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| JANUARY of a m b i e n ト (REC ME)
Hello I am johnnyoftheWell and I am hereby belatedly STEALING colleaguepal AsleepInTheBack's electronic list idea! Rec me ambient albums and I shall jam this month! There's never been a phase where I haven't cursively/tangentially enjoyed ambient, but I realised that the last 6ish months have been a really rewarding period of exploring it more directly and I'd love to run with that. I'll jam an album per day - rec me and I shall make a queue! | | 1 |  | Tim Hecker
Haunt Me, Haunt Me Do It Again
Jan 1st
Rec'd by: the hivemind
2001
Suitably entry-level start to this list, I think. I'd heard bits and pieces from His Royal Heckness here and there, but figured it was finally time to plunge into a whole record (this will hopefully unravel into a full discog run time). Wasn't sure what to expect from this, especially having sampled most of the scratchier follow-up Radio Amor, but it panned out as pretty much the platonic ideal of Baby's First Ambient record. Delicate slow chord progressions and innocuous glitch collages that feel as though they're 100% on show for texture rather than rhythm; static and (synthesised?) bowl sounds building up and down for dynamics. It's proficient for sure and especially compelling through the opening run Tundra/Arctic/The Work of Art... at the very least, but I'm struggling to view much of this as particularly remarkable outside of its construction - the atmospheres soothed but did not, as it turned out, haunt me.
3.5 | | 2 |  | Rachika Nayar
Heaven Come Crashing
Jan 2nd
Rec'd by: eleventh hr 2022 hypesquad (mainly Slex)
2022
I've written about this a couple of times elsewhere (maybe), but essentially we're dealing with a reverb-heavy cinema-ready collection of pieces with twinkly guitar delays, occasional beats, and progressions that sometimes meander and sometimes build but always display a concerted, borderline restless need to *progress*.
The good is the whole thing is meticulously engineered; the bad is that it has as much personality as a sheet of stainless steel and has such an over-polished emphatically-digital production job that I can't immerse myself in it at all and have to rely on such boorish components as climaxes and memorable melodies (both of which fwiw are handled fairly well) for gratification. Unironic and mostly unfortunate crossover appeal with All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone-era Explosions in the Sky.
generous 3.2 | | 3 |  | Kali Malone
Living Torch
Jan 3rd
Rec'd by: Boney, many times
2022
**For the sake of getting the week I missed off the ground, we are gonna expediently overlook that ambient, drone and [post-]minimalism are in fact different things, don't call me*
lol I don't know why I picked Living Torch as a leftover from late 2022 to fill this space, because I've previously been emphatically glad not to have to write on it. Let's do a kid-friendly version - the secret to its success is:
PALETTE (bass clarinet and trombone providing accents over a sustained synth rumble sparks big joy)
PACING (rate of introduction of subtle developments is extremely pleasing - economical balance of great intrigue throughout this thing)
PIVOT (phwoar baby, the darkening of mood from Living Torch I to II is a treat)
Solid 2022 gem - endorsed!
3.7 | | 4 |  | Park Jiha
The Gleam
Jan 4th
Rec'd by: arf's Sirom review
2022
Ditto everything on the Kali Malone disclaimer except this is more contentious. Park Jiha's latest is a post-minimalist Korean folk that, for all its glacial progressions, is decidedly non-ambient in the way each and every chiming / scraping tone is foregrounded to command as much attention as possible - this record is full of moment-to-moment contours! The reason that I'm sneaking it onto this list is that each and all of these do carry the impression of puncturing an ambient reverie that sits as an undercurrent beneath the whole thing, and it's doubly gorgeous as such. Overlooked album.
3.8 | | 5 |  | Beverly Glenn-Copeland
...Keyboard Fantasies...
Jan 5th
Rec'd by: the RYM ambient pop chart (somewhat inaccurately - this is basically a new age record with ambient appeal)
1986
Was initially turned off from this, and there's good reason for it: the first half of this is big bland! Beverly Glenn-Copeland's synth tones and husky croon are lovely throughout, but her early pieces remind me of everything otherwise immemorable I've heard from prog electronic/new age artists whose melodies bear the unmistakable character of proto-aircon musics. With the exception of the utterly gorgeous major 7th vibes on "Old Melody", this thing is a real pentatonic workhouse, but it takes until "Slow Dance" and the fantastic closer "Sunset Village" for the record's counterpoint to start catching my ear. Once we get there, things are golden. Keen to hear more of this
First three songs solid 3
Last three songs hard 4 | | 6 |  | Steve Reich
Music for 18 Musicians
Jan 6th
Rec'd by: lol r u kidding
1978
Ditto everything from the Kali Malone disclaimer, except I feel that the suggestion you can listen to this as ambient music isn't all that controversial (even if far from a full reflection of this thing's strengths). Anyhow, been meaning to check this for yonks, and while my first listen was a little unfocused, it didn't take long to click. Absolutely magical composition, beautifully intricate progressions, meticulously polished performance, wonderful atmosphere confirmed classic chef's kiss. Cannot wait to jam this in every library I ever visit.
