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Ambient Music to work to

zygote23 said:
Steve Roach - Immersion series (think there are 5 of these now)
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If you like that stuff, try Michael Meara's Somnarium stuff:
http://www.earthmantra.com/release-detail.php?id=160

Robert Rich's "Somnium" is also good - a 7 hr audio DVD to sit unobtrusively in the background.

KS is too obtrusive to be ambient IMHO (as is "E2-E4"). A better bet would be "New Age of Earth" by Ashra.

Pete Namlook "Air" and "Air 2" is worth a punt.



I would also recommend music by:

Peter Challoner (http://www.peterchalloner.co.uk/)
Modulator ESP (Free music here: http://www.modulator-esp.co.uk/music.htm)

Also search www.archive.org for "Phrozenlighht"
 
zygote23 said:
Ambient?....the beats in these releases shake my house!
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This is what I meant earlier when I said that the word ambient had been sorta co-opted by various dance genres years ago which leads to very different uses of the word (and much of what Noto does I classify -- probably incorrectly -- as a spinoff of glitchy IDM)
 
Noto is classed as electronic/glitch in my library.

Ambient is a soundscape IMHO.

An album i lost a while ago, still looking to find a copy = Ambient:
 
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Some good recs above like Gas is it. There is a new Voigt variant, Mohr

I like listening to low level grinding noise like Hive Mind, Partikal, Merzbient, Sick Buildings and those to do working on a word processor and that.

DS
 
Another vote for Biosphere (last year's N-Plants is probably my second favourite after Substrata) and A Winged Victory For The Sullen (a beautiful record).

Right now, Susumu Yokota's Sakura is pretty good for lying in the garden, watching the sun set.
 
"Air- Moon Safari" I don't think I would describe that as ambient, I have the CD here
I like it but ,it's not ambient.

Ted, you need to listen to Brian Eno , his complete portfolio, make it your mission to
hear all his work ,find it however you can and digest it all.
 
I didn't really think Different Trains was Ambient per se... (Reich's whole raison d'être is the music pulses as it shifts and has a very different set of goals to Ambient compositions, its a work that demands attention, that puts you in the middle of a constantly shifting work) or Jim o' Rourke's Bad Timing was either TBH. Both rather good (especially as Reich is used by the Orb) -- but not Ambient. Atmospheric, sure.

"Soundscaping" is also a musical genre or term that has been co-opted; this happens a lot and one can choose arbitrary points to stop and settle with a definition, but I like to always try and cite an original or early usage. Not helped by the popularisation of Fripp's "Soundscaping", (a development of his and Eno's "Frippertronics" loop experiments which reference Reich greatly), neither of which have very much to do with the soundscapes of composer and researcher Hildegard Westerkamp (a big influence on me and one of the first people to coin the term Soundscaping, along with Soundwalking -- both practices that do influence modern composers like Biosphere). Soundscaping (like Soundwalks) was originally much more of an acoustic ecology practice. Also check out R. Murray Schafer and my biggest influence here is Luc Ferrari whose Presque Rien (Almost Nothing) was absolutely tough going to determine if it was a composition at the time. (It was, but that's a whole other discussion).
 
Try some Steve Lawson - it's all streamable from the website. 11 Reasons, Behind Every Word and Grace & Gratitude probably a decent starting point. The stuff with Lobelia has vox on, so not so ambulent.
 
I'd also say some Popol Vuh.....though it just sends me off into a blissful heap whenever I listen!

I've been housebound all week with a busted ankle and have mostly been listening to.......random from my hard drive!
 
A few names from me to chuck into the mix;
Robert Rich, Robert Schroeder, Klaus Schulze, Neu, early Kraftwerk & Tangerine Dream but some Dark Ambient recommendations would be Lustmord, Desiderii Marganis, Raison d'Etre, Sleep Research Facility, Caul amongst others. Check out Cold Spring Records and Cold Meat Industry labels.
 
I know I wrote this one yesterday - but listening to it now. My first listen through new speakers - Thomas Koner - Nunatek.

Amazing stuff!
 
Gosh, I don't know how to thank you all for the suggestions which will take me a good long while to listen to. I never knew that there was just so much out there.
 
dss said:
Some good recs above like Gas is it. There is a new Voigt variant, Mohr

DS
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Mohn - Burger and Voigt. Very good recent release, it really falls into the "not ambient" category in this thread though, no reason you couldn't have it on in the background of course...
 
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