# Ambience, anyone?



## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Check this out:






I could listen to this stuff all day if I had to! The Myst OSTs are filled with ambient scoring. This particular excerpt above has some great earthy flute stuff too, I could totally play it. 

Do any of you guys like this stuff too?


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

I like such music because it sounds so magical sometimes. I really used to love it when I was younger. It's good for drifting and meditating, and induces this state halfway between sleeping and conscious. Sometimes I get the feeling it is like being lost, in a vast ocean, away from order and into chaos, because it is beautiful and sensual, but it is still arbitrary and has almost no structure.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

From the composer who literally invented it and named it "ambient," all others followed...
Brian Eno:
the first... Music for Airports (1978)




Thursday Afternoon





The varied selections below, with clear genre tags of their own -- I think generally qualify as well, with different intentions while their effect is somewhat within the same area....

Pavel Karmanov ~ 7' before Christmas 





Nils Frahm ~ Tristana









Max Richter ~ Harmonium





Slightly further afield, similar directions....

Gregorian Chant with ambient electronica...
Dale Sumner ~ Music for Paradise





Reiki Music Healing: Tibetan Singing Bowls 





Tim Hecker:
October




in the fog





Lawrence English:
Figures Lone Static




Soft Fuse from Kiri No Oto


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> Check this out:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


LOL. You remind me of a pal of mine, a peer by age, who played horn with the Toronto Symphony, and for a while prior going independent, then the NYPhil under Bernstein. Whenever discussing any kind of rep, if the piece has one at all worth mentioning, I will invariably hear a hearty _"Great Horn Part!"_


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Look for the "Looong, repetitive, hypnotizing music" and the older "Ambient music" topics. Plenty of suggestions in there.


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## Exordiom (Nov 27, 2013)

again, I find it pointless. If you aren't meant to really listen to it then what's the point? there's normal background noise for that


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## Flamme (Dec 30, 2012)




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## Winterreisender (Jul 13, 2013)

Maybe it's a guilty pleasure, but I enjoy the piece Waiting for Cousteau by Jean Michel Jarre if I want something relaxing, without demanding any attention.

Or I just listen to www.rainymood.com/ which works to pretty much the same effect


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Ambience for when you are in a creepy (instead of chill) mood:


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Exordiom said:


> again, I find it pointless. If you aren't meant to really listen to it then what's the point? there's normal background noise for that


Who said it's not meant to listen to? Brian Eno said it can be either "actively listened to with attention or as easily ignored, depending on the choice of the listener". And for the good stuff that's true.






Also it's a very wide range of music.. some of it is very minimal with almost nothing happening, while other ambient is quite active.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

PetrB said:


> From the composer who literally invented it and named it "ambient," all others followed...


He didn't literally invent it. There was already a history of minimal/background/mood/atmospheric/drone-like etc. -music that eventually led to ambient. He refined the concept and came up with the word.

Here's Tangerine Dream's Zeit from 1972:


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Wow, I'm having a flashback. Does anyone remember the radio program Hearts of Space? I guess it's still on. During the '90s I had trouble sleeping, and I spent many nights with this kind of music. 

I had to stop listening, because they kept me awake trying to figure out what they were doing in the pieces. I eventually switched to Art Bell. Apparently I can sleep better hearing about Shadow People and chupacabras.


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## MJongo (Aug 6, 2011)

Steve Roach is another artist who is amazing. Structures from Silence is excellent.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

This is more space music than ambient but you may like it.

It's my favorite (non-classical) album, now and forever. Not because it's the greatest music, but because it's so tremendously inspiring.

All opinions are invalid unless one has listened to the entire album with headphones, in bed, in the dark, a couple of times.


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

Interesting but why not just listen Morton Feldman.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

DeepR said:


> This is more space music than ambient but you may like it.
> 
> It's my favorite (non-classical) album, now and forever. Not because it's the greatest music, but because it's so tremendously inspiring.
> 
> ...


LOL. pushing one pitch in a pedal point for three quarters of an hour, I think... 
is pushing it a bit too far


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## Schubussy (Nov 2, 2012)

Exordiom said:


> again, I find it pointless. If you aren't meant to really listen to it then what's the point? there's normal background noise for that


But you can listen to ambient intently. Good ambient music can be incredibly beautiful and emotional music.

I like ambient techno a lot...


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

_Of course we all know the Mother Of All Ambient pieces is John Cage's 4'33''_

But back to the spirit and style of this thread...

apart from all the western pop-ish electronica...

"Tibetan Healing Sounds #1 -11 hours - Tibetan bowls for meditation, relaxation, calming, healing"


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Lope de Aguirre said:


> Interesting but why not just listen Morton Feldman.


I agree, but noticed some of these are basically a sustained major triad with halos of shifting harmonics around them -- and not much else. If you want that, Feldman's music won't do that for you


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

PetrB said:


> I agree, but noticed some of these are basically a sustained major triad with halos of shifting harmonics around them -- and not much else. If you want that, Feldman's music won't do that for you


I agree. What I meant was that if one appreciates this kind of music, why not just bypass the trash and listen to truly great music.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Lope de Aguirre said:


> I agree. What I meant was that if one appreciates this kind of music, why not just bypass the trash and listen to truly great music.


Where have you been? It seems most people won't go past a major or minor triad, finding the rest 'too dissonant.' 
Everyone knows "dissonant = yucky" :lol:


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

PetrB said:


> LOL. pushing one pitch in a pedal point for three quarters of an hour, I think...
> is pushing it a bit too far


And thats why i put the last sentence in my.previous post. You havent listened at all.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Lope de Aguirre said:


> I agree. What I meant was that if one appreciates this kind of music, why not just bypass the trash and listen to truly great music.


Sigh. Because it isnt trash and I think its truly great music, at least the piece I posted.


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## drvLock (Apr 2, 2014)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> Check this out:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I do like ambient music, but on a more "dark" way. I love Silent Hill's scores, I love the music made by Akira Yamaoka. It was, and still is, one of my main influences when producing. i even have some dark ambient song made back then.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Some more thoughts concerning the music I posted from Michael Stearns. 

I think you guys are approaching it from the wrong point of view and with the wrong expectations. And for supporters of modern classical/art music - who would ask others to be open minded when approaching that music - you seem very quick to judge.

