12th September 2016. A balmy night in the Amazon jungle in northern Bolivia. My birthday.

There I sat, cross-legged in the lotus position, sweating profusely in the throes of an Ayahuasca trip. Throughout the entirety of this life-bending experience, I remember hearing the murmur of a stream flowing nearby. At one point, so completely swept up in the psychedelics, I became convinced I was a pebble at the bottom of said stream, with water rushing relentlessly over me. Whenever I hear running water on tracks, it takes me back to that unforgettable time.

The latest song to teleport me back there is  “Here” by ambient producer fortresses – the project of Sam Ashton, who is based between London and Oregon.

The water sounds on “Here” come from rivers and falling rain captured on Sam’s field recorder in the forests of Oregon. Enveloping these fragments of nature are drones that seem to carry the weight of his entire body within them. Synths murmur throughout, laying a peaceful blanket over it all.

I remember in my first email reply to Sam, I used these two words to describe the song he’d shared. “sparse yet potent”

By that I mean, there’s a force that continually builds, then recedes. Like watching two children play on a seesaw but at 60fps.

To help give this track a sense of place, Sam explained that:

The distorted tones embody the spookiness of forests where it’s difficult to fathom the height of the trees, and fog can linger for days on end. You only need to look at the imagery Sam shared with me to grasp the eerie beauty and staggering scale of these landscapes.

For now, Sam is based out of the UK capital, but he still believes there’s nowhere more inspiring or life-affirming than the forests of the Pacific Northwest. “It truly feels like a second home,” he tells me. I imagine it won’t be long before he’s back, strolling trails amongst the timber.

Sam has been nurturing his fortresses moniker since 2021. A name that neatly captures the role his compositions play in his life: a place for refuge and retreat. His EPs have landed on Dragon’s Eye Recordings, Flaming Pines and now ROHS! Records. Each release, regardless of the imprint, carries this feeling of moving through stages — stacking experiences, building fortitude, and slowly figuring out who on Earth you are.

Find out below.