willowlaun is the ambient, drone, and shoegaze-adjacent music project of john harrison, based in richmond, virginia. harrison was the bassist and vocalist for bells on trike, a second-wave midwest emo band active during the mid-1990s.
the willowlaun sound incorporates vintage and modern synthesizers, including moog and korg semi-modular units, alongside farfisa and solina transistor organs. harrison uses electric guitars, rhodes piano, and melodicas into his compositions, treating these instruments with natural room reverb and delay effects to create dense landscapes. a distinctive element of the project involves the integration of voices sampled from cassette recordings, decades-old college radio broadcasts, deceased friends and relatives delivering public service announcements or proverbs, which emerge intermittently through the ambience.

musically, willowlaun balances spacious, atmospheric passages with moments of ominous and claustrophobic intensity. The project draws from the ambient traditions established by artists such as brian eno, the piano minimalism of hiroshi yoshimura, and the experimental approaches of contemporary artists like emily sprague and claire rousay. the more glacia, warblyl and nostalgic works of boards of canada also serve as a reference point; however, beats and discernable percussion are largely absent from harrison’s approach.

willowlaun appeals to listeners interested in modern ambient music that bridges vintage synthesizer sounds with contemporary experimental approaches, offering meditative space and moments of subtle tension. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.