4.5 | | 7 |  | Coil
Musick To Play In The Dark
Jan 7th
Rec'd by: Longtime curiosity
1999
Coil so far have been a group that I respect and occasionally find highly intriguing, and while this hasn't levelled that impression up, it's certainly drawn me a little further in. I was surprised by how un-sparse, for lack of a better word, this is - the arrangements and weave of melodies on the fantastic highlight "Red Queen", say, are immediate as hell and ever-changing. Closer and co-highlight "The Dreamer Is Still Asleep" feels like a darker adjacency to the ambient dub stuff I've come to love, with a *super engaging* piano hook - full marks to both.
My suspension of disbelief has a temperamental relationship with this kind of spoken word, something the opener fell foul of, but my main gripe is with the way "Broccoli" bets all its chips on a surprisingly sentimental monologue that packs not nearly enough substance to sustain 9 minutes, only to lead into the outright test of patience that is "Strange Birds"' glitch collage. Overall a less consistent deal than I expected - feels like a Collection of Pieces hence the t/b/t - but with much room to grow.
Solid 3.5 (for now) | | 8 |  | Dedekind Cut
Tahoe
Jan 8th
Rec'd by: Mort.
2018
This one loves its empty space and also its cheeky switchups - three full tracks of distant are-you-sure-you're-listening and then in it goes with a lovely long mix of progressive electronic, nature recordings and good ol' throat chanting ("MMXIX"). Worth it just for that imo, though the drasticness of its gear shifting gives it a bit of an unwanted contrast between gripping things happening and, uh, waiting for them to happen again. Second half is a bit of a hodgepodge - not sure how well the record as a whole hangs together as a whole or how consistently it rewards listener patience - either build that reverie or don't y'know.
3.2 | | 9 |  | oedipus apartment complex
The Blissful Sounds of Miracula
Jan 9th
Rec'd by: Sloth
2023
This isn't so much ambient as vanilla prog electronic packed with stock DAW instrument tones and a bunch of unimaginative chord progressions. "Maybe" is a cute vapory Bjork remix that brings vibes and "Reprise" has a pretty exciting development (not what I signed up for, but you bet I'll take it); otherwise, this fits the background music brief better than most things. Never worse than inoffensive, but back to the wilderness of interchangeable Bandcamp projects it goes...
generous 3.0 | | 10 |  | Ricky Eat Acid
Three Love Songs
Jan 10th
Rec'd by: GmemberKills
2014
WOW WHAT A CRAZY DAY LOADS OF US NEARLY DIED THIS LIST ALMOST WENT DOWN anyway, there is a lot to like about this! Feels wonderfully organic, layers layering gently over layers and voice samples soothing twinkles twinkling ASMR stuffs building and ebbing and mmming and even the occasional four-to-the-floor pulse to give things a lift - meticulously conceived stuff through and through. How much of it do I actually like? Am honestly unsure, but this is good and I do vibe it for insomnia hrs. Would love to love it more, maybe I shall one day!
3.7 | | 11 |  | Zguba
Znój
Jan 12th
Rec'd by: Boney
2022
Julee Cruise is apparently smiling on us from ambient heaven!! The opener absolutely nailed that sense of gorgeous melodramatic/mystical rapture that I associate with *those moments* in Twin Peaks: breath=taken!! The vocal mix in the second and sixth tracks is also very pleasing, but I found that the rest of it largely mined the same synth + string palettes at a glacial rate for diminishing returns. Shame - voices on this are a knockout and the whole thing verges on special but doesn't quite deliver as a whole. Still good stuff though, also appreciate how it feels like a somewhat shadowy album of light with disarming moments of darkness (that sixth track mmyes). Good rec, good stuff
3.6 | | 12 |  | Stars of the Lid
And Their Refinement Of The Decline
Jan 12th
Rec'd by: Asleep
2007
PRELUDE: dammit this is karmic. thought The Tired Sounds Of was dec but not enough to revisit in a hurry, and was praying no-one would rec this...
BLURB: The day has come, the deed has been done, and reflections are wriggling over my skim mmm let's see. This record, on the most basic level, feels uncommonly responsive to listener attitude and investment (yes this is true for all music yada yada, but this offers an uncommonly broad + expansive canvas of yourshit_projection). Put it in the background and it's vaporous nothing-music; pay close attention for a short while and it's teeming with gorgeous counterpoint and subtle dynamics; pay close attention for a long while and you will *laugh* bitterly at yourself for tuning into near-silence for two entire hours. What to do?
Well, unlike The Tired Sounds Of (the aural equivalent of a broken radiator in its most innocuous form, for 123 minutes at that), this one at least feels like a record you can Make Something Out Of! There are highlights (looking at you, Even If You're Never Awake, aka the Sigur Ros experience reimagined for drippy cornballs of both patience *and* relative refinement); there are distinct moods ("Another Ballad" is oppressive and dense; "Humectez" is mopey wistfulness for Satie groupies; "Tippy's Demise" is appropriately tragic and surprisingly cathartic - we have a ready-made emotriangle right there); and, prerequisite #1 of expediently chartable albums, there are even skippable duds ("The Mouthchew" meh). Heavens be praised! In short, it's a landscape I already feel much more confident in and am consequentially keener to continue exploring.
Conclusion #1: this album is good and I like it in a way that will quite likely be meaningful and enduring on some level.