One should listen to it similarly as to how you'd listen to ambient music (the genre of space music is rather closely related to ambient, that's why I posted it here). Ok, it's a bit more active than ambient but the principle is more or less the same. The chords and harmonies in this piece are functional, simple and effective. For the rest, it's not about sophisticated harmonic progression or the like, but much more about sound, atmosphere and the whole auditory experience with its wonderful, expansive synthesizer sounds and effects. It lays the foundations for your imagination to do the rest. "Traveling without moving." And in that aspect, this music excels. I'm still in awe everytime I listen to it. It's spectacular in the way it creates a sense of endless space, time and unity of all things in the cosmos. For me personally, slow, minimal, dry sounding plinking with some accoustic instruments could never ever achieve something of similar effect.

Try to listen to it without expectations and just go along with the waves of sound. You'll discover there's plenty of detail and sophistication, just not in the areas you're looking for.
Of course, ultimately you need to have a click with the synthesizer sounds and whether or not you'll ever have a similarly rewarding experience as I have, is completely subjective, but at least you need to have a little patience.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

DeepR said:


> Some more thoughts concerning the music I posted from Michael Stearns.
> 
> I think you guys are approaching it from the wrong point of view and with the wrong expectations. And for supporters of modern classical/art music - who would ask others to be open minded when approaching that music - you seem very quick to judge.
> 
> ...


I think that ambient, space music and new age are a kind of music that owe more than something to the oriental traditions and It could be interesting to find the connection that goes from Debussy to Koechlin, Messiaen and Scelsi, Ligeti and the minimalists to that kind of music. Or those experiments made with the Ans Synthetizer made by composers like Schnittke, Gubaidolina, or those made with other electronic devices.

In this piece made by the classical composer Jean-Claude Eloy for instance I hear many similarities with the music that Klaus Schulze and the other space rock musicians were doing


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

This guy makes some really elegant stuff.

Marcus Fischer - _Shape to Shore._


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

DeepR said:


> Some more thoughts concerning the music I posted from Michael Stearns.
> 
> I think you guys are approaching it from the wrong point of view and with the wrong expectations. And for supporters of modern classical/art music - who would ask others to be open minded when approaching that music - you seem very quick to judge.
> 
> ...


I did listen to it 'for what it was.' It did not float my boat, and it somewhat irritated in what I consider stock in trade cliches which not only bore, but disappoint. Maybe Stearns is the first generator of those cliches, but I was either unsuccessfully engaged (and it wasn't because as a classical guy I yearned for 'more' activity) or consciously turned off, something underlying it all which is somehow (this is vague as all hell) pop music simple in a way that has never taken me fully into its thin arms... without pointing to anything already minimal to cite a theoretic trait, it is like the feel or smell of something you don't care for, even if you can not name more particulars... and something 'tacky' about it. Feldman has some material which is just as repetitive, slow, and without any modulation to speak of for hours, is nonetheless a drone of sorts and is perfectly qualified as traveling far while never moving from the same spot.


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## Richannes Wrahms (Jan 6, 2014)

Love the nyckelharpa (Swedish fiddle).


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Richannes Wrahms said:


> Love the nyckelharpa (Swedish fiddle).


LOL. Nothing _remotely_ "ambient" about any of this!


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

This isn't normally considered ambient, but it conveys quite an ambience.


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## Richannes Wrahms (Jan 6, 2014)

I guess "ambient" has detached from its utilitarian definition.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Richannes Wrahms said:


> I guess "ambient" has detached from its utilitarian definition.


LOL. What is news? "Baroque" "Classical." Here's a good one for ya' -- _"Romantic" -- ha haaaa haaaaaaa._ Ergo, "Ambient" has got some pretty lean parameters as well. Some folk fiddling with a few interjections of electronic 'pad / white noise' tossed in at brief intervals between the fiddling just ain't "ambient."


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

PetrB said:


> I did listen to it 'for what it was.' It did not float my boat, and it somewhat irritated in what I consider stock in trade cliches which not only bore, but disappoint. Maybe Stearns is the first generator of those cliches, but I was either unsuccessfully engaged (and it wasn't because as a classical guy I yearned for 'more' activity) or consciously turned off, something underlying it all which is somehow (this is vague as all hell) pop music simple in a way that has never taken me fully into its thin arms... without pointing to anything already minimal to cite a theoretic trait, it is like the feel or smell of something you don't care for, even if you can not name more particulars... and something 'tacky' about it. Feldman has some material which is just as repetitive, slow, and without any modulation to speak of for hours, is nonetheless a drone of sorts and is perfectly qualified as traveling far while never moving from the same spot.


Ok that's fine, at least you gave it a try.
It's actually a bit of an obscure gem, but it's recognized as one as the classics and finest albums of spacemusic. Having listened to A LOT of both space music and ambient I can tell you it's unique in its kind and sound (except for some voices it's entirely made on a Serge Modular synth).


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

DeepR said:


> Ok that's fine, at least you gave it a try.
> It's actually a bit of an obscure gem, but it's recognized as one as the classics and finest albums of spacemusic. Having listened to A LOT of both space music and ambient I can tell you it's unique in its kind and sound (except for some voices it's entirely made on a Serge Modular synth).


You are more than familiar with it, it works for you, and you are attached to it. I could not get attached. Vive la difference.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

MJongo said:


> Steve Roach is another artist who is amazing. Structures from Silence is excellent.


FYI: A remastered version just came out with extra discs. And yes, he is the sorcerer of sound.


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## Guest (Apr 10, 2014)

Lope de Aguirre said:


> I agree. What I meant was that if one appreciates this kind of music, why not just bypass the trash and listen to truly great music.


Standard post from this user, nothing to see here, move along.


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## peterh (Mar 10, 2012)

Here's some ambient that I think is pretty awesome:


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

About and around, while not 'technically' _in_ the categorical genre:
Alvin Lucier ~ _Nothing is Real_ for piano, amplified teapot, recorder, mini-sound system.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Some darker stuff






Just a warning: I suggest to turn down any subwoofers a bit or any kind of bass boosts for that matter


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

peterh said:


> Here's some ambient that I think is pretty awesome:
> youtube;oEqV5TqqogM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEqV5TqqogM


Far too overt and present to pass by 'not noticed if you're not paying attention,' i.e. _does not meet the 'ambient' qualification at all. _But, Hecker makes interesting and good sounding stuff. (not that I care for this one


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Steve Roach - Dream Body


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Vesuvius said:


> This isn't normally considered ambient, but it conveys quite an ambience.


