Best ambient albums of all times?

Scubadevils

Hey Paul - how do I get my hands on a copy of Mick's album??? I've heard great reports about that. City Discs had a handful which sold out quickly.

c_o_ck p_i_ss chillage

Felixdhc wrote: »

Hey Paul - how do I get my hands on a copy of Mick's album??? I've heard great reports about that. City Discs had a handful which sold out quickly.

As far as I know Spindizzy have them or failing that Road or Tower. I can't be certain though. Are you going to the Psychonavigation 9th Birthday gig tomorrow night? If so, I'm sure Keith Downey or Mick himself will give you a good price! ;-)

Here's some clips he put up on Soundcloud
http://soundcloud.com/mick-chillage/tales-from-the-igloo-clips

Scubadevils

c_o_ck p_i_ss chillage wrote: »

As far as I know Spindizzy have them or failing that Road or Tower. I can't be certain though. Are you going to the Psychonavigation 9th Birthday gig tomorrow night? If so, I'm sure Keith Downey or Mick himself will give you a good price! ;-)

Here's some clips he put up on Soundcloud
http://soundcloud.com/mick-chillage/tales-from-the-igloo-clips

Ok, cheers - I'll try them.

Didn't know about their birthday gig, must see if I can make it to that so, rare though that I can make it out weekends even now, let alone weeknights!

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

markw999

Definetly Kevin Drumm's Imperial Distortion. Fantastic double disc record.

Great description from the label (Hospital Productions) here:

"What does a person do when faced with a work like Imperial Distortion? There are rare moments in an artist’s work where they reveal a greater truth. Kevin Drumm has already made such a statement with his last major solo work 2002’s Sheer Hellish Miasma. Where that record took noise music to a new level of near-impenetrable exactitude, Imperial Distortion is an altogether different beast. Beauty as an aesthetic can be as terrifying as horror, desire unfulfilled, romance that lingers and never goes away no matter how disappointing. A preoccupation with death can be the only result. On this extended long form release Kevin Drumm comes face to face with minimal drone music and confronts the genre by providing one of its absolute pinnacles at the forefront; movement. Drone music at its most concentrated and ably performed has build and depth in its tones. Although there might be the illusion of stasis the opposite is true. From the opening twenty minute track “Guillain-Barre” the mood of the album is laid clear. The arrangements are shadowy layers of soundtrack like tones not entirely unlike the work that Popul Vuh provided for Herzog’s films. By track two “more Blood and Guts” with its ominous bell tones its apparent that there is a true nothing that’s associated with these sounds other than the mood inducing hypnosis and the feeling of drowning yet having no ability to fight the slow pull. The middle portion of the record is “Snow” which was released as a limited cassette last year on Hospital Productions. This material was a teaser for the full album Imperial Distortion. The Tracks have an almost ballad-esque sense of elegance using tone and frequency as melodic portals to nowhere. The sustain in the piece suggests a weight while remaining alarmingly pleasant to the ears. The tension suggests an anxiety that never truly dies. The alarm comes from the juxtaposition of tones and mood. While the tones may sound gorgeous in their purity the mood implies a profound sense of unease and perhaps an acceptance of the inevitability of existential dilemma. This point is most thoroughly evidenced by the albums closer “We All Get It In the End”. While the piece starts out with lullaby ease, a few minutes in an equally severe dark drone eclipses the light and the night takes over. Here in the enveloped sounds the clouds pass over the moonlight creating a spectral dark that is unforgettable in its intensity. To answer the initial question of Imperial Distortion, this is a work that commands intellectual and emotional commitment on the levels of the greatest works to come from this genre. When faced with an abstract work as complete as Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2 or Eliane Radigue’s Trilogy of Death, a listener is transported not only to another place but also the deepest layers of themselves. Kevin Drumm has with this release accomplished that rare balance to create a masterwork that no one has yet to come close to in this era. Your best bet is to surrender. "

Ghost Rider

I take it we're using the term "ambient" in a very broad sense, so here are a few I love (in no particular order)...

- Aphex Twin, "Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2"
- Philip Jeck, "Stoke" & "Vinyl Coda"
- Thomas Koner, "Nuuk" (part of the "Driftworks" box set) and "Aubrite"
- Zoviet France, "A Flock of Rotations"
- Brian Eno, "Music for Airports", "On Land", "Thursday Afternoon"
- Harold Budd & Brian Eno, "The Pearl"
- Windy & Carl, "Consciousness"
- Fennesz, "Endless Summer"
- Tim Hecker, "Radio Amor"
- Tomorrowland, "Sequence of the Negative Space Changes"
- Labradford, "E Luxo So"
- Pandit Pran Nath, "Midnight" (broad, remember?)
- Popol Vuh, "Tantric Songs"
- Phil Niblock, "The Young Person's Guide To Phil Niblock"
- Terry Riley,"Descending Moonshine Dervishes"
- Steve Reich, "Music for 18 Musicians"

Ghost Rider

Will definitely check that out. Listening to "Sheer Hellish Miasma" is really something, if not quite as gentle an experience as the term "ambient" might suggest...

markw999 wrote: »

Definetly Kevin Drumm's Imperial Distortion. Fantastic double disc record.