*However* I am still not sold on how much of this album's greatness lies in its specific ability to indulge my considerable short-term stress (#postgraduate #essay #crisis) and poor sleeping habits, and how much is merely inherited from those two things' undoubted maximalism. Is it a good canvas? Is my subconscious just a really fuckin good artist? Is this good because it's good nothing-music or *cowardly* because it panders to an audience of flighty anxiety attacks? Hmm.
Conclusion #2: TIME WILL TELL!!
4.0 | | 13 |  | Colleen
The Golden Morning Breaks
Jan 13th
Rec'd by: Ghandhi
2005
Classical guitar and a load of chimes - how quaint! I guess you'd call this an ambient chamber solo project of some description, but more importantly it's shockingly emotional for a Ghandhi 4.5! I found the closer and, in particular, "I'll Read You a Story" deeply affecting pieces full of haunting delicacy. At its best, this record feels like a pale hand gripping a piece of china, held at such an angle as though it might fall to the floor at any given moment (this is a shit simile I am tired). At its worst, it's a little bland but doesn't overstay its welcome. The latter side dominates its runtime, but the highlights here are easily among the most enthralling pieces I've heard from this list so far.
3.5 | | 14 |  | Keith Fullerton Whitman
Lisbon
Jan 14th
Rec'd by: sona
2006
ONE SONG! ONE LONG SONG! One long song of many sections! This starts out as a rather drab ambient/glitch piece (honestly made me think of an extremely threadbare version of the Whistleblower sound), which did not thrill me and somewhat dragged for 15 mins or so, but then the waves of thick distorted floatational silvernoise come rolling in and we are good. Sort-of. I dunno - enjoyed most of this, but question whether it was worth the set-up.
3.3 for now, will have to reevaluate at some point | | 15 |  | James Ferraro
Clear
Jan 15th
Rec'd by: Ryus
2008
Need another pass at this one, brb
EDIT: Okay so this deepens my vibe with Jim Ferrari, whereby I think he's a cool artist and appreciate his ideas without drawing the kind of nourishment I'd ideally like from them. This whole thing feels subtly restless and out of focus to the point that I questioned whether the flac I downloaded was dodgy (still need to verify, but enjoyed the effect enough not to prioritise). I actually quite like how discontinuous this is between individual pieces - given the thrumming and churning going on in the background all the while, it feels like chillout music for ADHD kids who like their bleeps. Glad to have heard this, even if the Vibe evaded me at times.
3.5 | | 16 |  | Tuluum Shimmering
These Flowers in Dawn's Twilight...
Jan 16th
Rec'd by: Hyperion
2019
Okay, this is a 3.5 hr psychedelic folk record made up of 6 songs, and I freely chose it from hyp's rec'd artists because I am an idiot.
Or am I?
The (very modest 15ish min) first track was exactly the kind of drone-folk I was actively hoping this would avoid and the (still sub-30 min) second track drove me briefly insane one I realised I was not responding as hoped to the drone and turned It The Fuck Up while out in public, but I vaguely appreciated the hysteria in the moment. So far, so okay.
And then the hour-long third track was one of the most blissed out things I have heard in a LONG damn whole and I loved it
Fourth track was almost as long but much harder to get into - I think the length was especially warranted on this one, as it took me 10ish mins to immerse into the loop, but once there it was just another good jam. Lovely.
Fifth track was under 20 minutes and I can no longer remember things of that brevity
Sixth is another longboi and potentially the most chill of the lot, man I can't wait to go back to the third and find out.
*SO*, after a pretty forgivable start that I neither loved nor hated, this turned out to be a wondrous dream of light and peace and TIME and repetition and I am so, so, so glad I didn't wimp out from it. Genuinely felt myself floating at around the one-two hour mark and cannot say that any other album here has reached my spirit that way. Dunno if I'll ever jam this again as a whole, but I would absolutely throw the odd track on to kill an hour if I wasn't sure which Entire Album to play instead and wanted to chill.
Would 4.0 it, but fuck this deserves better than that maudlin Stars of the Lid flimflam
4.3 (would have been in my top three and maybe AOTY if I'd heard in 2019) | | 17 |  | Gas
Pop
Jan 17th
Rec'd by: calmrose
2000
What kind of gas is Gas I need to know because my soul INHALED this. Some of the best ambient beats I've heard (and the beatless stuff is just gorgeous), lovely album YES
4.4 | | 18 |  | Jana Winderen
Energy Field
Jan 18th
Rec'd by: Space Jester
2010
it is raining there is wind this album feels like it offers an umbrella but i am unsure how to channel that? big energy
3.0 | | 19 |  | Steve Roach
Structures From Silence
Jan 19th
Rec'd by: Viriathus and Kompys
1984
Oh Y E S ! "Reflections in Suspension" is everything I've ever wanted from ye olde ambient-new age-space superjunction and impeccably gorgeous through and through. Absolutely magical track. The rest isn't exactly a step down, though I did question how much nourishment I drew from the t/t's many, many minutes (multiple repeats and tests were levelled in its direction and the results are inconclusive). This is exactly the kind of record I was hoping to net from this list though - great rec.
