hello everyone,

this morning I had the idea to ysi some 'ambient' albums for y'all. what is ambient music? I don't know, look it up on wikipedia, it's too early in the morning for me to define anything. What I do know is I love the music, and I feel it's an oft overlooked field of music that can be highly creative if done right. Also there are a lot of bands dabbling in the music nowadays, such as sigur ros, m83, the books, akron family, etc, etc.

So I figure if response is positive, over the next days or so I'll hook you guys up with around ten or so albums that are my fav's. This is in no way representative of the full genre (I'm not going to dabble in any of the ambient house/dub stuff, that's just not my thing). But others are encouraged to join in and ysi if they'd care to.

So here goes.

The godfathers: Tangerine Dream

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This album, Phaedra, is an analogue masterpiece. Ever wondered what pure moog sounds like? Composed in 1974, but it is no switched on bach bullshit. These guys were out of their noodles farther than their krautrock contemporaries. It is the first of a group of six or so fantastic albums by this collective. Please don't think that this is going to be the new age junk that this band became. This is a challenging piece of music. Phaedra holds a symphonic quality, yet also sounds like the aural equivalent of syd barretts head on mushrooms.

The Grandfather: Brian Eno

This guy needs no introduction, especially on a board like this. Composed in 1978, it's four tracks like Phaedra, yet quite the opposite thematically. Music for Airports does not need absolute attention. It can be meditated upon, or merely put in the background when doing other work, like folding your laundry or whatever you do when you're chillin. I've listened to it intently for years, yet have never tired of it. Eno uses simple and minimal piano lines, vocal samples blended through various studio wizardry. One of my favorites, and the album which made me delve deeper into the mystery of this music.



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I should have more music up tonight after I'm back from work...peace
avec

thanks! great thread so far....

yeah, keep it up, avec, thnx.

ambient album covers> other covers

Dark ambient: Robert Rich

Moving on from the trippy krauts and classically minimal brits, american Robert Rich exemplifies what some may call Dark ambient music. However, his music is much more inviting than many other dark ambient artists. Much like his southwest contemporary Steve Roach, he finds inspiration from ancient civilizations and their music (Rich is to middle eastern drone as Roach is to shamanistic, australian dreamtime reverie). This cd, entitled Trances/Drones, are 3 edited tracks of which he commonly would elongate into night long events in San Francisco in the early 80's. People would camp out, trip out, and listen to his music from evening until morning. On this cd he utilizes a host of electronic equipment, as well as a processed lap steel guitar (prominent in the first track), and natural reverbs. Enjoy.

Drones:
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i am sadly unschooled in the works of tangerine dream. will check this out as soon as i get home.

Post Rock Ambient: Windy and Carl

windy and carl are a musical duo from hailing from Michigan. Their sound frequently blankets the listener in guitar distortion and minimal bass drone reverberations. Windy's voice reminds me of a distant, twice removed Nico, but don't even try to listen to her lyrics (she is no graveyard poet).
Depths is an aptly titled collection. The title track drowns the listener in atonal guitar feedback waves, and what follows reminds me of sinking down further and further...as a whole this record can be quite exhausting, yet it is a comforting album in my collection that I revisit quite often. In fact, nearly everything I've heard by them I like. On Kranky Records.
p.s. they just released a new album a month or so ago.

Depths:
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Oh, man, this thread is too much. Ambient is always one of those genres that I want so badly to get into, but the records usually take more than cursory listen to decide if I'm going to like so I never know where to start or if I should keep it for six months and then pull it out again and discover its greatness or what. Anyway, absolutely fantastic thread, avec. Keep it up.

Three gems that someone should YSI- Harold Budd/ Brian Eno "The Pearl," Stewart Dempster and Pauline Oliveros, "Deep Listening" and David Hykes with the Harmonic Choir, "Harmonic Meetings"

I have the pearl. Will up it in the next few day or so if no one else does. Have been wanting to hear harmonic meetings. Oddly enough, deep listening should be arriving in my mail in the next few days.

This is awesome. I'm going to burn an ambient MP3 disc once I've downloaded it all. It is a very difficult genre to know where to start with.

