In this video, composers Eric Hillman and Joshua Messick share the story behind their collaborative album To Meadowrest.
🎧 Preorder To Meadowrest — releases April 3
Official Site
https://joshuamessick.com/product/to-meadowrest/
Bandcamp
https://hammerdulcimer.bandcamp.com/album/to-meadowrest
🗺️ Explore the Map
https://bit.ly/46DXh7K
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This behind the scenes conversation explores the creative process of composing and recording the album, from the earliest ideas to the final sound. They discuss the inspiration behind the project and their goal of creating a calm and immersive listening experience that feels like a quiet journey and a musical bedtime story.
The conversation also includes “The Humming Story,” about how a small, spontaneous moment became one of the most personal parts of the entire project.
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💿 ABOUT THE ALBUM
To Meadowrest is a calm and instrumental listening experience shaped by a rich sound world in which the hammered dulcimer is a key part of the musical landscape. Gentle textures unfold slowly, creating a peaceful, meditative atmosphere that feels warm, spacious, and quietly cinematic. The instrumental music invites the listener into a place of stillness, reflection, and rest.
To Meadowrest is both an album and a journey. There are nine locations along the way, each one a place to slow down and breathe. The path ends at Meadowrest itself, because rest is not something that just happens. It is something you choose.
Drawing from years of making music for games, we knew how to build worlds people could get lost in. For this album, we wanted to use that same approach. Instead of a world to play through, we created one to rest in.
We collaborated with a visual artist from the game world to create a map of the journey. It gives the soundworld a visual dimension, something to help you imagine the story as you drift toward rest.
Each composition unfolds like a story told in a quiet voice, the kind that lets your mind wander while still holding your attention. The music drifts and settles, building a sense of place without hurry. The album begins with gentle motion and gradually gives way to stillness, mirroring the way evening softens into night.
The music asks very little of you, content to remain at the edges of your attention, present without insisting.
And when you are ready,
Meadowrest is waiting.
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👥 ABOUT THE COMPOSERS
Eric Hillman (e.hillman) is a composer, multi instrumentalist, producer, and curator based in Viroqua, Wisconsin. He composed the acclaimed score for the video game Ashen and is a member of the indie band Foreign Fields. Rooted in classical training and fueled by a DIY recording ethos, his work blends ambient textures, harmonic richness, and rhythmic nuance into immersive soundscapes. His process centers on intuitive creativity and meticulous sonic design, inviting listeners into delicate yet expansive musical worlds. https://www.edothillman.com
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Joshua Messick is a hammered dulcimer artist, composer, and producer based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Known for his expressive and cinematic approach to the instrument, his music blends acoustic warmth with spacious atmospheres that invite deep listening and reflection. His hammered dulcimer can be heard on projects including God of War Ragnarök, the anime series Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, and the animated film Mary and the Witch's Flower. Through both performance and recording, he continues exploring new possibilities for the hammered dulcimer, bringing its shimmering voice into contemporary sound worlds while honoring the instrument’s rich musical heritage. https://JoshuaMessick.com
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⏱️ CHAPTERS
1:06 How We Met
3:40 The First Spark for “To Meadowrest”
5:05 The Early Assumption: This Will Be Easy
6:02 The Goal: A Soundtrack That Is a Bedtime Story
6:51 Simple Is Not Easy
7:38 Why the Dulcimer Changes Ambient Writing
9:01 Composed to Tell a Story, Not to Showcase Virtuosity
10:22 Making the Simple Memorable
10:56 Keeping the Music Human
11:51 What People Respond To: Story Over Perfection
13:50 A Lullaby for Harper: The Humming Story
17:16 Music Helps Us Remember
18:30 The Map: A Journey to Meadowrest
20:41 The Writing Process
22:18 Turning Incidental Sounds into Texture
10
YouTube Video kAA7DkqSFww
To Meadowrest is a calm and instrumental listening experience shaped by a rich sound world in which the hammered dulcimer is a key part of the musical landscape. Gentle textures unfold slowly, creating a peaceful, meditative atmosphere that feels warm, spacious, and quietly cinematic. The instrumental music invites the listener into a place of stillness, reflection, and rest.
To Meadowrest is both an album and a journey. There are nine locations along the way, each one a place to slow down and breathe. The path ends at Meadowrest itself, because rest is not something that just happens. It is something you choose.
Drawing from years of making music for games, we knew how to build worlds people could get lost in. For this album, we wanted to use that same approach. Instead of a world to play through, we created one to rest in.
We collaborated with a visual artist from the game world to create a map of the journey. It gives the soundworld a visual dimension, something to help you imagine the story as you drift toward rest.
Each composition unfolds like a story told in a quiet voice, the kind that lets your mind wander while still holding your attention. The music drifts and settles, building a sense of place without hurry. The album begins with gentle motion and gradually gives way to stillness, mirroring the way evening softens into night.
The music asks very little of you, content to remain at the edges of your attention, present without insisting.
And when you are ready,
Meadowrest is waiting.
Eric Hillman (e.hillman) is a composer, multi instrumentalist, producer, and curator based in Viroqua, Wisconsin. He composed the acclaimed score for the video game Ashen and is a member of the indie band Foreign Fields. Rooted in classical training and fueled by a DIY recording ethos, his work blends ambient textures, harmonic richness, and rhythmic nuance into immersive soundscapes. His process centers on intuitive creativity and meticulous sonic design, inviting listeners into delicate yet expansive musical worlds.
Joshua Messick is a hammered dulcimer artist, composer, and producer based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Known for his expressive and cinematic approach to the instrument, his music blends acoustic warmth with spacious atmospheres that invite deep listening and reflection. His hammered dulcimer can be heard on projects including God of War Ragnarök, the anime series Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, and the animated film Mary and the Witch’s Flower. Through both performance and recording, he continues exploring new possibilities for the hammered dulcimer, bringing its shimmering voice into contemporary sound worlds while honoring the instrument’s rich musical heritage.
Composed, produced, and mixed by e.hillman and Joshua Messick
Hammered dulcimer: Joshua Messick
Piano: e.hillman
Clarinet: Nina Friedrichs
Mastered by Taylor Deupree
Map artwork: Will Morris-Julien
Layout and design: e.hillman and Janelle Hillman
Photography: Jedidiah Grooters
To Meadowrest: The Story Behind the Album
Joshua Messick – Hammered Dulcimer Music March 6, 2026 3:33 pm