4.2 | | 20 |  | David Sylvian and Holger Czukay
Plight and Premonition
Jan 20th
Rec'd by: Viriathus
1988
LISTEN #1: was on a floor mattress in total darkness in the creepiest room in my family home after a day of travel (don't ask questions). Was tired but threw this on last thing at night. First half immediately gripped me and, though subtle in its spookiness, was the most unsettling experience I can remember having with music since I fell asleep with shuffle on and ~woke up to an uncharacteristic moment of sleep paralysis beautifully scored by Aphex Twin's Gwarek2. Unlike that time, I absolutely loved this! Felt like my subconscious was being lead down some shadowy path drawn in an innocuous art style like wherever Winnie the Pooh goes where he has nightmares. Was absolutely hooked, assumed that I would 4.5 this immediately after hearing the second half, and then immediately fell asleep before it started. 5/5 classic
LISTEN #2: this time in broad daylight, wide awake. Am v glad I had listen #1 to draw on, because I would have struggled to pick up on this thing's aura with nearly the same level of fixation. Made it to "Premonition"! Was unconvinced by "Premonition"! Oh gosh...
LISTEN #3: turns out "Premonition" is lovely and I was a fool. Great album, love the change in tone between the two pieces, dig both a lot individually.
4.1 | | 21 |  | VVV x Sangam
Tomorrow Comes
Jan 21st
Rec'd by: Dewi
2018
Well it's vaporous alright. Palatable NPC ambient, not getting much character from this beside ye olde retrofuture slow motion metropolitan concrete neon sunsetshit (the sun is neon it is red). Hmmm
3.0 | | 22 |  | Sam Kidel
Disruptive Muzak
Jan 22nd
Rec'd by: granite
2016
tl;dr for anyone who hasn't heard this, it's a 20-min piece of parody--background-muzak ambient interspersed with presumably real recordings of irl call centre workers reacting to it being played down the phone at them.
You might think that it's more of a Concept Art deal than 'actual' music, but you'd be wrong because the track is also included as an instrumental, but then (as the Quietus' v enjoyable read points out) you'd *still* be wrong because the instrumental version is branded as the "DIY" edition, for you to make your own disruptions! Y'geddit?
So, uh, THOUGHTS:
1) I love how *gettable* this is - sure, it hinges around the conceptual conceit, but the way it's presented is so straightforward and repetitive that it never feels like the listener is particularly distant from Sam Kider's humour and enterprise.
2) The ambient music is lovely and holds up on its own terms - gimme those rolling synth pulses all day bby. Appreciate the subtle accents that develop throughout the piece
3) That said, I've gotta admit that I like this album more for its intellectual satisfaction than for its role as music. The idea that music as innocuous as this could be implemented disruptively is a great bit and I love how far the alb doubles down on it, but it feels more like the audio-recording-of-that-experiment is just proof that these-things-did-occur-in-realtime than that it's the most essential part of the venture. Doesn't feel like something that will reward repeats all that much either
Gets a solid 3.5 as a MusicThing for me, but this definitely warrants the righteous 5.0 granite has bestowed on it | | 23 |  | Internazionale
Elegy for the Victors
Jan 23rd
Rec'd by: Dedex
2015
Lovely dreamy ambient that goes through all the motions of the things lovely dreamy ambient does with nary a foot put wrong, but never really rises above that brief for me. Nice stuff anyway.
3.3 | | 24 |  | Lustmord
The Place Where The Black Stars Hang
Jan 24th
Rec'd by: Sharenge
1994
I am listening to this right now at high-ish volume in a very bright cafe and feel like I have done something incredibly wrong.
^this, I think, was basically correct. As with Heresy (though perhaps moreso), I don't have any serious critiques to land on the music here, but I neither loved it nor found the Extremely Creepy Vibe interesting enough to want to give it the full darkroom treatment. There's a very clear, focused vision throughout this and I don't mind being filtered by it - not something I need in my life, but am glad I checked.
3.0 | | 25 |  | Geinoh Yamashirogumi
Ecophony Rinne
Jan 25th
Rec'd by: DadKungFu
1994
A lot of this went over my head on first listen, but mmm I'm glad I gave it a few repeats - absolutely enchanting unpredictable music of light, and not something I'm keen to subject any further to the cruel prison of words.
4.0 | | 26 |  | A Winged Victory for the Sullen
A Winged Victory for the Sullen
Jan 26th
Rec'd by: hesp
2011
Aight, gonna kick up some dirt while I marinate on the many charms of Ecophony Rinne. This thing gave me Stars of the Lid vibes approximately 20 seconds after hitting play, which in turn was approximately 20 seconds before I learned that it was a successor project of one of the members.