Typical electronic music from avantgarde/"modern art music" circles that has nice sound effects but otherwise leaves me cold.
When I listen to this kind of music I feel like these composers are still stuck in the 1950s and 60s era of electronic music... "look what amazing, alien sounds you can make with this new tool called the synthesizer (or other electronic devices)! Let's make some abstract noise music with it and pretend it's high art"... while in the meantime electronic music has been advancing for decades.


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

DeepR said:


> Typical electronic music from avantgarde/"modern art music" circles that has nice sound effects but otherwise leaves me cold.
> When I listen to this kind of music I feel like these composers are still stuck in the 1950s and 60s era of electronic music... "look what amazing, alien sounds you can make with this new tool called the synthesizer (or other electronic devices)! Let's make some abstract noise music with it and pretend it's high art"... while in the meantime electronic music has been advancing for decades.


Well, it's Bernard Parmegiani. He was one of the forefathers of Electroacoustics. I find myself gravitating to this kind of "coldness" lately rather the emotional sappiness.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

Vesuvius said:


> This isn't normally considered ambient, but it conveys quite an ambience.


Considering the popular music I see a connection much more with what bands like Autechre were doing. Anyway I liked it, I don't know what it is but that sounds between 4:30 and 5:10 are incredible with headphones.


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## drvLock (Apr 2, 2014)

Been listening to Silent Hill series OSTs for a week straight now. Pretty good dark ambient songs, and also some rock and trip-hop too. Akira Yamaoka is one of my favorite artists.


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

I've always dug Kammarheit, Thomas Koner, and raison d'être when it comes to Dark Ambient. They're amazing at establishing vast spaces.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Here's a dark ambient classic:


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## Ravndal (Jun 8, 2012)

Fennesz is worth checking out. One of my favorites

Venice: 




Cendre:


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## Schubussy (Nov 2, 2012)

I really love this track


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## Ravndal (Jun 8, 2012)

This one is quite special


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Hmmpf well Lustmord sure is quick with copyright claims. That video I posted was only up for a few days. My links always get taken down for some reason. It's a curse. Anyway, The Place where the Black Stars Hang is great. There are no cheezy, sinister sounding samples or whatever. It's actually a very soothing album.


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## LudwigKaramazov (Mar 30, 2014)

Of the genres outside of classical, I think ambient seems to hold a special sort of place. Whereas many of the pieces of the great composers are more rooted in society and tapping into the emotions associated with our lives as humans, ambient seems to tap into that sort of primal, universal sort of sound, a sound that can put one in the place of being connected to nature and things outside of human experience. It's simplicity is actually what makes it able to hold its place as artful music.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

LudwigKaramazov said:


> Of the genres outside of classical, I think ambient seems to hold a special sort of place. Whereas many of the pieces of the great composers are more rooted in society and tapping into the emotions associated with our lives as humans, ambient seems to tap into that sort of primal, universal sort of sound, a sound that can put one in the place of being connected to nature and things outside of human experience. It's simplicity is actually what makes it able to hold its place as artful music.


Yes!! Exactly this. Though it isnt simple per se. Only from a traditional composition point of view.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

DeepR said:


> Hmmpf well Lustmord sure is quick with copyright claims. That video I posted was only up for a few days. My links always get taken down for some reason. It's a curse. Anyway, The Place where the Black Stars Hang is great. There are no cheezy, sinister sounding samples or whatever. It's actually a very soothing album.


Metastatic resonance is one of my favorite pieces in the genre. Very ominous, and that didgeridoo (at least, I think it's a didgeridoo) could seem a strange choice but is perfect.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I have Eno's _Music for Airports_. I like that.

What is the very NEXT think I should I hear if I want to educate myself about this music? What are the classic albums, the influential albums, the groundbreaking albums?


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

If you want the very next thing, you could start with some more Brian Eno.  They're all quite different and special, I'd recommend:

Brian Eno & Harold Budd - Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror
Brian Eno - Apollo, atmospheres & soundtracks
Brian Eno - Ambient 4: On Land

On Land is where Eno's ambient music reaches its peak in my opinion. It's a wondrous album, with very warm, organic atmospheres... Makes me feel like a lost soul, wandering around at dusk or dawn in abandoned, misty places, somewhere in the countryside, with just a few hints of civilization in the distance. The final track is my favorite (I posted it on page one of this topic).

I'll leave the 70s behind, from that period I mostly like the synthesizer/space music classics from Vangelis, Jarre, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Ash Ra Temple, Kraftwerk etc.... usually too melodic/rhythmic to be considered ambient... although sometimes it's pretty much proto-ambient (as in Tangerine Dream - Zeit).

Some more albums I like from the 1980s (some have varying degree of melody and pulse, but not too much):

Harold Budd - The White Arcades
Robert Rich - Trances/Drones
Robert Rich - Numena
Steve Roach - Structures from Silence
Steve Roach - Dreamtime Return
Michael Stearns - Planetary Unfolding (as posted here)
Michael Stearns - Collected Ambient & Textural Works 1977-1987
Michael Stearns - Encounter
Jonn Serrie - And the stars go with you


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

One of his finest moments. It's absolutely amazing. Like a conversation among the stars. 
Someday more people will hear. This will stand the test of time.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

At this link another gorgeous ambient piece. Check out track 5: Steve Roach & Kelly David - The Long Night.

http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer....p://www.projekt.com/store/product/pro00297//#


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

science said:


> I have Eno's _Music for Airports_. I like that.
> 
> What is the very NEXT think I should I hear if I want to educate myself about this music? What are the classic albums, the influential albums, the groundbreaking albums?


And also, can someone perhaps help us make sense of the distinction between ambient, New Age, contemporary instrumental, etc. etc. etc.? In the sphere of more or less popular music, people seem to just love inventing new categories, and angrily insisting that they are completely and utterly new and different. Is ambient a very specific style, or is it more of an approach? Seems to me one can make an argument that the first great ambient composer was Debussy (at least with some of his pieces)...


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

I don't know if its groundbreaking, but for the most nightmare inducing bit of ambient I've always found B.Lustmord/R.Rich's Stalker (Hearts of Space / Fathom ) to do the trick, or Steve Roach's The Magnificent Void (HOS)


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

Yea, Lustmord is always a safe bet if you're looking for that 'ominous void' feeling. He's pretty much the king of dark ambient.


