Ambient/idm and the lot - what's essential?

[Sunhillow]

I've been listening today to the new Eluvium (ambient) and the new Boards of Canada. Maybe my taste is shifting, but these two albums gave me way more satisfaction and joy than the twenty odd-progrock-albums I've listened to last week.

So, I need some advice in finding some earth-shattering ambient, modern classical, and/or idm albums.

[Modry Effekt]

I've been listening today to the new Eluvium (ambient) and the new Boards of Canada. Maybe my taste is shifting, but these two albums gave me way more satisfaction and joy than the twenty odd-progrock-albums I've listened to last week.

So, I need some advice in finding some earth-shattering ambient, modern classical, and/or idm albums.

I haven't heard Eluvium.Will chec it.

Saine - A Little Something

[Modry Effekt]

Andy Pickford - Cathedral

[zravkapt]

Essential ambient techno:

Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 1985-92
The Future Sound Of London - Lifeforms

Essential ambient house:

The Orb - U.F.Orb

Essential IDM:

Autechre - LP5
Aphex Twin - Richard D James Album
Boards Of Canada - Geogaddi

[Jerjo]

Not sure if this totally fits under the IDM banner but it's close.



This thread is quite relevant to my interests. Pile on. If this catches Echoes' attention he could probably post dozens of recs.

[Wisdomview]

Essential artists/bands, IMHO:
Aphex Twin
Autechre
Boards of Canada
Square Pusher
The Orb (early stuff)
The Future Sound of London (early stuff)

[hippypants]

Eno--On Land, Plateaux of Mirror, Music for Film, and several others also/ Passengers: Original Soundtracks 1 which he did with U2.
Cluster & Eno--After the Heat, Begegnungen, and others.
Richard Burmer--Mosaics
Mark Isham--Vapor Drawings
Suzanne Chiani--Velocity of Love

[hippypants]

Massive Attack--Heligoland--highly recommend if you don't have it
Pi soundtrack, various artist

[Wounded Land]

Have you heard the new Flying Lotus album?

NP: Nightwish Dark Passion Play

[bill g]

Surprisingly (or perhaps not surprisingly) Anthony Phillips' ambient side is quite good. 'City of Dreams', 'Wildlife', and 'Pathways & Promenade' are all of the ambient vein. I think he's even better when doing more composed music like his solo piano albums (Soiree & Ivory Moon) or his solo guitar album, 'Field Day'.

Futuro Antico is another one I don't see mentioned yet.

[Scrotum Scissor]

Essential artists/bands, IMHO:
Aphex Twin
Autechre
Boards of Canada
Square Pusher
The Orb (early stuff)
The Future Sound of London (early stuff)

TFSoL's Dead Cities was their last truly magnificent album IMO, but it's far from ambient - very aggressive compositions for electronic instalments.

But I agree aith the list as such. Add Divination to that; a collective around characters like Bill Laswell and Paul Schutze whose work might evoke illbient as much as ambient, but which is outstanding nonetheless. The Distill double CD features pieces by Laswell, Schutze, Thomas Koner, Tetsu Inoue, Haruomi Hosoni (both from the extremely proficient 90s ambient industrial scene in Japan), Anton Fier and Mick Harris. This is excellent, and with Akasha the finest Divination release.

For more underground, modern ambient acts try K. Leimer and Silo 10.

[Wisdomview]

TFSoL's Dead Cities was their last truly magnificent album IMO, but it's far from ambient - very aggressive compositions for electronic instalments.

tru dat, but they OP asked for IDM artists as well. That was their last interesting release.

[Modry Effekt]

Biosphere - Substrata - 10 Sphere Of NoForm



Biosphere - Substrata - 02 Poa Alpina

[Scrotum Scissor]

OP asked for IDM artists as well.

Well there you go. Funny how being so close to home makes one forget the most obvious candidates!

[Wisdomview]

^Nice! Iceland is a personal favorite.
Popol Vuh are also .

[helicase]

For more underground, modern ambient acts try K. Leimer

I've got the excellent Music for Land and Water. I wouldn't call it modern, though. Two of the tracks sound like lost tracks from Music for Airports and the other one could easily be mistaken for a bit of Fripp & Eno. So if you can't get enough of (Fripp &) Eno, you'll want this album.

[Troopers For Sound]

Nice to see the new Boards get a mention here...not seen it spoken of much. Kind of strange to have an instrumental, synth based concept album at number 3 in the UK charts and it not getting a thread on a progressive music forum!! It's a beautiful record, but it falls a little behind their masterpiece, which for me was 2002's Geogaddi.