This is convenient, because the basis for my Vibe is also directly descended from Stars of the Lid. Draw up an expedient dichotomy of things I do/don't like about Stars of the Lid and:
GOOD - huge sombre fogginess; subtle use of counterpoint; pacing sluggish to the point that emotional overtones are rarely overbearing; melodies generally aren't too strident; overall inclination towards oblique who-cares-what-it-originally meant comfort space, hence the wide scope for user projection I highlighted back on #12
BAD - the emotional overtones in question and (where relevant) track progressions are overly maudlin in a way that makes me imagine and feel compelled to identify with an audience of maudlin sadboys whose #1 musical requirement is a superslowmotion rewind effect on their apparently equally maudlin ghost umbilical cords, by which they hope to crawl right back into their mother's womb and vegetate ad infinitum to these comfort songs of life-is-what-you-make-of-it (in this case, not very much at all)
...so yeah, suffice to say that A Winged Victory for the Sullen aligns about as squarely as possible with the BAD end of things. Stars of the Lid for people whose favourite Sigur Ros record is Takk: not a combination I'm keen to fuck with any further. Those melodies are just too damn kitsch and the whole package feels melancholy in an uncomfortably clearly defined and overall prescriptive way. It's craftful in the same way as a 2D soundtrack for a bleak existential drama and very much lacking the sophistication of on-screen performances needed to ground the affect. Unlike Stars for the Lid, I am unprepared to offer my IRL profile as a surrogate thank you very much you cheapskates.
2.5 | | 27 |  | Headcase
Mushi Mushi
Jan 27th
Rec'd by: WRYN
1999
Problem #1: Could not find this on slsk, so went for Mushiness instead (since it apparently contains all the same tracks?)
Problem #2: This is ambient? Not buying it lol (same tier as people who'd have Meat Beat Manifesto in that ballpark - those heavy beats are v much the star of the show here)
GOOD THINGS: this is still an alright creepy techno thang hmm okay
3.4 | | 28 |  | Svaneborg Kardyb
Over Tage
Jan 28th
Rec'd by: Josh D.
2022
this vanilla background jazzmusic is not ambient. it is fine.
3.4 | | 29 |  | Celer
Xièxie
Jan 29th
Rec'd by: Sniff
2019
If there's any one record on this list that embodied every preconception I had about ambient music before getting my toes soggy mid-2022, it's this. There are notes, everything is grey and translucent and usually beautiful, time does not exist, chordpads waft etcetc.. Awesome: I like ambient now(?!). Last track in particular is absolute heaven and going straight onto the expanded ambient mix I'm going to make as soon as I've finished this month, shit d a m n. Xiexie YOU very much Sniff !
3.99 | | 30 |  | Ashra
New Age of Earth
Jan 30th
Rec'd by: protokute
1977
Good news is that this is one of the coolest records ever ! Bad news is that my favourite bits aren't ambient ! Unconcerned ! The synth tones on here are timelessly fantastic and I love'em - shit is Thousand Knives Of -tier for wtf cannot believe this came out in the late 70s. Impeccable stuff gimme Sunrain on repeat forever thank you - this record cured my hangover and made my day :] :]
4.0 | | 31 |  | Yagya
Rigning
Jan 31st
Rec'd by: dbizz
2009
Perfect note to wrap up on: ambient dub techno that landed right into my comfort zone! Enjoyed this at times a little and at others lots and lots - maybe felt a bit diffuse at points, but I was all too happy to drift to it. Mmmyes!
3.7 | | 32 |  | Nala Sinephro
Space 1.8
((fuck knows when, but bookmarked)) | |
Mort.
01.08.23 | dedekind cut - tahoe
william basinski (take your pic of the disintegration loops, a shadow in time or Melancholia) | SlothcoreSam
01.08.23 | Here's a new one.
oedipus apartment complex - The Blissful Sounds of Miracula | GmemberKills
01.08.23 | cool list. Been looking for some new ambient
these are two of my faves
Blithe Field - Face Always Towards the Sun
Ricky Eat Acid - Three Love Songs | theBoneyKing
01.08.23 | Oh nice, gonna follow this as I’m not constantly looking for good ambient stuff.
A couple recs:
Zguba - Znój (great 2022 ambient drones composed mostly of strings and choral vocals, very cold and desolate)
Nash to Stoudemire - Faucet (MJ Lenderman/Wednesday side project, mostly chill warm organ and guitar tones; this along with Kali Malone was my impetus to explore ambient/drone more actively) | GhandhiLion
01.08.23 | Drawing of Sound Windy & Carl
The Golden Morning Breaks Colleen
Fog Tropes / Gradual Requiem Ingram Marshall
Kasha iz topora Gultskra Artikler
In den Gärten Pharaos
| theBoneyKing
01.08.23 | Just downloaded Drawing of Sound the other day, if Johnny adds that one maybe I’ll check it on the same day!!
Need to check Stars of the Lid but am intimidated by the runtimes of Refinement/Tired Sounds. | robertsona
01.08.23 | Keith Fullerton Whitman - lisbon | Ryus
01.08.23 | james ferarro - clear | Hyperion1001
01.08.23 | check out:
les halles
venn rain
magnetophonique
tuluum shimmering
m. geddes gengras
some of my favs on pretty constant rotation.
| Space Jester
01.09.23 | Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement - Flying Fish Ambiance
Kagami smile - Hitomi
Jana Winderen - Energy Field
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - Visiting This World
| theBoneyKing
01.09.23 | Can’t forget to mention that Kali Malone also has a massive project dropping January 20. ;-D | normaloctagon
01.09.23 | Subscribed | Viriathus
01.09.23 | Biosphere - Substrata
Akira Yamaoka - Silent Hill 2
Meat Beat Manifesto - Subliminal Sandwich
Alias Conrad Coldwood - OFF
Controlled Bleeding - Headcrack
Emeralds - Does It Look Like I'm Here?
