By Monica Pizzo

As the semester pushes on and the work piles up, we start to feel the pressure and see the loom of finals in the distance. All that stress and anxiety can affect our work and study habits. We could all use some soothing sounds to cut through the pressure of exams, which is why this week’s feature is mt. marcy.

mt. marcy’s relaxing sounds come from just outside of Pittsburgh in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, where the man behind the magic, Jack Follansbee, is from.

Follansbee began playing the piano when he was seven, but didn’t fully get hooked to the art until he started playing guitar when he was 10-years-old.

His musical influences range from Neutral Milk Hotel, to old Kanye, to his biggest influence, Phil Elverum of The Microphones. Follansbee’s eclectic and natural style of music truly reflects his broad taste.

mt. marcy is the soundtrack to the most soothing and peaceful sleep you will ever have. Follansbee uses low-fi beats, chimes, guitar and anything else he can get his hands on to mix incredibly beautiful tunes that make you want to smile. Interesting soundbites are also featured in many of his tracks, giving them a natural and real feel that is unique to mt. marcy.

“It’s just beats,” Follansbee said about his sound. “For the most part, everything you hear is stuff that anyone would have in their house. I just record it and cut it up, there’s no huge philosophy behind it.”

His authentic approach to music shines through in his tracks. There’s intentional use of everyday sounds and a sort of buzz that translates his music into something genuine.

“I think it’s pretty calming music, you know,” Follansbee said. “When I started the project, I was going through a pretty bad time, so I sort of made that to kind of cheer me up.”

mt. marcy is put on hold while Follansbee begins a new project, putting music out under his own name. “I don’t want to put stuff out on mt. marcy, or under that name, just to put something out. I want to put something out when it’s right, and right now I’m kind of exploring different paths,” he said.

His pure and artistic approach to making and releasing music reflects in his honest tracks. His smooth beats and ambient sound are things you can listen to while working, walking or even falling asleep. It’s focused and peaceful, everything you need to distract from the stress of exams.

Click here for his mt. marcy SoundCloud.

Featured Photo Credit: Feature photo credit courtesy of mt_marcy on Twitter.

Monica Pizzo is a freshman journalism major and can be reached at mpizzo@terpmail.umd.edu.