Juhan Ongbrian’s “Idling” featuring Ricky Gartell and Sly Chong Evokes the Late Night Life of Service Industry Workers Before the Dawn

JuhanOngbrian1_crop — Juhan Ongbrian, image courtesy the artist

There is an incandescent quality to the keyboard work on Juhan Onbrian’s “Idling” like something written for a restaurant lounge where the night staff is hanging out after operations have been shut down for the night hanging out with the band. Ricky Gartell’s saxophone figures curl upward like tendrils of cigarette smoke shared on the balcony and talking about the future as the moon rises.Sly Chong’s bass sits like an unmistakable presence keeping the song afloat when it’s not drifting, guiding the proceedings into the proper channels. It captures those hours when most normal people are already asleep but everyone who has worked a service job knows well when you are getting things ready for the next day and going home and maybe watch whatever movie might be on TV at three or four in the morning and to bed by sunrise. There’s a tranquility to the track that evokes the kind of exhausted sleep one gets after working hard and dealing with demanding people all night and enjoying that small bit of joy before waking in the late morning or early afternoon and running some errands before starting all over again. Listen on Soundcloud and follow Juhan Onbrian’s projects at the links below.