Good thread. If anyone finds "Music For Airports" a bit inaccessible (which it certainly is) they might want to check out "Discreet Music."

Steve Roach: Early Man

When I first decided to throw down 20 bucks for some of this guys music, I was afraid it would be cheese new age. I mean, the guy looks like an aging southwest-desert peyote casualty. And reviewers on amazon came off sounding cult-like. Thankfully I had gotten my money's worth, and my worst suspicions weren't confirmed. Roach is swiftly becoming my favorite of electronic ambient artists. He is a diverse and creative musician, never afraid to take chances. The music ranges from absolute peace (structures from silence) to downright horrifying (magnificent void). He has the unique talent of taking the listener someplace else with his music. Early Man takes us all the way back, old skool, to tool-making, hunter gathering, cave dwelling days. An ambient 'concept' album (it's ok to laugh at that shit, but damn if it isn't good). It is thick and foreboding, with sounds galore leaking from inside out. Evoking images of dense forests, caves, and primitive earth landscapes. Anthropology majors will scorch their shorts!
For some reason, every one of his albums I don't really like at first. I didn't like this album much for a couple of weeks. I played it and played it, until the lightbulb went on. Give it a chance! It might be the same for you. The music is very dense and requires intent listening. Headphones or a bumping set of speakers are a plus...on Projekt Records.


Early Man:
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Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works, Volume II

If you like ambient or even just think you may like ambient you should not be without this double disc in your stacks. A superb introduction to the genre, IMO. Aphex Twin’s Volume Two is a near flawless collection. Each track is a small composition within itself; little encapsulated worlds of sine wave perfection. Part jaw-dropping, part mischievous and dark. To cut it short, this album is wonderful and addictive. Download it!

Disc One:
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Anyone have any Donnacha Costello or Manual?



The Holy Grail

BUMP
for those who may want to d/l these albums before the ysi's burn up!

i'm digging this

Continued props to Avec and his inspired choices so far...keep up the good work!!! Love this thread and will be following it closely.

Experimental Audio Research: Beyond The Pale


Sonic Boom of Spacemen 3 was inarguably the more avante of the duo. Nothing showcases this better than when they split off: Jason got more heavy into a spiritual americana drug hybrid, and Sonic plunged deeper into the rabbit hole of the drone. His EAR project gives him a chance to let his hair down and try out some crazier shit, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But that's experimental music for you. Many times I admit he retreads old pathways, but this album is not one of them. Instruments include: saxophone, bowed cymbal, feedback of all kinds, and sonic's synthi vcs3 (where does he get all the money for these toys?). The real treat is on track one: Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine coaxed into playing some righteously scary wah wah licks on guitar. This album was also mixed by Sonic and Kevin, at Kevin's MBV studio. Ever feel like you've gotten too fucked up, but it's too late to turn back? That is the overall picture this album paints. Beyond the Pale.

Beyond The Pale:
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hey, people should also check out avec's avatar. or "tired sounds..."

which is better? I only only avec

i prefer tired sounds.. though both are quite lovely.

Tired sounds is a definitive album for them, I suppose. But I enjoy Avec, because it's short and sweet. The brevity( it's 40 minutes, as opposed to the double disc Tired Sounds) allows it more of a cohesion, IMO. But I spin both equally!

Hey avec, have you heard the Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom record from last year? Huge Tangerine Dream influence. It got very mixed reviews, just wondering what you thought of it.

Great thread by the way.

No haven't heard that one, but it's on my list. Like I said, if anyone wants to contribute with a YSI of that or something else, they're welcome to! I should have Eno's Pearl up later this evening depending on time constraints...

Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom - The Days Of Mars

I support the idea of this thread.

(quik edite: Also that Gonzalez & Rusom disc seems to be enjoyable thus far.)

Thanks for the Delia and Gavin! The Pearl is downloading now...

Harold Budd/Brian Eno with Daniel Lanois: The Pearl


So Eno and Harold Budd (a classically trained pianist) hole up in Daniel Lanois studios to record this gem in 1984. The music at the forefront is Budd's piano and keyboard, with Eno laying down the subtle effects and beds underneath. Budd's playing is minimal and soothing, somewhat like a more modern, intuitive version of Eric Satie. If you're tired of all the darker ambient music I've been posting up, try this one out. The music is light as a feather. Rather than consuming the environment with music (which Roach, EAR, etc do) this album embellishes the environment. Does that make sense? Enjoy.

