Interview: Sleepthink

Meet Sleepthink, the ambient project of Perth-based artist Ethan Reed. With roots in post-rock and a love for emotive, textural soundscapes, Sleepthink blends generative synthesis, field recordings, and acoustic layers into deeply personal sonic worlds. His work captures both vulnerability and experimentation, shaped by influences like Tim Hecker and Kali Malone. In this interview, Ethan shares his process, inspirations, and how he carves out space for thoughtful music in an increasingly fast-paced world.

General info

Artist Name: Sleepthink

Real name: Ethan Reed

Age: 30

Location: Perth, Australia

Social Media / Music Links

instagram.com/sleepthinkk

facebook.com/sleepthinkmusic

soundcloud.com/sleepthinkmusic

sleepthink.bandcamp.com

Spotify

How long have you been making music?

10 years

Do you release music under a label or independently?

Independent

Creative process and inspiration

What drew you to ambient music in the first place?

I've had a long and diverse background as a musician over the years - I was originally a guitar player and started to find myself leaning towards more emotive and emotionally expressive styles of music. I guess I can trace back the early interest in ambient music to the genre of post-rock - hearing such a focus on texture and emotional impact was pretty incredible for me and impacted my style going forward. I spent a lot of time with Japanese ambient/environmental artists from the 80s as well as film soundtracks and started to try my hand at creating something similar.

Can you describe your creative process when starting a new track?

A lot of what I've been making for Sleepthink recently has been starting with generative patches on VCV Rack - I love synthesis and exploring sound through this medium. I typically create a generative patch with a few voices that incorporates elements of randomisation until I have a self playing, evolving patch that I can just let play as I potter around the house. Through this I can find what melodies and timbres really make me feel something, and I go from there - I bounce it out into a project file and will edit and manipulate what I have, adding acoustic instruments, field recordings, additional hardware synthesizers - whatever comes to mind to build out the piece of music.

Where do you find inspiration? Emotion, nature, science fiction, or something else?

I really love establishing a sense of place with my tracks, typically through the use of field recordings, but sometimes even through some slightly experimental recording techniques. What if I play some of the track through my vinyl hi-fi speakers, and record it through the window on a Zoom portable recorder? Can I record this percussion part on my phone speaker? Anything that feels like it adds both texture and context to the track feels meaningful to me.

How would you describe your sonic identity or the mood you aim to create?

I'm a deeply emotional musician, all of what I aim to create is trying to tell a story, capture a feeling, or explore a pattern of thought. My debut record is entirely about expressing the varied and challenging situations and emotions of losing a close friend.

I want the music to feel as if it carries the weight of the thought that went in to it, but also to be accessible and relatable. Nothing too polished or perfect, texture and personality is what it's all about.

Are there any artists that deeply influenced your style?

In the space of ambient music, there are so many artists I love and respect. Tim Hecker's use of noise and distortion, Lia Kohl's intimate field recordings woven into melody, Kali Malone's timbral focus.. too many to name.

Gear and setup

Are you using hardware, software, or a hybrid setup?

As I mentioned before I tend to start tracks out on VCV Rack, but then I layer in all manner of hardware synths, soft-synths and acoustic instruments.

What’s your favorite piece of gear or plugin, and why?

I have a Synthstrom Deluge which is a pretty fantastic piece of gear. I'm relying on the power of this box a lot for creating live shows that can showcase the recent tunes.

Challenges

What’s been the biggest challenge so far in creating ambient music?

Finding the audience! I'm in a pretty small city in Australia with not much of a synth/ambient scene and it's been hard to find like minded musicians and music lovers to connect with.

How do you stay motivated or inspired when you're in a creative rut?

I think that creativity really does ebb and flow. I try to always have a project open or a synth turned on so I can noodle around and see if anything comes to me. But sometimes it just doesn't and that's okay, I'll focus on comping 25 minutes of randomly generated polyphonic synths until the sparks start to fly again.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

It's 2025 - attention spans are shrinking, AI is rising, and the world has some pretty grim things happening at the minute. Thoughtful, immersive music is more important than ever and I can only encourage people to take the time to sit and actively listen to whatever music hits the spot. We need it!