Whilst Clemo was listening to the likes of Patti Smith, Television and Talking Heads, MacDonald introduced him to a different generation of artists including Nick Drake, Tim Buckley, Van Morrison and Jimi Hendrix.

[8][9][10] The result is a mix of musical genres, crossing between jazz, post-rock, contemporary classical, krautrock and electronica,[3][11] described as "finely crafted shimmering matrices of sound"[8] and creating something which is "mesmeric and completely addictive".

A musical progression through different sound "rooms" or "spaces", it featured 22 musicians including: Clive Bell; Theo Travis (saxophone and flute); Simon Hopkins (electric guitar); B.J Cole (pedal steel); Henry Lowther (trumpet and flugelhorn); and a Prague string quartet.

Clemo credited legendary sound engineer Phill Brown, who has worked with Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley among others, for his invaluable contribution to the recording process of The Rooms.

[4][5] With the basic structure laid out, he then invited 14 additional musicians – one at a time – to "blindly" add their response on top, including: Oren Marshall (tuba); B. J. Cole (pedal steel guitar); Byron Wallen (trumpet and flugelhorn); Emily Burridge (cello); with Thomas Bloch (Radiohead, Damon Albarn) contributing ethereal tones on three instruments (glass harmonica, crystal baschet and ondes martenot).

[7] He finally added additional recorded sounds from places which have great significance to him, including: the river and woods at the end of his childhood garden; his first school; Aberdeen railway station; Redwood National Park in northern California; and Plum Village Zen Buddhist monastery in France.

"[7] With contributions from 21 musicians including Arve Henriksen (trumpet), Evi Vine (voice), Byron Wallen (trumpet, flugelhorn), Oren Marshall (tuba), Thomas Bloch (glass harmonica, Ondes Martenot), Emily Burridge and Peter Gregson (cellos), Dream Maps was released on 9 September 2016 with a live launch with an 8-piece band including Arve Henriksen and Evi Vine at Kings Place, London, UK on 14 September.

The concert was described by Richard Williams on thebluemoment.com as "Artfully mixed together with recordings of heartbeats and water by the sound engineer Phill Brown, the music washed gently but insistently over the clearly beguiled near-capacity crowd in Kings Place’s Hall 2... this was Clemo’s first live gig in 10 years; its success should encourage him.

"[23] Dream Maps was well received by the media with Selwyn Harris in Jazzwise describing it as "Meditative, trance-like stillness… symphonic ambience… echoes of… Brian Eno and David Sylvian.

"[24] Grant Moon in Prog (magazine) said that "Philip Clemo gets close to the edges on his extraordinary sixth album… utterly transfixing"[25] and George Farbey in All About Jazz said "Mesmerising… irresistible and idiosyncratic.

[27] Released on 1 November 2024, Through the Wave of Blue includes contributions from Arve Henriksen (trumpet), Theo Travis (soprano saxophone, flutes), Emily Burridge (cello), Simon Edwards (bass) and Martyn Barker (drums, percussion).

From the haunting depths of "Stalker" and intensity of "Maze" to the serene "Rest" and celebratory "Dawn, Through the Wave of Blue offers an immersive experience that engages both viscerally and emotionally.