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another classic. thanks.
I played this in my children's nursery when they were infants and it worked like a charm....

Need advice/suggestions Avec.

I love Ulrich Schnauss and would love to get into ambient that is close in the same vein as his material. Do you have any suggestions?

Also, I am looking for the 2 disc remastered edition Far Away Trains Passing By. Do you have it by chance?

Thanks

Bunk

really enjoying this one... thanks.

All's I have is 'cold isolated place.' If you haven't heard M83 then get some of that, they are the first thing that comes to mind(they toured together as well). Schnauss combines electronic with the shoegaze thing. Other albums that are kind of like that I'd say are: Lali Puna--faking the books, Guitar--sunkissed, and Mum.

Thanks avec. Yeah I liked M83's Dead Seas. . . album but was not a fan of their 2005 release. I will check out Lali Puna. I think I heard them on WOXY a while ago.

bring it back!

Steve Roach? This is getting dangerously close to new age music, isn't it?

(not that I downloaded the tracks yet, that's just what I thought he was)


Would-have-been-big DFA release if it hadn't came out at the absolute height of year-end listmaking and listreading. This is some dark stuff, but good.

Regarding Budd/Eno's The Pearl:


Me, too. I heard a piece of this on XM Radio a few weeks ago. Made a mental note and was happy it was available in YSI form here. Thanks...This is really nice stuff.

Will probably post something tomorrow. More eno?




Yeah, that's what I thought of it before I listened! But his music is more akin to Early Tangerine dream stuff, crossed with Eno's 'on land' era.

Yes!!! More Eno!!!!! Please!

coming up.

Here's another Eno album much different than the Pearl. Eno was commissioned, I think, to do soundtrack work for Nasa's Apollo mission. He recreates the feeling of isolation in space quite well, in my opinion. This is one in my catalog that I've long neglected until recently. A good album for late night listenings. Melodies are mostly detached, although there are moments in the record (which I love) when Eno interjects a lullaby like melody or two. It is a bit like on land, yet much more of an accessible record.

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Spec-fucking-tacular.

Thanks.

Here's Ulrich Schnauss' Far Away Trains Passing By. I've been listening to this a lot lately. Really lovely.


Ulrich Schnauss - Far Away Trains Passing By



Ulrich Schnauss - Far Away Trains Passing By (US bonus disc)

I just got lost in this for the last hour. Amazing stuff. Thanks

Wow this is good, thanks. I didn't care much for the faux shoegaze vocals on his other album. I'm liking this one better.

Man, where have I been? I'm hoping I can still dl most of this stuff....as has been mentioned before, a fascinating genre that is kind of tricky to get into without buying completely unknown albums.

I have this book, which is probably loads better when you actually have the albums to listen to. Still, good stuff:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/158234134...glance&n=283155

ambient? not sure.... great? yes

MAIN Hz




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That books okay. I found a lot of good information about music I hadn't heard, He does a good job covering many artists. But I felt he neglected to mention a ton of artists that should have definitely been in his (800 page) book. And he goes on and on about many artists that have little to do with the genre itself. Read it with a critical eye. Its the best book on ambient out there, but far from definitive.

*bump* will be posting something soon.

Dark Ambient:

Mick Harris and James Plotkin: Collapse


After listening to this last night I felt I should post it. It’s a hard to find slab of dark ambient. The music is frightening; it gets under your skin. It’s psychological, like a good horror movie or a bad hallucinogen.
The two members were in grind metal bands. Mick Harris was in Napalm Death and in Painkiller. James Plotkin was in Old Lady Drivers. They bring the brutality of the grindcore genre and translate it through guitar loops and sound processing.

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Exactly. I got half way through that book, and finally gave up on it after I grew sick of him droning on about how various half-assed classic rock bands were supposedly "ambient." I remember a lot of the stuff about Satie and the other early guys as being sorta interesting, though.