StrangerofSorts
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Last Active 12-02-16 10:29 pm
Joined 05-11-11

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02.25.14 28 Reasons Not To Kill Yourself So Far02.20.14 Night Time
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How To Ambient

This list has been pretty much 6 months in the making. I can now rsafely say I've listened to enough ambient music to kill a man. If you rwant to get into the genre, or just want to grab the classics, this is rthe list for you. It starts out with the classics only, but degrades raround #40 into plain great albums. Enjoy x
1Cluster
Cluster

I'm the only one who's rated this album. You guys do know what this is,
right? You don't get any more revolutionary than this.
2Brian Eno
Ambient 4: On Land

He named the genre and produced some of its classics, therefore he is a
god. We all okay with that?
3 Klaus Schultze
Irrlicht

To come out with an album as good as Irrlicht when electronic music wasn't
even established yet is amazing.
4Tangerine Dream
Rubycon

Fun fact: they're banned from performing in catholic churches.
5The Orb
Orbs Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld

Ambient really started to gain ground in the early 90s. It was only due to
the introversion of its artists that it never really broke into the mainstream.
6Robert Rich
Echo of Small Things

Not quite his 7-hour epic, Somnium. But his brilliance here is undeniable.
7The Future Sound of London
Dead Cities

When they named themselves, I don't think they expected their name to
ring true. The ripples of Dead Cities are plainly seen in the more urbanised
side of electronic music.
8Stars of the Lid
The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid

Absolutely sublime drone-ambient. The duo's various side projects are also
well worth checking out.
9William Basinski
The Disintegration Loops III

I-IV. Absolute cult classics: tapes that slowly tear themselves apart for the
listener's pleasure; an absolute treasure trove of interpretation.
10Eluvium
Copia

This warm blend of piano and drone ambient is incredibly easy to sink in to,
so if you want to start anywhere this would be a good place.
11Tim Hecker
Harmony in Ultraviolet

Equally as warm... but at the same time kind of creepy and off putting. At
times it sounds a lot like a muffled organ.
12Solar Fields
Leaving Home

Solar Fields goes in to space and drags us with him by means of absolute
sonic beauty.
13Carbon Based Lifeforms
World of Sleepers

Bordering on psybient, it's all about the environment and space and shit
and it's good and whatnot.
14Helios
Eingya

One of those rare albums that manages to be completely optimistic and still
be good.
15 Emeralds
Does it look like I'm here?

Okay. Maybe "classic" is pushing it a tiny bit with this one, but it's still
fantastic.
16Aphex Twin
Selected Ambient Works, Vol. II

Never heard of this guy before today. Apparently he's mean to be good?
17Monolake
Hong Kong

Deeeeeeeeep teeecchhnoooo. So deep, in fact, that I'm claiming it as
ambient. Ha. It's also cold and oppressing. So have fun!
18Kashiwa Daisuke
Program Music I

It takes its time because it has nothing to hide but minimalistic, classical
based sweetness.
19Max Richter
The Blue Notebooks

I like to kickback late at night and listen to this depressing, contemplative
piano/ classical album on vinyl. Absolutely piercing.
20Natural Snow Buildings
The Dance of the Moon and the Sun

Folk mixed with drone. Could well be the best album of all time.
21Olafur Arnalds
...And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness

Icelandic based producer trying to bridge the gap between classical and
pop music by making a ridiculously long detour through ambient.
22Ashra
New Age of Earth

I don't know anything about Ashra, only that they sound good in a semi-
techno way. S
23Belong
October Language

Very noise-y. In both senses.
24Black Swan
Black Swan (In 8 Movements)

Their new album isn't great, but this is. See above for details.
25Clint Mansell
Moon

Soundtracks are usually a good place to look for ambient, and Mansell is
the motherfucking king of soundtracks.
26Global Communication
76:14

Truly peaceful stuff. Now guess how long it is?
27 Harold Budd
The Room

With his hand in Ambient 2 and others, it's well worth checking out
everything this guy has to offer.
28Hecq
0000