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## Svelte Silhouette (Nov 7, 2013)

Brian Eno and Music for airports I vote


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Antiquarian said:


> I don't know if its groundbreaking, but for the most nightmare inducing bit of ambient I've always found B.Lustmord/R.Rich's Stalker (Hearts of Space / Fathom ) to do the trick, or Steve Roach's The Magnificent Void (HOS)


Ah, The Magnificent Void, don't get me started. Oh, you just did.  To me, this album is simply a phenomenon. When I finally got into the heart of it, I realized it's not really dark or nightmarish at all. It's just there, in all its immensity. To this day, one of the most challenging and rewarding pieces of music I know.

Stalker is a favorite here as well.


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

Thank you, DeepR.

Altus on The Magnificent Void is my favorite track on that album. Steve Roach's Immersion Series is also very good, for those long, uninterupted midnight listens. 
Has anyone listened to Vidna Obmana's Memories Compiled Series (Relic and Projekt labels)? It's some of his early stuff.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

I noticed someone uploaded the whole thing, so if anyone's interested, here's a chance to listen (in youtube quality) before it gets taken down. 
Try to let go of all you know of and expect from music... listen in the dark, lights out, at considerable volume... embrace it!


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Steve Reich - Pulse I; Music for Eighteen Musicians 
*(Slowed Down 800%) - Ambient / Minimalist*


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

DeepR said:


> I noticed someone uploaded the whole thing, so if anyone's interested, here's a chance to listen (in youtube quality) before it gets taken down.
> Try to let go of all you know of and expect from music... listen in the dark, lights out, at considerable volume... embrace it!


I do keep knocking on the door in hope, but this sounded the replete catalogue of everything cliché within the genre, one sound and gesture after the next, all the way through. This had me more irritated vs. any kind of transported or merely bored.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Thanks for listening anyway. It's nice that you gave it a try. I'm as passionate about this as my favorite classical music, but I realize it's not for everyone... not for most probably.
At first I didn't like it at all and found it annoying too. Now it's one of my favorite pieces of music that I can enjoy everytime. It's strange how that works. 
It's quite difficult to get into and to find the right mode of listening. My patience was rewarded, but I guess for most, it will never work and forever remain a bunch of meaningless dark drones.
If its sounds, textures and atmosphere don't capture the least bit of your interest and imagination, then I suppose there's no point in listening again.

For the record, I disagree that there is anything cliché about it. It's in fact a groundbreaking album, with different elements that were shaped over a period of years. At the time of release, there had been nothing quite like it, in concept, execution, depth of sound. Ambient connoiseurs and other ambient artists often think very highly of this album. 
If the immensity, emptiness, majesty and beauty of the universe were ever captured in sound, then this is it; no other music comes close.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

brianvds said:


> And also, can someone perhaps help us make sense of the distinction between ambient, New Age, contemporary instrumental, etc. etc. etc.? In the sphere of more or less popular music, people seem to just love inventing new categories, and angrily insisting that they are completely and utterly new and different. Is ambient a very specific style, or is it more of an approach? Seems to me one can make an argument that the first great ambient composer was Debussy (at least with some of his pieces)...


No, that would be Satie.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

science said:


> No, that would be Satie.


Precisely. Music specifically for the function of 'being a part of the room, to be noticed if noticed, but also simply part of the unconsciously taken in ambiance. He called it _musique d'ameublement,_ i.e. furniture music, or more literally, _furnishing music,_ and he was definitely the first.

Tapisserie en fer forgé 




Tenture de cabinet préfectoral





Of course, in the day, the only way to have this _Furniture Music_ furnishing your home (or office was to have life musicians in the room to play it!


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Pavel Karmanov ~ Innerlichkeit, a kind of 'ambient.'
I am not certain of the origin, i.e. whether it was first an independent piece, or if was written specifically as part of the soundtrack _Intermezzo_ in Fliegouf Benedek's film _Milky Way._


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

PetrB said:


> Precisely. Music specifically for the function of 'being a part of the room, to be noticed if noticed, but also simply part of the unconsciously taken in ambiance. He called it _musique d'ameublement,_ i.e. furniture music, or more literally, _furnishing music,_ and he was definitely the first.


I had a friend who spoke of it (specifically of Vaughan Williams' later symphonies) as "yuppie wallpaper music." Which he very much liked BTW.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

From the album Robert Rich - Yearning, featuring the Indian Sarod. Love the sound of that instrument.

A Thousand Years




Suspension


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

PetrB said:


> Precisely. Music specifically for the function of 'being a part of the room, to be noticed if noticed, but also simply part of the unconsciously taken in ambiance. He called it _musique d'ameublement,_ i.e. furniture music, or more literally, _furnishing music,_ and he was definitely the first.


Maybe the first formally, but there were tribes making spiritual ambient music for eons. It's certainly not a new idea.

... although Satie is awesome, I should add.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I don't know if anyone posted about this yet, but "Music from the Hearts of Space" -- "slow music for fast times" -- is a long-running NPR radio program that specializes in ambient, space music. The variety is stunning. The amount maximal.

https://www.hos.com/

If you type "hearts of space music" into a YouTube search box you'll get tons of the stuff, too.


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

I think SomaFM (Somafm.com) is a valid choice too. They have various 'stations', with Drone Zone being the most "spacy" and ambient. Also, last time I checked HOS was a paid subscription service: SomaFM relies on donations and is commercial-free, if that is a consideration.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Ambient is not about deconstructing music in order to avoid being like structured music. To me, the key aspect in ambient is sound... interesting, fascinating, transporting, imaginative, otherworldly, alien etc. soundscapes, structures from sound, worlds of sound, that contain some musical elements within, under the surface. 
If I hear ambient-like music made with nothing but an accoustic piano, a flute and a violin, completely dry, there is nothing interesting going on soundwise, unless they've made some modifications to the instruments and are using electronic effects in some interesting way. 
Music like that bores me quickly, simply because I've heard the sounds from these instruments a million times before (though it may be interesting at some other level). I'd rather have them put these instruments to use for a good, active piece of classical music.


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

DeepR, then what is your take on the works of Harold Budd? I like some of his early stuff, Pavillion of Dreams, The Pearl, and The White Arcades (all of them collaborations with Brian Eno). The piano, with electronic or mechanical modification, like you say, is interesting.


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

Budd is sweet. Another cool electro-modified piano guy to check out is Bruno Sanfilippo.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Antiquarian said:


> DeepR, then what is your take on the works of Harold Budd? I like some of his early stuff, Pavillion of Dreams, The Pearl, and The White Arcades (all of them collaborations with Brian Eno). The piano, with electronic or mechanical modification, like you say, is interesting.


