Meet Serafim Tsotsonis’ Ambient ‘Imaginary Friends’

Winter is coming. With the days growing shorter and the mercury beginning to backslide, the time is nigh to break out the Hot Toddies, convert our couches and beds into blanket-laden nests, and hibernate. I don't know about you, but I'm stoked. We'll need a soundtrack, of course — and that's where ambient auteur Serafim Tsotsonis comes in. Five years after his last album, 2011's Beautiful People, the Greek composer and producer (who's also one half of dream-pop duo Ocean Hope) has returned with She Swims, his fourth full-length effort.

Arriving December 9 via Hush Hush, the 10-track album serves as Tsotsonis' tribute to his hometown of Corinth, a seaside village in southern Greece; accordingly, its lush palette is informed heavily by field recordings, set to tape during long strolls on the beach. For an album conceived in paradise, it's pretty damn melancholy, a moody blend of post-rock, jazz and muffled electronics. His sister and Ocean Hope partner Angeliki contributes vocals as well (as do Hellenic comrades Eleanna Konstanta and Effie Papadopoulou), infusing the project with some dream-pop wooziness.

Before we hunker down, it's time to meet Tsotsonis' "Imaginary Friends": a soothing bunch, to be sure, perfect companions for pillow-fort listening. Give it a spin below, and scroll down for the album artwork and track list.

Hush Hush will release She Swims on December 9. Pre-order it here.

SERAFIM TSOTSONIS, SHE SWIMS TRACK LIST
1. “Time”
2. “She Swims”
3. “Cold Naive”
4. “A Ride With Suzie”
5. “Thunder Shower”
6. “Moonlight”
7. “Imaginary Friends”
8. “Dragonflies”
9. “1977”
10. “Lighthouse”