I was first introduced to Late Night Tales when it was featured on one of my favorite artists’ Spotify pages. Out of curiosity one night, I put on the Jon Hopkins Late Night Tales mix, and was completely blown away. It was rich, dark, and warm: 70-some minutes of hand-curated tracks and transitions. By the time the mix was over, I felt like I’d been on a sweeping musical voyage.

That’s essentially what Late Night Tales is. The series was founded in 2001 and is defined by compilations like these – invited artists diving into their personal libraries to create beautiful and adventurous mixes. I feel that these albums are best listened to by yourself, as an individual sensory experience. You really get a feel for the artists’ unique tastes by listening to music from their own favorites.

Late Night Tales has a wide selection, too. Beyond Jon Hopkins, you can also find Artic Monkeys, Groove Armada, The Flaming Lips, Metronomy, MGMT, and many more artists. It seems to be one of those ‘greatest-things-nobody’s-heard-of’ situations, at least in the United States. As a UK-founded series, Late Night Tales also features a portion of spoken word in each mix – delivered by the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Will Self, Sir Patrick Moore, and others. It’s a nice way to cap off each mix, ending things with an often-thought-provoking moment of reflection.

Ever LNT album is paired with art that depicts, in one way or another, beautiful geometric light fixtures with vibrant colors – a pairing that perfectly encapsulates the mood of the project. It’s solitary, yet dreamy. Dramatic, yet calming. And the best part? It’s enormously easy to get to. You can find Late Night Tales on Spotify, on Soundcloud, and even on their website. It’s a brilliant way to learn more about an artist you’re obsessed with, or to hear new music that you’d never have found otherwise.

You can find Late Night Tales at latenighttales.co.uk, or at soundcloud.com/latenighttales.