Imaginary Softwoods

Imaginary Softwoods is the solo recording alias of John Elliott, an American multi-disciplinary artist and electronic musician residing in Cleveland, Ohio. Elliott was a founding member of the legendary drone project Emeralds. He also curated the cutting edge Spectrum Spools imprint, a subsidiary of Peter Rehberg's Editions Mego. He now publishes his music through his own Mineral Disk imprint and the Holland based Field Records. Imaginary Softwoods is known for combining elements of outsider new-age, lowercase, and kosmische music utilizing a diverse array of synthesizers, field recordings and tape loops. From the static, still-life portraiture looping of “Gold Fiction Loop Garden” to the widescreen, sun faded world-building of “Annual Flowers In Color”, Elliott’s measured techniques are layered with subtle sophistication and clever motifs. With only a handful of full-length albums widely distributed along with scarce, micro-edition handmade cassette releases, Imaginary Softwoods remains an elusive project emanating a singular mysterious and metaphysical ambiance. "The Notional Pastures of Imaginary Softwoods" was released on Field Records in February of 2023 on vinyl and across all streaming services. The album was decorated in Bandcamp's "Acid Test: Best of 2023" year-end round-up declaring it a highlight and a "defining release". 2026 brings forth the release of "Center for Tactical Magic", a set of recordings featuring half-speed loops and slowcore ambiance.