Ashra - New Age of Earth
Tangerine Dream - Phaedra
Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica (iirc you've heard this but I'm mentioning it in case I'm wrong)
Howard Shore - Videodrome
Vangelis - Blade Runner
Software - Digital-Dance
Jean Michel-Jarre - Oxygene
Brian Eno - Ambient 4
Klaus Schulze - Moondawn
Steve Roach - Structures From Silence
Isao Tomita - Snowflakes Are Dancing
Suzanne Ciani - The Flowers of Evil
Throbbing Gristle - 20 Jazz Funk Greats
Mick Harris & Eraldo Bernocchi - Total Station
Scorn - Evanescence
Nine Horses - Snow Borne Sorrow
David Sylvian & Holger Czukay - Plight & Premonition | GhandhiLion
01.09.23 | ^nice list. Love that Sylvian one | theBoneyKing
01.09.23 | Oh I gotta check Substrata too, also downloaded that one. | Kompys2000
01.09.23 | Check Steve Roach- Structures From Silence might as well try getting both you and asleep on board lel | granitenotebook
01.09.23 | sam kidel disruptive muzak | Sharenge
01.09.23 | Lustmord - The Place Where the Black Stars Hang | DadKungFu
01.09.23 | Geinoh Yamashirogumi - Ecophony Rinne ludicrously lush new age-ish ambient/choral music for summoning animist spirits
| hesperus
01.09.23 | A Winged Victory for the Sullen - s/t | WRYN
01.09.23 | Headcase - Mushi Mushi | Josh D.
01.09.23 | Svaneborg Kardyb - Over Tage | Ryus
01.09.23 | ^ not ambient | Josh D.
01.09.23 | more ambient than Music for 18 Musicians, it's not a narrow genre, etc | Ryus
01.09.23 | its even further removed from ambient than music for 18 musicians but most importantly its bad which is why i am trying to save johnny | GhandhiLion
01.09.23 | lol based | theBoneyKing
01.09.23 | I tend to accept as 'ambient' anything that can function as ambience even if it is not ambient in the strictest sense of the genre. | Josh D.
01.09.23 | "its even further removed from ambient than music for 18 musicians"
I already said that's not the case, but ok! | GhandhiLion
01.09.23 | Yeah I tend to accept as 'rock' anything that can function as rocking out music | GhandhiLion
01.09.23 | Everything can function as ambient if you're disinterested enough :^] | Ryus
01.09.23 | "I already said that's not the case, but ok!"
oh sorry guess youre right than lmao
boring-ass vaguely electronic faux-lite-jazz isnt ambient in any sense of the word | Ryus
01.09.23 | ig johnny just take a sampling of this and decide for yourself?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tgrzqbIeeI | GhandhiLion
01.09.23 | nice i love nujabes | Josh D.
01.09.23 | You listened to one song off an album, very good. | Sniff
01.09.23 | Celer - Xiexie | protokute
01.09.23 | Ashra!!!!! | protokute
01.09.23 | also Fennesz - Endless Summer | Hyperion1001
01.09.23 | it’s only ambient if it has ambient in the title! | Ryus
01.09.23 | lovely album that one | Liberi Fatali
01.09.23 | If Nala Sinephro - Space 1.8 doesn't make it to this list, I'll be coming for ya. :p
Also big ups person who mentioned Celer - Xiexie (though I spent far too much on intl. shipping from Bandcamp for that vinyl, eeeek). | z00sh
01.09.23 | Grouper - A I A: Alien Observer | Ryus
01.09.23 | celer's whole catalog is an absolute bounty of gorgeous ambient | Liberi Fatali
01.09.23 | But you'll spend a f-ton trying to listen to all 10 albums a year of it :p | Ryus
01.09.23 | sky limits and jima are probably my two other favorites | Liberi Fatali
01.09.23 | I'd suggest picking some of his on-label releases from Discogs. Particularly on Two Acorns: https://www.discogs.com/label/211275-Two-Acorn
eg, The Everything And The Nothing, Tempelhof, Nacreous Clouds, Akagi
If you check out Celer's early releases (from 2009-2011), it was when they were a duo (co-produced with his partner who passed away), so worth picking out an early release or two as well as more recent stuff. | Viriathus
01.09.23 | Aaaay Ashra, very glad someone else also rec'd it | protokute
01.09.23 | 2814 - 新しい日の誕生
Might easily be my favorite contemporary "ambient" album, best enjoyed during a melancholic rainy night. Really love this | Sharenge
01.09.23 | sorry Johnny I feel like I picked a mean album... in the end I decided to go with a Lustmord but when considering which one to pick, I ruled out Heresy for being the obvious choice and ruled out First Reformed because I didn't feel like adding it to the database so the monster you got is the monster you got | Avagantamos
01.09.23 | late again, but The Haxan Cloak - Excavation is very cool | lifetheory
01.09.23 | protokute: an album I hear a lot to sleep
(the rain, the sound of the ambulance passing by, the whispers, the reverb.. it's amazing)
| lifetheory
01.09.23 | I like "Boards of Canada - In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country"
(also one of my favs to sleep) | protokute