My favorite is The Plateaux of Mirror and yes it's a lot more than just a dry piano. I love the warm fuzzy sound of those albums.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Listening to ambient is like staring at the clouds in the sky. It all seems sort of random, formless and similar, but when you look a little longer you start to notice the details... and the little changes and nuances that slowly unfold before you somehow become ever more fascinating.


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

Been getting into some Tim Hecker recently. The guy's rad.


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## Serge (Mar 25, 2010)

I don't know. Not a big fan really. Maybe not bright enough. (The music, I mean.)


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

While there is definitely thought behind it - it's often more of an instinctive kind of music, created from the moment, instead of music that is thought out and planned in advance into the very last detail. This is what gives ambient music a spontaneous and organic quality not found in a lot of other music.

For most people I guess, music without (overt) melody and/or rhythm is already uninteresting and I can understand that.
I myself started listening to all sorts of electronic music at age 16-18 or so and I was absolutely fascinated with everything I heard... I would go to bed and just put on randomly downloaded electronic music to listen to with headphones... I was captivated by the sounds, textures, atmospheres, the endless possibilities... sometimes there was barely any musical content to speak of. I could've played a random field recording of a random street somewhere and I'd still be fascinated. So I guess with that innate interest in sound chances were high to develop a strong liking for ambient music.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Robert Rich:

Echo of Small Things (1:01:14)




Somnium (6:59:51)


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

Although Feldman isn't typical labeled 'ambient', he has written numerous masterpieces of atmospheric, textural ambience.


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## wandelweisering (Aug 5, 2014)

Eno-ish ambient and dark ambient, I see, but what about the minimalist part of ambient, drone? Some of it qualifies perfectly as ambient, while the rest requires a different kind of audition. But still worth a mention in this thread, I guess.

Drone is quite a big thing too, with micro-directions as well. Regarding the current drone scene (about which I was very fascinated a few years ago), there's the harsher kind (Birchville Cat Motel's "Beautiful Speck Triumph", for instance) and then there's the kind that is warmer and more akin to Eno & Fripp and so on. From the second micro-direction, I watched very carefully up until a point the releases of Celer. It was initially a two-piece band, but the female member died a few years ago and her boyfriend turned it into a solo project. Many of their albums sound very similar, but there a few gorgeous releases that stand out - I firmly recommend Continents, Capri and Engaged Touches (especially the last two have many piano-based drone sections).

I'd also like to recommend Steve Roden (not Roach or Reich, but Roden), if you're not aware of him yet. He's the one who coined the term "lowercase". Some of his albums are based on recordings of very quiet sounds, such as sounds of crop circles, papers, teacups, scarfs hitting windows and so on. He also does conceptual/process-based works and installation-based sound art.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

*Tetsu Inoue* is another big favorite here.

Some of his tracks are like taking a warm bath in sound, when listened to with headphones. Like Ring of Power, such a marvelous piece.
The pieces from Inland are in his more mature ambient style and less melodic.

Ambiant Otaku - Magnetic Field




Ambiant Otaku - Low of Vibration




Organic Cloud - Chill In, Chill Out




Organic Cloud - Ring of Power




Inland - Overlook




Inland - Symphony H20, Wabi


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Mathias Grassow - The Fragrance Of Eternal Roses


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

PetrB said:


> Robert Rich:


Robert Rich & Alio Die - Fissures - Sirena




Robert Rich & Lustmord - Stalker - Hidden Refuge


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Oophoi - Lord of the Starfields

http://grooveshark.com/#!/search/song?q=Oophoi+Lord+Of+The+Starfields


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## RedRum (Dec 24, 2013)

You should check out Apollo: Atmosphere & Soundtracks by Brian Eno


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

DeepR said:


> Mathias Grassow - The Fragrance Of Eternal Roses


He's really one of my favorites when it comes to this "deep mantra" style of ambient. It's much more a visceral than an intellectual engagement.


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

Emile from Temple Sounds. Thought to be one of the leading artists in Tibetan Singing bowls. And he's also said to contain one of the greatest collections in the world.


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

Recently listened to the Steve Roach / Vidna Obmana album 'Well of Souls" (Projekt 60) for a late night/early morning listen. When I bought the album back in 1995, I was somewhat unimpressed, but after almost twenty years I decided to retry it, and to my surprise, I rather enjoyed it.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Rafael Anton Irisarri ~ Watching As She Reels





Peter Broderick:
The Dream




Peter Broderick and Machinefabriek:
Kites




Planes


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## Bloosman (Mar 20, 2014)

Have been a TD fan since their "Virgin" years, starting with Atem, and now have literlly hundreds of CD's - including the Tangerine Tree & Leaves recordings.

Not sure I'd class their style as Ambient though...there is always structure to the sound, which Eno doesn't have in some of his so-called Ambient stuff, such as Music for Airports...



DeepR said:


> He didn't literally invent it. There was already a history of minimal/background/mood/atmospheric/drone-like etc. -music that eventually led to ambient. He refined the concept and came up with the word.
> 
> Here's Tangerine Dream's Zeit from 1972:


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

^^^^ I would classify TD's Phaedra as Ambient. I was a big TD fan in the 80's, prefering their earlier stuff. I sort of lost interest in the group after Franke left and their music became more new-agey (on the Private Music label). But almost every album between Alpha Centauri and Underwater Sunlight had some good Ambient bits.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Bloosman said:


> Have been a TD fan since their "Virgin" years, starting with Atem, and now have literlly hundreds of CD's - including the Tangerine Tree & Leaves recordings.
> 
> Not sure I'd class their style as Ambient though...there is always structure to the sound, which Eno doesn't have in some of his so-called Ambient stuff, such as Music for Airports...


I wouldn't classify their style in general as ambient, because it isn't, it's just that specific track I posted that has ambient characteristics.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Antiquarian said:


> Recently listened to the Steve Roach / Vidna Obmana album 'Well of Souls" (Projekt 60) for a late night/early morning listen. When I bought the album back in 1995, I was somewhat unimpressed, but after almost twenty years I decided to retry it, and to my surprise, I rather enjoyed it.


Yes, it growns on you. Especially, "Deep Hours"...really a haunting piece.


