7/10

In a culture increasingly defined by overstimulation, endless scrolling, and the pressure to constantly optimise every waking moment, Apstara arrives with a refreshingly modest proposition: what if one minute was enough?

'One Minute Mantras I: Awakening' finds Los Angeles-based artist, also known as composer and vocalist Juliet Lyons, focusing on something smaller by creating genuine moments of stillness that feel accessible within ordinary life.

The project unfolds through a series of miniature meditative pieces, each built around soft vocal layers, floating textures, and affirming lyrical fragments that drift in and out like half-conscious thoughts. Framed by two longer ambient passages, the collection feels like a carefully designed emotional environment; something to step into briefly before returning to the noise outside.

But rather than overloading us with dense production or cinematic grandeur, Apstara works in delicate gestures. The arrangements are sparse but intentional, allowing silence and breath to become part of the composition itself. In places, the record recalls the immersive calm of Brian Eno or the spiritual minimalism of Julianna Barwick, but 'Awakening' feels more personal than conceptual. It isn’t interested in abstraction for its own sake, it simply wants to comfort.

And that emotional sincerity becomes the album’s strongest quality. Lyons’ background as a composer for film and television is evident in the way the music gently guides mood and pacing, but there’s also vulnerability beneath the precision. Knowing that chronic illness and breathing difficulties informed the creation of these pieces adds another layer to the listening experience, as the emphasis on breath, pause, and presence feels truly lived.

As the first chapter in a wider series, 'One Minute Mantras I': Awakening feels quietly purposeful. Here, Apstara crafts music that slows the room down without disappearing into the background entirely. And in just a few fleeting minutes at a time, 'Awakening' manages to feel restorative, intimate, and surprisingly human.