01.10.23 | I remember one time coming back to my place in the countryside with my friend on the car, it was pouring, and the thunders were wild. We decided to stop the car on a high place, and play 2814, and just watch the lightnings. It is a beautiful memory. | MiloRuggles
01.10.23 | Excuse me I am late but you must listen to this: https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/52252/Sleep-Research-Facility-Deep-Frieze/ | robertsona
01.10.23 | Btw Johnny might help to know: Lisbon was performed live | GhandhiLion
01.10.23 | Didn't you say that you knew Keith Rob? | robertsona
01.10.23 | He was going to perform a show I booked at my sister’s apartment for a week after COVID hit. Lineup was KFW, Rachika nayar, the artist YATTA, the former Sputnik staffer Conrad Tao and his musical partner Charmaine Lee, Cecilia lopez, and a friend of mine. I’d say I “kinda know” him: follows me on Twitter. | JohnnyoftheWell
01.11.23 | Updated! Quest: continue | Sharenge
01.11.23 | eat your greens
especially broccoli | pizzamachine
01.11.23 | Deepspace - The Blue Dunes | FadedSun
01.11.23 | Ambient 4: On Land is one of my favorite ambient records. | anode
01.11.23 | Looks like youre outa days but my fav ambient albums are definitely Grouper - A I A Alien Observer and Eluvium - Copia | dedex
01.11.23 | Eluvium - Copia 💖 | Dewinged
01.11.23 | At least my shitty vaporwave rec survived | anode
01.11.23 | Eluvium copia makes me feel like I’m in the 1850s in an up and coming metropolitan. Maybe at a fair or in the outskirts of the city. Definitely wearing a flat cap | JohnnyoftheWell
01.12.23 | new day new ambijent we are moving!!
tomorrow is big. | robertsona
01.12.23 | Stars of the mf lidddddddd | theBoneyKing
01.12.23 | Nice take on Zguba Johnny, I find it a tad more consistent than you do but glad you enjoyed! | JohnnyoftheWell
01.12.23 | BUMP of the LID
might bump Zguba up a tad actually hmm | Kompys2000
01.13.23 | Sometimes I think of that old butcherboy nu-swans review talking about "tabula rasa art, things made to absorb when you're an empty kid looking for meaning" and I wonder if it might not apply more neatly than I'd like to the Big Two SOTL Albums | Kompys2000
01.13.23 | Will go to my grave shouting that their early shit is criminally undervalued though | Conmaniac
01.13.23 | Ayy good scores for 10/12 | AsleepInTheBack
01.13.23 | yes boi glad you made it through the LID. that thing has grown over the years from a soft 3.5 into one of my fave comfort blanket albums. | JohnnyoftheWell
01.14.23 | Gosh "I'll Read You a Story" from 13 is stunning | JohnnyoftheWell
01.16.23 | Gonna need more time with that James Ferraro alb, but damn Tuluum Shimmering is exactly what I needed in my life rn | Hyperion1001
01.16.23 | nice i honestly had a feeling youd like tuluum, it seems like it encompasses a lot of tones and sounds already in your wheelhouse.
the mans catalogue is nearly impenetrable because i doubt even bandcamp tape ambient heads can consume what must amount to hundreds and hundreds of hours of music, but im glad he keeps on truckin lol. | AsleepInTheBack
01.17.23 | Just checked 6. Absurdly good. | GhandhiLion
01.17.23 | peek at the new Tujiko Noriko maybe | GhandhiLion
01.17.23 | oh wow filtered by shockingly emotional music | robertsona
01.17.23 | Keith Fullerton Whitman rips do not let this hater get you down | mindleviticus
01.17.23 | rainforest spiritual enslavement - flying fish ambience | JohnnyoftheWell
01.17.23 | is the new Tujiko Noriko out yet? Had that on my radar
new Ryuichi Sakamoto also out today | JohnnyoftheWell
01.18.23 | BUMP for Gas mmmm Gas also
"the mans catalogue is nearly impenetrable"
Paha I'll bet - excited to scratch a little more of the surface sometime though
"rips"
say no to milk rusk glitch | Havey
01.18.23 | do a field recordings february | JohnnyoftheWell
01.18.23 | Great shout I will make a bandcamp page for it, cannot wait for your feedback
Mooncat shall ride again | Kompys2000
01.18.23 | Have struggled to love anything by Gas and a lil sampling of pop is reminding me of why- feels a little too "pleasant", not as full of notes as I want a blissful dreamfloat to be. Still obviously pretty as feck tho | protokute
01.18.23 | never got to get into it too | JohnnyoftheWell
01.18.23 | "feels a little too "pleasant", not as full of notes as I want a blissful dreamfloat to be. Still obviously pretty as feck tho "
This but Haunt Me Haunt Me tbh (would argue that Pop embraces the dream 100%, whereas that alb tries to keep one foot in the door of the waking world and ends up in downtown polar limbo as a result) | zakalwe
01.18.23 | John Foxx - London Overgrown.
Classic stuff. | JohnnyoftheWell
01.20.23 | Goin on a long train today, cannot wait to AMBIENT thru the night!
