“My ideas are rarely pre-conceived,” proudly proclaims former Ponytail guitarist Dustin Wong about Mediation of Ecstatic Energy, the third chapter in a trilogy of titles recorded for Thrill Jockey Records. “When comparing the three, I feel like each holds its own realm or dimensions. [2010’s] Infinite Love is a realm that is outside of ourselves—the ether. [2012’s] Dreams Say, View, Create, Shadow Leads speaks to a more imaginative subconscious. In Mediation, the ether and subconscious are making a rocket dive back into the earthly realm.” What makes Mediation stand out from its predecessors, however, is the heavier incorporation of syncopated rhythms and anomalous basslines. These give an even deeper sense of complexity to his already intricate John Faheycum-Joe Meek-inspired, loop-based fingerpicking style and stories—partially inspired by his Christian education while growing up in Tokyo, Japan. (He recently moved back to the area.) “In the different sounds and melodies, the theme of simultaneity is constant among all three,” he explains. “Sounds allow different contradictions to move in harmony. The theme as a whole is about moving upward and downward at the same time—which is what a loop is, essentially.”