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

Marcus Fischer:


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

Steinbruchel:


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

PetrB said:


> Rafael Anton Irisarri ~ Watching As She Reels
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nice. I particularly enjoyed Irisarri's piece, as it is reminicent of Budd, with a less prepared piano.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Raison d'Etre

Metamorphyses Phase V





Katharos


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Vesuvius said:


> He's really one of my favorites when it comes to this "deep mantra" style of ambient. It's much more a visceral than an intellectual engagement.


I just recently listened to "Dagaz", highly recommended!


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Steve Roach - Within the Mystic

https://app.box.com/s/jwidxlnl0d9nu7kqfhdb


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

DeepR what do you think of Stockhausen's Oktophonie? To me it sounds a lot like certain ominous dark ambient/cosmic music pieces of Roach, Lustmord, Schulze, Tangerine dream and stuff like that.


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

Been listening to Robert Rich's Inner Landscapes (Hypnos Soundscape remaster 1998). It is an excerpt of a live concert he performed back in 1985 as one of his all-night 'Sleep' concerts. It is what I consider an early Somnium, but lasts a tad under 74 minutes.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

norman bates said:


> DeepR what do you think of Stockhausen's Oktophonie? To me it sounds a lot like certain ominous dark ambient/cosmic music pieces of Roach, Lustmord, Schulze, Tangerine dream and stuff like that.


I don't know what to think of it yet, I like some of the sounds and textures. However I don't hear that much similarities in the music compared to the artist you mentioned, other than certain types of sound.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Antiquarian said:


> Been listening to Robert Rich's Inner Landscapes (Hypnos Soundscape remaster 1998). It is an excerpt of a live concert he performed back in 1985 as one of his all-night 'Sleep' concerts. It is what I consider an early Somnium, but lasts a tad under 74 minutes.


There's a follow-up to Somnium:
http://robertrich.com/discography/album/?album_id=53


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Vidna Obmana - The Ominous Dwelling (from the album The River of Appearance)

https://app.box.com/s/pfmxkw04flromjmhrc1v

Gorgeous piece


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Jonn Serrie - Stratos (from And The Stars Go With You, 1987)






A sedative. Sleepy time.


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

Feeling a serious Tim Hecker mood coming on. Really dig this guy.


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## Jobis (Jun 13, 2013)

Kind of astonishing that Aphex Twin, the kind of creepy step-child of the genre, hasn't been mentioned.






Really a staple for any ambient fan.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Blood Box - The Iron Dream
Blood Box - Funeral in an Empty Room

Great "dark ambient" project. Both these albums offer a fantastic journey through dense, deep atmospheres... listening to individual tracks doesn't do it justice, but here's one: 



I've heard quite a lot of dark ambient, but this isn't your standard fare. This artist truly stands out of the genre. Especially, _The Iron Dream_. I rarely had such a mindwarping experience while listening in bed with headphones. 
Listening in bed with headphones by the way, is a different experience altogether and something that every ambient fan should try sometime.


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

Maybe a little Fennesz:


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

I have listened to Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works vol. 1, but I personally feel that it is more Dance oriented than Ambient. Richard James' Selected Ambient Works vol. 2, however, is more my style for late night listening.


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

DeepR said:


> There's a follow-up to Somnium:
> http://robertrich.com/discography/album/?album_id=53


Thanks. Much appreciate the heads up on this DeepR.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Why do I like ambient music so much? Let's face it, it's completely boring music for most people, no doubt about it. It's very much inward music and highly personal. It's mostly formless, not bound to specific rules and without overt melody and rhythm... it sort of hangs in the air, weightless, stretched out, slowly moving and subtely changing... and all of that - when done right - gives it an intangible, mysterious quality that greatly appeals to a certain part of my brain. It's neither a very intellectual or very emotional engagement, but it is transporting like nothing else. 
When I listen to some of my favorite pieces (for example the staggering final 3 tracks of Steve Roach - Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces - disc 3), and of course words don't do it justice, I feel like I'm standing at the edge of the world in a state of time suspension, disconnected from daily life, yet connected to the earth and the universe in a primordial way, while at the same time looking forward at the magnificent horizon, the stars and beyond. The feeling of being part of the infinite. It's a place I want to return to regularly and nothing else takes me there but my favorite ambient music.


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## Jos (Oct 14, 2013)

the album "incunbula" , Autechre


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## Carstenb (Dec 24, 2014)

Some wonderful ambient/orchestral music from Destiny.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Steve Roach - The Eternal Expanse

http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/The+Eternal+Expanse/6IswRc?src=5

Glorious final track to a very fine compilation called The Ambient Expanse (1998).


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

More Steve Roach. The man is an unstoppable force of creativity.

Some fragments of a recent album: The Delicate Forever


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## aajj (Dec 28, 2014)

When i was a teenager i thought Brian Eno's _Music for Airports_ was pretty cool. Also, Eno and Robert Fripp's _Evening Star_. But i was high on marijuana at the time. ut:


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

aajj said:


> When i was a teenager i thought Brian Eno's _Music for Airports_ was pretty cool. Also, Eno and Robert Fripp's _Evening Star_. But i was high on marijuana at the time. ut:


Evening Star! I don't think it was mentioned yet but it's a very nice album indeed. The last track can be a bit tough to listen to though.


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## aajj (Dec 28, 2014)

^^ That last track of _Evening Star_ ran at least 25 minutes and would have been enough at half the length. The other tracks are compact and flow easily, especially Evensong and the title track.

I just remembered _No Pussyfooting_, another Eno and Fripp album, but at the time i preferred _Evening Star_.


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

Yo, DeepR... have you checked out the new releases on Utlimae by Circular and Asura? I've picked up Circular's, and will listen soon, but I've yet to get Asura's.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Nope. I do enjoy some Ultimae releases but I'd consider it more "chillout music" than pure ambient.


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

DeepR said:


> Nope. I do enjoy some Ultimae releases but *I'd consider it more "chillout music" than pure ambient*.


Fa sho. They're very much akin to ambient, though. I'm rarely so loyal to definite labels.


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## Guest (Jan 12, 2015)

DeepR said:


> More Steve Roach. The man is an unstoppable force of creativity.
> 
> Some fragments of a recent album: The Delicate Forever


I'm guessing someone with a Roach album cover for an avatar knows of (and possibly has!) the Roach app, Immersion?


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## drvLock (Apr 2, 2014)

If I may do a little self promotion here, I compose/arrange/produce dark ambient and industrial ambient as well. If you're interested, I'll release an EP in about three days, called "The Sadness / The Grieving". The streaming is already online, through my soundcloud: soundcloud.com/tronesdelobscurite

Thank you very much, and I'm sorry if I crossed the lines here.


