Today we’re listening to Golden Brown, an instrumental music project from American multi-instrumentalist Stefan Beck, who’s based in Colorado. We first recommended his music in 2023, and interviewed him last year along with his Prairiewolf bandmates. In that conversation we learned the term “Colorado koshmiche,” which refers to a particular combination of ‘70s German experimental rock and global folk/country styles. Golden Brown’s latest solo record, Patterner, came out in October, and reflects such influences, blending guitar, keyboards, and lap steel into pastoral meditations. Sara Beck contributes cello. We’re also revisiting his 2022 record, Luminous, which consists of complex arpeggios, a 1936 aluminum lap steel, and a lot of reverb.

Patterner - Golden Brown (44m, no vocals)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Bandcamp / Tidal

Luminous - Golden Brown (50m, no vocals)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Bandcamp / ~~Tidal~~

We publish our Best of 2025 list tomorrow and then we’ll be off through next week.