Most of the comments in here are from 2mo ago, seems like, but I'll give it a shot.
Michigander here. Lived most of my adult life here, but was raised in Illinois and bounced around for a bit in my 20s.
Started out with the standard rural Midwest set of beliefs (plus a few nutty ones like young earth creationism), but after a great many years of transformation I now consider myself a leftist (and/or socialist depending on my mood) and generally progressive dude.
Love me some tech, anime, video games, jazz, ttrpg, and so on with the nerd stuff. I also draw on the odd occasion, even a few commissions under my belt, but don't expect much. No academic or professional training here.
I do have an academic background in Japanese, Psychology, and general Social Science study methodologies, though I work primarily in IT these days.
Not super new by now, but the latest Sungazer album, Perihelion, is definitely in the rotation. I also like virtually anything Carlos Eine does (aka Insaneintherainmusic). I'm a sucker for jazzified video game music.
Thanks for the suggestions! I'm going to check all of these out (probably today!)
My jazz jam lately has been "Not Tight" by Domi and JD Beck. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not_Tight
I keep coming back, these kids are on to something.