The Pearl ia s fantastic album. While I like the similar Plateux of Mirrors, this resonates deeper with me and has an exceptional ambience.
The Pearl ia s fantastic album. While I like the similar Plateux of Mirrors, this resonates deeper with me and has an exceptional ambience.
I'm sure most of you fine folks know about this already, but Budd's collab album with Cocteau Twins "The Moon & the Melodies" has some awesome work from all of them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEWZEydUyrY
If you're actually reading this then chances are you already have my last album but if NOT and you're curious:
https://battema.bandcamp.com/
Also, Ephemeral Sun: it's a thing and we like making things that might be your thing: https://ephemeralsun.bandcamp.com
Perhaps more in the drone camp, but worthy of consideration, is Glissando Guitar Orchestra-Live at The Kozfest Festival 2014.I have the cd and it's a winner.
"please do not understand me too quickly"-andre gide
The article is subtitled "For People Who Don't Know Shit About Ambient."
That includes the author.
Well, New Maps of Hell from '92 comes close to being an ambient paradigma from modern days, I think. Some may consider it too overtly composed to really fit the bill, though.
A couple of seminal contemporary ambient releases were the two double sets by the Divination collective, released on the Zorn/Downtown Subharmonic label in the late 90s; the first one named Akasha features lengthy pieces by Laswell, Haruomi Hosono, M.J. Harris, Anton Fier and DXT, the second (actually released on SubMeta) has the first four plus Paul Schutze, Pete Namlook, Thomas Koner and the wonderful Tetsu Inoue. These two are both utterly essential modern ambient collections, IMO.
Another, even more obscure but equally idiosyncratic ambient work is Charles Vrtacek's incredible When Heaven Comes to Town from 1988. It contains what may be my single fave post-70s ambient number - being almost 'music for a funeral':
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
The music of BoC is designed to give people the willies and therefore I dunno if I'd really classify it as "ambient".
The Global Communication album is good. The first and last track are incredible. I think it's neat that they were just a one-shot group.
Surprised that SAW 85-92 made the list rather than SAWII - the latter is one of the most praised ambient discs ever, and one of the few that really does put me in a dreamlike state. It's quite unwieldy but so incredibly beautiful.
Really glad to see Chill Out make the list - I thought people forgot about it! Those early Orb recordings were really something - not the static sort of ambient that Eno & company made, but rather something much more free-flowing and wild. Orbus Terrarum is one of the most complex ambient albums ever made, I wish more people knew of it.
By the way - Underworld also made some really great ambient stuff, if you knew where to look. In '05 and '06 they did these download-only EPs and the 3rd one is particuarly nice. I've linked it below - only 30 minutes and it's all great, but the second half really is stunning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxK7AyNMUBQ
Critter Jams "album of the week" blog: http://critterjams.wordpress.com
Good to see the mentions of Steve Roach.
Besides being a fascinating and prolific composer, he is a genuinely nice guy.
for me Pearl( Budd, Eno), David Sylvian's second disc of Gone to Earth, On Land by Eno, and Tangerine Dream Sorcerer
Escape From The Northern Wasteland
Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?
I'd be including Steve Roach, either The Light Fantastic or Proof Positive.
For dark ambient it's hard to go past the Robert Rich / Lustmord collaboration Stalker.
And some raison d'etre as well - probably Requiem for Abandoned Souls
Does it matter that this waste of time is what makes a life for you?
Ha...well, actually Global Communication did more material than just 76:14...it's just that nothing came quite close to that particular peak I have a few additional items from them, including a full length (possibly a comp) called Pentamerous Metamorphosis which is excellent ambient music with a slightly more digital sound, and an EP called Maiden Voyage which has some interesting variations on the material from 76:14. One of the two members of GC, Tom Middleton, also has an album called 'Lifetracks' which shares some of the GC DNA while being a bit more modern.
Orbus Terrarum is my favorite Orb album
Underworld is responsible for about half the soundtrack to Sunshine, and it is some great, beautiful ambient and abstract music (some of it also was built from tracks off Oblivion with Bells).
If you're actually reading this then chances are you already have my last album but if NOT and you're curious:
https://battema.bandcamp.com/
Also, Ephemeral Sun: it's a thing and we like making things that might be your thing: https://ephemeralsun.bandcamp.com
Wow...thanks for that. Really sublime. Time to go hunt that one down.
I only have two of Schutze's releases, Annihilating Angel and New Maps of Hell II (which from everything I've read is fairly different from the first release). Gave them both a listen last night...very cool stuff. In some ways AA reminds me slightly of some of Jon Hassell's excursions.
I'll have to chase down the ambient comps you mentioned above as well.
One more somewhat random one...there was a band called Mount Florida that did a weird electronica/post-something album back around 2001. It is an interesting album overall, but the final three tracks are this lovely mix of sampled strings, voices, and even the sound of a concrete block being moved. Well worth hunting down...
If you're actually reading this then chances are you already have my last album but if NOT and you're curious:
https://battema.bandcamp.com/
Also, Ephemeral Sun: it's a thing and we like making things that might be your thing: https://ephemeralsun.bandcamp.com
If you're actually reading this then chances are you already have my last album but if NOT and you're curious:
https://battema.bandcamp.com/
Also, Ephemeral Sun: it's a thing and we like making things that might be your thing: https://ephemeralsun.bandcamp.com
Never sure if what i post qualifies for the criteria given, but,what the hell, i've loved this piece from the first and it seems to fit the bill,so, here goes....Alvin Curran-Songs and Views From the Magnetic Garden.
"please do not understand me too quickly"-andre gide
Good stuff walt! Listening now...very cool
If you're actually reading this then chances are you already have my last album but if NOT and you're curious:
https://battema.bandcamp.com/
Also, Ephemeral Sun: it's a thing and we like making things that might be your thing: https://ephemeralsun.bandcamp.com
Steve Hillage - Rainbow Dome Musick
But the author does get my respect for including Wendy Carlos "Sonic Seasonings." It practically invented the genre.
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