In terms of being 100% truly "progressive" it's hard to top Autechre. It's also hard to listen to Autechre too sometimes They are seriously on another level to most artists in terms of their rhythmic and melodic approach to composition. Here's a "tune" from the latest album Exai that's as abstract and challenging as IDM comes:



And if that is too much, than how about some early Boards...two of the best melodies they ever wrote:





Finally, have you heard of the Ghostbox label?? Synth based stuff mixed with folk and prog that evokes TV soundtracks of the 70s:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3kFN05-N7U

[Lopez]

For me, ambient is the Fripp and Eno collaborations and Fripp's several Soundscapes records.

[spacefreak]

Uber essential is everything by the obscure british WOOB. Both their albums are masterpieces of ambient electronic.

[spacefreak]

My top list (apart from the obvious suspects Eno, Orb, Aphex Twin, Future Sound Of London, Jon Hassell etc.)

ÆTHENOR - Deep in ocean sunk the lamp of light
ALIO DIE - Password for entheogenic experience
AMP - Perception
ARKTAU EOS - Ai Ma Ra
ASURA - Life²
AUTECHRE - Amber
BASINSKI, William - The disintegration loops
BEEQUEEN - Der holzweg
BIOSPHERE - Substrata / Man with a movie camera
BOARDS OF CANADA - Music has the right to children
BUDD, Harold - Pavilion Of Dreams
CHI - The original recordings
CONTRASTATE -Mort aux vaches
DE GENNARO, Matt & GALBRAITH, Alastair - Wire music
ENTHEOGENIC - Entheogenic
HALO MANASH - Par-Antra I: VIR
HARRIS, Mick J. & LASWELL, Bill - Somnific flux
IRRESISTIBLE FORCE - Flying high
ISHQ - Orchid
KILN - Holo
KLF - Chill out
KONER, Thomas - Permafrost
LICHENS - Omns
LIFE GARDEN - Seed
LOOP GURU - The third chamber
LULL - Cold summer
LUSTMORD - Heresy
MAAT - Yacikaa
MAIN - Hz
MASTER MARGHERITA - Hippies with gadgets
MIRROR - Islands
MOOCH - Postvorta
NAVEL - Laika
NIJIUMU - Era of sad wings
NURSE WITH WOUND - Soliloquy for Lilith
O YUKI CONJUGATE - Peyote
OMIT - Quad
OOPHOI - The spirals of time
O.RANG - Fields And Waves
PEAKING GODDESS COLLECTIVE - Organika
QUEEN ELIZABETH - Queen Elizabeth 2 - Elizabeth vagina
RAJA RAM - The mystery of the Yeti
RAPOON - The kirghiz light
RICH, Robert - Inner landscapes
SCANNER - Accretions
SCORN - Gyral
SEEFEEL - Quique
SHPONGLE - Tales of the inexpressible
SLOMO - The creep
SOLAR FIELDS - Blue moon station
SOLAR QUEST - Orgship
STARS OF THE LID - The tired sounds of Stars of the Lid
TIETCHENS, Asmus - Nachtstucke
TRANSAMBIENT COMMUNICATIONS - Praze-an-beeble
ULTRASOUND - Loom
VIDNA OMMANA - Spiritual bonding
VISHUDHA KALI - Unfinished devastation narrative
VOICE OF EYE - Vespers
WOOB - 1194
ZUVUYA - Dream matrix telemetry

[helicase]

David Sylvian and Holger Czukay (of Can fame) did two excellent ambient albums together:
Plight & Premonition

Flux + Mutability

[spacefreak]

^^^
Agree!

[Septober Energy]

Yes those Sylvian/Czukay albums are magnificent, especially Plight & Premonition.

I've also recently discovered Boards of Canada when a friend gave me a copy of Music Has The Right to Children. This is one of those times where I wish I had been paying more attention to what was going on in contemporary music 15 years ago rather than just dredging up the gems from the '70s to the exclusion of everything else.

[Wisdomview]

Yeah, totally forgot about the Sylvian/Czukay albums. Those are DEFINITELY essential.

[Dave (in MA)]

David Sylvian and Holger Czukay (of Can fame) did two excellent ambient albums together:
Plight & Premonition
Flux + Mutability

I came in here to mention these.

So I'll add Death Cube K's (Buckethead's) Disembodied as a good example of ambient instead. Maybe Shrieve/Roach's The Leaving Time, too.