At times I forget why I loved a certain artist or composition. The same happens with books, video games and movies. Time has passed and having indulged in the work of art so many times made me forget what made it so special in the first place.

About a year ago I veered away from my tried and true collection of instrumental music and found new joy in the world of dance music, ranging from electro-swing like Parov Stelar to house like Deadmau5. Ambient music soon followed, since I had been in contact with the genre before and video game music (as wide ranging as that is) also became quite prominent in my playlists.

It was all a major departure; I had probably grown tired of listening to the same artists and tracks. I needed a change.

The more I think about it however, the more I see similarities creep up between the old and the new. Even though I crossed genres, I still can’t shake core tastes. No prominent vocals, generally some powerful riff or sample and a strong groove that carries the track. I know that’s very general and probably doesn’t mean much, but the point is that once I had settled down in these new genres, I realized that I hadn’t been looking for something all that different. This made me revisit the things I had moved away from, and it turned out that my love for them had been rekindled.

I think one really needs to take a break from the familiar from time to time to appreciate it fully. It’s a cliché, yes, but apparently it needs to be experienced before it’s understood.

Just an observation, that’s all.