Graham Reynolds’ “Mountain” LP Listening Party
In the soundproofed sanctuary of The Equipment Room — a hidden audiophile’s paradise tucked inside downtown Austin’s M Hotel — composer, musician, bandleader, and performer Graham Reynolds hosted a vinyl listening party for his latest release, Mountain. It was less an event than a sonic immersion: Hans Zimmer meets a Murakami weekend lost in translation.
Only two years old, The Equipment Room is already the city’s best-kept hi-fi secret. Cozy and acoustically decadent (equipment built in Arkansas by an audiophile), the venue features a front room with a sleek mini-bar and lounge seating. But the real magic lies in the back room: a womb-like audio cocoon where sound pulses with such fidelity it’s like sitting inside a pair of high-end headphones.
Reynolds’ Mountain LP unfolds like a modern western elegy, textured with dreamy synths, ghostly violin phrases, and a subtle nod to film-score minimalism. Think The Caretaker meets The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful. It’s the kind of music that loops in the soul long after the needle lifts.
Reynolds who roamed the room, hugging friends and shaking hands, greeted the guests and enlightened the audience with personal anecdotes and stories which led to the creation of each track. The number Long Island Sound, not least, moved me because both Reynolds and I hail from that part of the northeast; Reynolds from Connecticut and me from NYC with a short stint on Long Island whose sound faces Connecticut.
Side Two stole the spotlight. With its oceanic pedal work, cinematic surges, and echoing slide guitar lines that conjure wide-open desert vistas, the listening experience felt more like a guided voyage than a passive listen. Moments drifted into an almost spiritual terrain — Peter Talisman-level production woven with steam wagon-era nostalgia.
Caretaker of Kings, a dreamy ambient track whose bass pedals roamed freely like wild horses. It was fabulous. Reynold’s Mountain Part 1 and Mountain Part 2 followed — a shimmering multi-faceted orchestration and piano banging of a daytime lullaby, closed the circle of sound under a lavender hue.
There’s something sacred about hearing new music in a space engineered to reveal every sonic molecule. Hardcore synth heads nodded knowingly. Patch-curious producers whispered about presets. Listeners weren’t hearing; they were processing, absorbing, decoding.
In Splendor Falls, the last course of the evening, Reynolds offers not just music, but a mood — a story told in tones, textures, and trembles. Those who listen with body and soul find space here.
Graham Reynolds is as pure as pure gets. Not a shred of over-inflated ego as is common within the ranks of artistic professions (although you don’t have to be an artist to have egomania). With every note that playfully stimulates your kundalini energy and every movement, he bares his soul for all to see and hear, completely vulnerable and open to the audience’s perception.
Graham Reynolds film music credits include: Where’d You Go, Bernadette, Before Midnight and Hit Man amongst many others.
Find Graham Reynolds Mountain on streaming platforms and visit these sites: Discography — Graham Reynolds
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Photo Credit: Elise Krentzel; Main lounge at The Equipment Room