Kind of glitch/ambient - but well worth a mention. The tone is right, it
anything. IDM and Ambient's love affair is well documented.
29 Sigur Ros
?g?tis Byrjun

Staying away from the parts where Jonsi's wailing gets a little carried away
with itself, this deserves to be here.
30Biosphere
Substrata

This lovely piece of classic ambient mixed with a chunk of personality is
considered by many to be the best ambient album of all time. I don't agree,
but it is a very good album.
31Aglaia
Three Organic Experiences

Self-explanatory. You're going to have a problem finding anywhere to
download this, but it's worth it. Trust.
32Steve Roach
Dreamtime Return

Could this guy have any more albums?
33Hoedh
Hymnvs

Incredibly subtle, Robert Rich style stuff.
34Loscil
First Narrows

Prone to absolute flashes of brilliance. Even his recent EP, which overall
isn't anything special, has at least one jaw-dropping moment.
35Motion Sickness of Time Travel
Seeping Through The Veil Of Unconscious

Very thematic, they like to instil specific feelings instead of general bliss.
36Nova Scotian Arms
Nova Scotian Arms

Fairly dark and capable of getting very loud. There's a new EP out, "Cult
Spectrum", if you want to go have a listen.
37Windy & Carl
Consciousness

Incredibly spaced-out space music.
38 Steve Hillage
Rainbow Dome Music

Sci-fi music that hasn't aged too well but still sounds great.
39Desolate
Celestial Light Beings

Brand new and very, very good. Very urbanised ambient ala tFSoL. Dupstep
influences abound.
40Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto
Insen

Glitched up piano music. Takes a little getting used to.
41Grouper
Dragging a Dead Deer up a Hill

It's not easy to bring vocals into ambient, but she done' managed it.
42Fennesz
Venice

Not so much ambient as super chilled out jams.
43Alva Noto
Prototypes

Ambient/ Glitch. Very cold and hostile in the same way as that Monolake
album what be up yonder.
44Marconi
Distance

Incorrectly named on this site (should be Marconi). "Weightless" is
mean to be the most relaxing song of all time: the Daily Mail assures me so.
45Jacaszek
Glimmer

Brooding winter music for brooding winter people.
46Oneohtrix Point Never
Replica

It sounds so wrong but couldn't be more right!
47 Christina valtzou
No.1

Spr saturated nature stuff
48Chris Watson
El tren fantasma

The man literally makes music out of things like crow squawks. Whether this
is "music" is questionable. Very atmospheric though.
49 Kyle Bobby Dunn
A Young Person's Guide To...

to what? TELL ME WHAT!
50 Mark McGuire
A Young Person's Guide

Well at least the title for this one doesn't leave me hanging. Fast paced
ambient, easy to groove to.
51Listening Mirror
Resting in Aspic

Recently reviewed this, definately the best ambient album of 2012 so far,
and could possibly be the best of the whole year unless some absolute
gem of an album is released.
52Anoice
The Black Rain

Came out last month. Classical/ Ambient/ Post-Rock. Why the fuck aren't
people here all over this?
53Asianova
Burning the Blue Skies Black

Not nearly as aggressive as the title suggests.
54Richard Skelton
Landings

Very wood-sy feeling folk/ambient recreating the yorkshire countryside.
55Benn Jordan
Pale Blue Dot

aka The Flashbulb. I probably don't need to sell this any more than I have
done.
56Secede
Bye Bye Gridlock Traffic

Quite creepy, but excellent, ambient that gets very excited towards the end.
57Deaf Center
Pale Ravine

Cold, lonely, stunning.
58Library Tapes
A Summer Beneath the Trees

gorgeous.
59Hammock
The Sleep-Over Series (Volume 1)

Very much looking forward to their new LP. They're consistently awesome.
60 Reserved
for something

Because I had a list of 60 for things to put down and must have skipped
over one. The album you think I've missed is probably the one I forgot.
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