Fuzzzel is a new “artisanal white noise” app from esteemed music journalist, software developer, and Stereogum contributor Christopher R. Weingarten, who has rounded up an impressive cast of contributors for today’s launch. Oscar-nominated composer and arranger to the indie rock stars Owen Pallett, harp mastermind Mary Lattimore, experimental pianist Kelly Moran, ambient hero Eluvium, hip-hop innovators clipping., and wildlife recordist Chris Watson — they all have soundscapes on the initial version of Fuzzzel, which is available now in the Apple App Store.

Each piece is presented on Fuzzzel in an infinite loop with a video provided by the artist. “One of my core beliefs about experimental music is that there’s no ‘correct’ way to listen to it,” Weingarten says in a press release. “I’ve intentionally left Fuzzzel abstract. Play these pieces quietly or loudly. Use them for daydreaming or for focusing. Use them as ambient noise or as your favorite jams. These are open spaces for the user’s own wants and needs.” He adds, “When I started approaching these artists, many of them would tell me that they had already concocted bespoke white noise solutions for their own lives. I’m psyched to bring these personal pieces to the world, and allow people to connect with them in their own ways.”

Each of the six artists has provided a statement on the music they contributed to Fuzzzel, which are included on the app along with the music and imagery. Here’s Owen Pallett on “Wake (i)”:

I started doing yoga in earnest in 2012, going three times a week to the studio by my house. Their choice of music was always distracting. I remember, going into a pigeon pose sequence, that a Fleet Foxes track cued up. I was sweating on my yoga mat, thinking, This is probably the worst context in which one could listen to Fleet Foxes. I like Fleet Foxes in the car or when I’m cooking. I don’t like Fleet Foxes when I’m trying to do pigeon pose.

It got me thinking about my ideal musical accompaniment for an exercise such as yoga — not just yoga, but any type of exercise wherein there is a mindful element. Ambient music has a tendency toward repetition, which I didn’t want. New age music makes me feel alienated. Classical music just makes me think of my day job. I ruminated on this problem for years.

Then, in 2024, Christopher Weingarten emailed me out of the blue, asking me if I’d like to be paid to make some white noise for him. I immediately said yes, without knowing what the specifics were. When he described the Fuzzzel app, and what the noise was to be used for, I immediately felt like my “yoga music” problem was solved by his suggestion.

I thought about it and built a synth patch in my head, which I called a “noise organ” — white noise being kissed by resonant filters to allow for improvisation. I built the patch and recorded a series of tracks; among them was “Wake (i).” I hope you find it clarifying and useful.

Mary Lattimore on “Bandage Contracts”:

I wrote this after taking my friend to the hospital in an emergency. I used copper handbells, Lyon & Healy Style 30 concert grand harp and Moog Mother-32.

Kelly Moran on “Solina”:

“Solina” is a drone meditation I composed with my Prophet 12 synthesizer. Throughout the piece there are several timbral shifts occurring over one major harmonic shift. It is my sonic representation of a glacier melting. This video was taken on a cross-country road trip in Ireland where our final destination was the massive, awe-inspiring Cliffs of Moher.

Chris Watson on “Tramuntana”:

Recorded on Cap de Creus, Spain in March 2024. The Cap de Creus is a peninsula and a headland located at the far northeast of Catalonia, some 25 kilometers (16 miles) south from the French border. It is the easternmost point of Catalonia and therefore of mainland Spain and the Iberian Peninsula. It was very, very windy indeed.On Cap de Creus the savage honeycomb patterns of the exposed rock are battered by an unseen force and an aeolian howl is torn from the landscape, conjuring madness. The voice of an Iberian wolf or lost human soul?

William Hutson of clipping. on “A Place To Be Still”:

Twenty-three minutes and 31 seconds of abandoned space freighter engine noise. Off-course, presumed wrecked, carried forward by directives written generations ago, light-years ago. Forgotten. Howling emptiness, the tranquility of autopilot, an absence of consciousness, the unimaginable scale of the universe — I don’t know, it helps me sleep.

The audio for “A Place to Be Still” was constructed from the many “outer space” backgrounds we made for our album Splendor & Misery. Each ambience represents a different room inside the interstellar vessel on which the album’s story takes place. Some of the sounds originated as recordings of Graham Stephenson playing trumpet. The associated image is a photograph of the Horsehead Nebula by Paul Edmondson.

Eluvium on “Torn & Blooming”:

it is difficult to translate
an ocean of feelings
ripping you apart
and all your insides blooming
in an endless cycle
of destruction and rebirth

I’ve been messing around with Fuzzzel for a bit and can confirm it’s great for both waking and slumber, zoning out and deep concentration. Download it here.