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)




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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

I have some Steve Roach's CDs but not listened to them for some time. I remember they were good.
Just found this "New Year's gift" from Roach on bandcamp.

https://steveroach.bandcamp.com/album/invisible


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

Blake said:


> Maybe a little Fennesz:
> 
> View attachment 58161
> 
> ...


The only Fennesz album I have is _In Four Parts_, which I like very much.
While searching for these albums, I found _Mahler Remixed_. Beautiful!

https://fennesz.bandcamp.com/album/mahler-remixed


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Off The Sky & Man Watching The Stars - Farewell, Brother
Ambient with violin


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Deep space time

Oophoi - Lord of the Starfields





Lustmord - Metastatic Resonance
http://lustmord.bandcamp.com/track/metastatic-resonance


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Played two *Atrium Carcieri* albums in the car yesterday!









*Ptahil *(2007)









*The Untold *(2013)

Sandwiching _Samaris_ 2014 album *Silkidrangar*!










Perhaps not strictly "ambient", but popbient enough to count! 

/ptr


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Antiquarian said:


> Altus on The Magnificent Void is my favorite track on that album.


It is my favorite as well. I think The Magnificent Void was for me the hardest non classical piece of music to get into. As one of the rewievers put it in Wired magazine: "Roach gives us not new music, but new ears with which to hear." 
Certainly took me a while, but when I finally got into it, one time I had a nearly religious experience while listening with headphones, in bed. And when the final tones of "Altus" drifted away into eternity, there was the loudest and most stunning silence I had ever heard.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Agreed, amazing track! I own over 60 albums by Steve Roach, both solo and collaborations. My favorites being *Origins*, *Structures From Silence*,* Dreamtime Return*, *Kiva *- milestones of the genre. From most recent -* Journey Of One*.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Azol said:


> Agreed, amazing track! I own over 60 albums by Steve Roach, both solo and collaborations. My favorites being *Origins*, *Structures From Silence*,* Dreamtime Return*, *Kiva *- milestones of the genre. From most recent -* Journey Of One*.


Nice! I really like Journey of One, disc 1 in particular. The quiet outro actually made me watery eyed. After a rather unsettling journey, you arrive at the very heart of it all. So beautiful, subtle, weightless, out there. That moment captures the very essence of his music.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Obviously, your avatar comes from Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces album artwork... so I guessed you should be a Roach fan


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

Azol said:


> Agreed, amazing track! I own over 60 albums by Steve Roach, both solo and collaborations. My favorites being *Origins*, *Structures From Silence*,* Dreamtime Return*, *Kiva *- milestones of the genre. From most recent -* Journey Of One*.


This very much describes my own collection. I have one whole shelf devoted to Roach. I even have that 1988 collaboration with Michael Shrieve entitled "The Leaving Time" on vinyl . I'm not sure if it has ever been released on CD. It's worth listening to.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

DeepR said:


> From the album Robert Rich - Yearning, featuring the Indian Sarod. Love the sound of that instrument.
> 
> Suspension


I think I could listen to this one forever.


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

^^^^ It reminds me of Mahogany Nights by Al Gromer Khan (Hearts Of Space HS11020-2).


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

DeepR said:


> Steve Roach - The Eternal Expanse
> 
> http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/The+Eternal+Expanse/6IswRc?src=5
> 
> Glorious final track to a very fine compilation called The Ambient Expanse (1998).


In this piece Steve Roach paints a magnificent picture with sound. Richly layered, intricate in its harmonies, manipulated with extreme subtletly, slowly evolving. You just have to live with it for a while to get attuned to it. Play it more than a few times, listen actively, or do some other things in the meantime.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

One of my favorite ambient tracks is this one:






Basically it's the Morton Feldman of Muzak and for that I give it a tip of hat and a wag of the tail (Colbert sorry you are gone btw).


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

This is not the first time the Feldman name shows up in this topic under the pretention it is some kind of superior form of music. Ambient can be judged on its own merits and can be as much 'art music' as anything else.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

DeepR said:


> This is not the first time the Feldman name shows up in this topic under the pretention it is some kind of superior form of music. Ambient can be judged on its own merits and can be as much 'art music' as anything else.


I am not suggesting that Feldman's music is superior at all in fact. I strongly believe that ambient music holds the same cultural value as that of classical music.  I definitely plan to explore more in this realm that's for sure soon.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Sorry for misunderstanding and enjoy your journeys into ambient music


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

Marsen Jules: The Endless Change Of Colour








https://marsenjules.bandcamp.com/album/the-endless-change-of-colour

Beautiful ambient music. The work was created in an interesting way.

_"Marsen Jules' latest work is a generative music piece upon a single phrase of an old jazz record split into three audio streams. These streams are transformed into loops which break the original instrumentation down into sound resembling pure waves, harmonics and overtones.These loops play to different time signatures to create phasing patterns that continuously move and dance around each other in a constantly-evolving lattice of sound."_

24HOUR USB FLASH DRIVE EDITION was also released. (I have not purchased it.)


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## Schubussy (Nov 2, 2012)

My favourite ambient album


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## carlmichaels (May 2, 2012)

Dhruva Aliman has credits with TV shows. I found him via the background to the Epic Win vids on YouTube. Kind of dance/electronic/ambient. Epic Win 11..


----------



## Schubussy (Nov 2, 2012)




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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Two of my favorite Koner albums include Permafrost and Aubrite. His latest albums are also very good, but Kaamos is a bit repetitive, especially the last track.


----------



## Schubussy (Nov 2, 2012)

I just discovered him today, I'll give those 2 a listen


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

This Raison d'Etre album is another fine combination of warm, soothing, surreal ambience and metallic/industrial-like sounds. For me it works really well to let the mind drift off into the twilight zone.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Raison d'Etre can be pretty disturbing as well. My two favorite albums by Raison d'Etre include "Within the Depths of Silence and Phormations" and "The Empty Hollow Unfolds".


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## Schubussy (Nov 2, 2012)

__
https://soundcloud.com/peyotlsymphony%2Fambient-preview

An ambient track I've been working on the past couple days. Still a work-in-progress and I'm not promising anything good!


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Nice. A blend of dark-ambient abrasive loop and "new instrumental" chillout similar to Wolfram Spyra maybe...