Updated through to yesterday - this current patch of recs is netting some real JOY | bgillesp
01.21.23 | Way too late and maybe more new-age than ambient but check Emerald Web- Valley of the Birds if you get the chance | Kompys2000
01.21.23 | Hey glad Roach went over well! The first track is for sure the highlight but the rest keeps up the vibe admirably imo | granitenotebook
01.24.23 | v curious re: your thoughts on disruptive muzak | JohnnyoftheWell
01.24.23 | Sorry sorry been a busy weekend, though I've been more or less in sync with the schedule in my listening - updated up to the current version! Love how unstressful these records are to catch up on lol (well, until Lustmord) | granitenotebook
01.24.23 | nw ty friend, glad you enjoyed | DadKungFu
01.26.23 | You didn't listen to Lustmord in the dark with a black plastic bag over your head and frankly it shows | BaselineOOO
01.26.23 | How do you have so much time to write stuff? Wait, does sputnik PAY? Am I entertaining this site for FREE? | JohnnyoftheWell
01.26.23 | i will pay you please give me a black plastic band
update for Winged Victory, will get to Geinoh Yamashirogumi properly soon! | hesperus
01.26.23 | "Stars of the Lid for people whose favourite Sigur Ros record is Takk"
god, read me harder why don't you | SomeCallMeTim
01.26.23 | If you're still taking recs, Yo La Tengo's The Sounds of the Sounds of Science is a post-rock/ambient mix and is both beautiful and at moments flat out noisy. I love it, others don't seem to share that sentiment | SomeCallMeTim
01.26.23 | oh its one a day for the month damn | BaselineOOO
01.26.23 | I know the best ambient LP of all time but it's my secret and I won't tell anybody about it! | SomeCallMeTim
01.26.23 | so ambient its just the ring of tinnitus | Sevengill
01.26.23 | what's good for someone who likes Arctica - Annuminas? | Kompys2000
01.26.23 | Lol AWVFTS is very much pitypartyambient and the piano parts in particular often threaten to get overbearing within the mix but I really do adore most of it still, vicodin tears especially is a personal favorite within the wider SOTLverse
think the Dead Texan miiiiight be more your speed | Sharenge
01.27.23 | you mean to tell me you didn't listen to The Place Where the Black Stars Hang while buried alive...?
unbelievable | Havey
01.27.23 | Good winged victory review
faith restored
Gambian cinema on gold trad3.
hoppfullt he'll listen frescobaldi one day | WRYN
01.29.23 | Sorry for the confusion, both are indeed different iterations of the same tracks. The affiliation with ambient comes through the majority of the tracks being classifiable as Illbient, which is a rather late subcategory coined in the mid 1990s by artists like Scorn and DJ Spooky. Sharing similarities with dark ambient, the foundation is indeed distinguished by a pronounced incorporation of dub-like beats. Speaking of this record specifically Scorn's "Gyral" from 1995 gets close in terms of effects and beat choices. | JohnnyoftheWell
01.31.23 | Ah yeah aight that figures - haven't gone far into illbient tbh, but have largely vibed those dark vibes wherever I've come across them so might explore a lil more later on. A large chunk of my fav ambient has an intersection with dub tbh
also there is only one day left let's GO | theBoneyKing
01.31.23 | Alright Jonathan, with only one day to go, what are my most essential jams here? I’ve heard none aside from my recs, Hecker, and Gas. | JohnnyoftheWell
01.31.23 | 19, 30 and 29 are ur essential blessed basic bitch ambient (in that order)
25 and 21 are righteous spooky luminous stuff that will make you fewer friends but improve your life as much if not more
16 is for a very special day when large amounts of tension are ready to leave your body
anything to do with stars of the lid is omitted bc i refuse to complicit in the ongoing wave of underventilated sadboys sniffing radiators | theBoneyKing
01.31.23 | Cool cool cool will flag those (as well as the other basic bitch ones like 6 and yes, Stars of the Lid) | MoM
01.31.23 | “ sniffing radiators”
I refuse to listen to Stars of the Lid any other way and i love that shit | Sniff
01.31.23 | No xiexie you | DadKungFu
01.31.23 | Nice follow through with this, your description of track 3 of 16 is spot on, awesome discovery | JohnnyoftheWell
01.31.23 | Shit yes, did it make your soul go float(!) too?
Tuning into Yagya atm and ngl, this is a perfect note to wrap the month up on. Great stuff | DadKungFu
01.31.23 | It was incredibly centering, all the best qualities of yoga session soundtracks made exponentially better. It also played through two consecutive kid meltdowns and somehow made the experience tolerable so if that's not a benchmark for quality ambient I'm not sure what is | dbizzles
02.03.23 | Glad you liked Yagya, try the Sleepygirls LP sometime! | JohnnyoftheWell
03.01.23 | making a habit of jamming Scattering and blooming from 16 every time I have a stressful deadline mmmmmhm | Pheromone
03.01.23 | the fact that you actually finish these rec lists is an ick for me | JohnnyoftheWell
03.01.23 | shut the hell up concept weirdo | anode
03.01.23 | You ever listen to Eluvium copia? | JohnnyoftheWell
05.09.23 | ritual bump for nail-biting submission day / Tuluum Shimmering winddown |
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