taking the long way instead of the efficient one.

Music

Bluegrass, in this context, is not about speed or showmanship. It is about lineage. Songs that survive because people continue to sit together and play them.

Through vinyl, that lineage becomes intimate. You hear the room, the hands, the closeness of the recording. The music feels less like a performance and more like a conversation that has been going on long before either of us joined it.

Randey’s selections are patient and grounded. Records that ask you to stay rather than react.

This session is an invitation to listen without needing to understand everything. To sit with music that has travelled far, and now rests briefly in this room.