Scubadevils

I read about that Imperial Distortion on Boomkat around the time it came out and had intended to buy it but since forgot - I must grab a copy soon, sounds great.

Scubadevils

c_o_ck p_i_ss chillage wrote: »

As far as I know Spindizzy have them or failing that Road or Tower. I can't be certain though. Are you going to the Psychonavigation 9th Birthday gig tomorrow night? If so, I'm sure Keith Downey or Mick himself will give you a good price! ;-)

Here's some clips he put up on Soundcloud
http://soundcloud.com/mick-chillage/tales-from-the-igloo-clips

Got a copy today in Spindizzy, looking forward to listening now tonight with a well earned glass of red wine after a poxy hard day!

Orizio

cornbb wrote: »

I do really like the Orb - I think "Adventures beyond the Ultraworld" would have to be their best ambient work! On paper it sounds like a crap album but its grown on me an awful lot over time.

Not the biggest fan of Ulrich Schnauss myself, but I know plenty who like him so recommendation noted

Blasphemy! Ulrich Schnauss is a music God.

c_o_ck p_i_ss chillage

Felixdhc wrote: »

Got a copy today in Spindizzy, looking forward to listening now tonight with a well earned glass of red wine after a poxy hard day!

I'm not being biased here, although it might sound that I am, but I think "Tales From The Igloo" is one of the finest electronic albums I've ever heard.
The sheer scope, depth and panorama in the lp is stunning.

What did you think of it on first listen btw?

Amalgam

I had Brian Eno's Music For Films (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_for_Films) on this morning. Just.. amazed really, Music Boards of Canada and The Aphex Twin should be paying him royalties on a daily basis..

How.. ambient? can there be a mix of styles? To balance out Eno's niceness, I'd be tempted to put Throbbing Gristle's 20 Jazz Funk Greats (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_Jazz_Funk_Greats) on every so often, just to clear the air (and the room) a bit..

Scubadevils

c_o_ck p_i_ss chillage wrote: »

I'm not being biased here, although it might sound that I am, but I think "Tales From The Igloo" is one of the finest electronic albums I've ever heard.
The sheer scope, depth and panorama in the lp is stunning.

What did you think of it on first listen btw?

It's absolutely spectacular - genuinely blown away by it on first listen last night! I was sorting through some CDs and had this playing and several times had to stop what I was doing to just listen.

c_o_ck p_i_ss chillage

Felixdhc wrote: »

It's absolutely spectacular - genuinely blown away by it on first listen last night! I was sorting through some CDs and had this playing and several times had to stop what I was doing to just listen.

Yeah, it's that kind of album. If there was a Mercury Prize for Irish Electronic Music he'd win it in my opinion.

Scubadevils

c_o_ck p_i_ss chillage wrote: »

Yeah, it's that kind of album. If there was a Mercury Prize for Irish Electronic Music he'd win it in my opinion.

Definitely - the question is, will this release get the recognition it deserves in the world of electronic music? Just in terms of label distribution and access to the music in other countries such as the UK, US and all the 'bigger' markets?

Scubadevils

On round three now with this CD and it certainly is an album that will be up there with the best - I rarely play a new album three times in a week let alone over a 24 hour period!

I can definitely hear Biosphere, later Black Dog (say around 'Silenced' era), David Moufang, Namlook, Autechre etc - but all in one over the complete album which is an amazing accomplishment, it all sits together perfectly and ends with me wanting to play it again!

Sorry mods actually, dragged this a bit off topic over the last few posts!

c_o_ck p_i_ss chillage

You're right about the album in all that you say. It is one of those ones that you find yourself putting on again and again just to inhabit that world away from this one for a while. For those who want a taste, I uploaded this as an example a while ago.... (oh and the art work was specially commisioned by Mick from Jeroen Advocaat who has previously worked on a lot of stuff for the label, Sending Orbs (Kettel etc))

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjMsuvcv_fk

Scubadevils

c_o_ck p_i_ss chillage wrote: »

You're right about the album in all that you say. It is one of those ones that you find yourself putting on again and again just to inhabit that world away from this one for a while. For those who want a taste, I uploaded this as an example a while ago.... (oh and the art work was specially commisioned by Mick from Jeroen Advocaat who has previously worked on a lot of stuff for the label, Sending Orbs (Kettel etc))

I had thought the artwork looked similar to that of both 'Will I Dream During the Process?' by Yagya and also the new 'Myam James 2' by Kettel. Lovely stuff, really good artwork on all of them - great label too, Sending Orbs.

jiltloop

Love Brian Eno and Harold Budd's Plateau Of Mirror, especially the first song. Also love Harold Budd's Pavillion Of Dreams.
One of my favourite ambient songs of all times though is this one from Autechre's 1995 E.P Garbage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB4S7BP6KWo

markw999

I quite like Grouper as well; Liz Harris from Portland with guitar and vocals totally drenched in reverb. Unintelligible and nice, but my favourite record of hers is her latest, Dragging a Dead Deer up a Hill, which keeps the reverb but lets the music penetrate through more. There are actual SONGS on this record. Highly recommended.

surripere

Frozen North by Radio Massacre International.