My own attempt at creating dark-ambient piece, using electric guitar as the only source

__
https://soundcloud.com/azol2%2Fnightflight


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## Schubussy (Nov 2, 2012)

Good stuff! Like the dark atmosphere a lot.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

DeepR said:


> Steve Roach - The Eternal Expanse


Old link is dead, but it's on his own bandcamp now: 
https://steveroach.bandcamp.com/track/the-eternal-expanse-2

This one has become one of my favorite ambient pieces of all time. I've been listening to it on a daily basis while going to work. There's a sense of space and a kind of majesty that can't be found in other music.


----------



## Neoclassical Darkwave (Dec 7, 2014)

Elizabeth Fawn "fairy rings"






Abandoned Toys "Birthing of the unicorn"


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

^ That isn't ambient music, not in my book at least. It's more of a melodic new agey kind of music. Personally I think it's rather cheezy, no offense. Generic melodies and obvious use of samples.


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## leroy (Nov 23, 2014)

here's a couple of good compilations if you want a big blob of ambient
https://archive.org/details/petroglyph290PetroglyphMusic-The_xmas_compilation_2014


__
https://soundcloud.com/shhsecretsongs%2Fsets


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

KENNETH KIRSCHNER: COMPRESSIONS & RAREFACTIONS (12k)








https://12kmusic.bandcamp.com/album/compressions-rarefactions

Five pieces of exquisite soundscape. The total time is 6 hours and 42 minutes. I feel Kirschner's music could be called contemporary classical, in the same vein as Reich, Feldman, or Wandelweiser.


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

*12k 35% Off Summer Sale (August 01-31)* (except 2015 releases)

I picked up these so far. Each one is unique. I enjoyed and liked all.

DISAPPEARANCE by RYUICHI SAKAMOTO & TAYLOR DEUPREE (2013)








https://12kmusic.bandcamp.com/album/disappearance

HUM by SAWAKO (2005)








https://12kmusic.bandcamp.com/album/hum

POST_PIANO by TAYLOR DEUPREE & KENNETH KIRSCHNER (2002)








https://12kmusic.bandcamp.com/album/post-piano


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Drone maestro Mathias Grassow has put a lot of music on his bandcamp.
Excellent wallpaper music and I don't mean that deragatory. It evolves slowly and subtlely.

Here's a recent release that I'm currently listening to:
https://mathiasgrassow.bandcamp.com/album/2015-wisdoom


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

Currently listening to Robert Rich, his Below Zero album. Very ambient. Although I disagree with the philosophy expounded in the liner notes (nihilistic), I do enjoy the music.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Steve Roach - Journey of One, disc one. What a piece, what a piece...

You can hear my favorite part here: "Journey of One - Disc One - Part 7"
http://projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/journey-of-one-the-tribal-ambient-era-live-1996

Around 11:00 you may want to turn up the volume for the outro.


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## Guest (Aug 12, 2015)

I listen to ambient as a sleep aid (can't sleep with complete quiet--silence keeps me awake) or at work when I'm plugging away on my computer trying to get something done. I don't want anything that intrudes into my consciousness. I want it soft and dreamy-sounding so I can lose myself in it. I have a couple of nice synths so i can make my own but here are a few commercially available pieces that I am fond of:


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Raison D'etre - Metamorphyses Phase IV (full track)

http://webshop.raison-detre.info/track/metamorphyses-phase-iv-4

Listen with headphones. It clears the mind.


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

Smart - New Composers Sp. Guest Brian Eno
(re-release of the 1999 album with two bonus tracks added.)








https://psychonavigation.bandcamp.com/album/new-composers-sp-guest-brian-eno-smart

_The leading forces of Russian Ambient music meet the inventor of Ambient

The New Composers who set standards in the Russian Techno and Ambient scene now collaborate with a man who invented Ambient music in the early 80ies, Brian Eno. The music varies between the piano - charm of a Russian ballet studio, pure ambience and environmental music as well as 80ies electronic instrumental and 50ies "Fokstrot" music. For Ambient listeners this album is simply a must._

This is sweet. It sounds like hotel room background music. I love it.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Steve Roach - Fever Dreams II










Almost forgot what a stunning album this is. Works best at night. For the mind travelers, you know who you are.


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

DeepR said:


> Steve Roach - Fever Dreams II
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Excellent. Right up there with his immersion : three for me.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Sense, my favorite part of Blood Machine by Steve Roach & Vir Unis:






Such heady stuff. This track captures the concept of the album so well, it's just uncanny. I'm still hoping they will team up again.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

I posted this one early in this topic, but the link is dead, so for greater justice: Michael Stearns - Planetary Unfolding


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

Bordeaux - Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd (Darla Records)













beautiful, ghostly, atmospheric music.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Tetsu Inoue - Overlook from "Inland"






Really good stuff. Very subtle.
Inland from 2007 is his last album after which he mysteriously disappeared.


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## Funny (Nov 30, 2013)

PetrB said:


> From the composer who literally invented it and named it "ambient," all others followed...
> Brian Eno:
> the first... Music for Airports (1978)


I know this is late to the game on such an early comment in the thread, but I read through and didn't see anyone amending this.

The first (intentionally) ambient album was Eno's Discreet Music (1975). The whole first side (remember sides?) was a set of calmingly consonant synth clips overlaid in irregular cycles. Second side has an interesting logarithmic treatment of Pachelbel's Canon.

Also worth checking out Eno's Another Green World, which is half quirky pop songs and half ambient tracks. In both realms it contains some of the best work (if not the best) he's ever done.


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

3m33s









A compilation of 33 drones each of which is 3 minutes 33 seconds in length.


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## Ilarion (May 22, 2015)

Huilu,

Honestly, you scare me half to death


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## Biwa (Aug 3, 2015)

Hamilton Sterling and Jimmy Haslip - Migration

Slightly dark, but fascinating ambient music with vast, tranquil soundscapes. The last track starts out more like a progressive jazz piece, but towards the end it goes back to a more ambient electronic sound and brings the album to a close.


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## Biwa (Aug 3, 2015)

Tangerine Dream - Live at Conventry Cathedral (1975)


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

Recollected Ambient Works Vol. 1.5: Discreet Music [2015] - Kid606 (Miguel Trost De Pedro)








Brian Eno cover. _"This single 30 minute song maintains the spirit and harmonic progressions from the original, but it eschews synthesizers and tape loops in favor of multitracked piano, multiple reverbs and pitch-modulated phasing."_


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Ilarion said:


> Huilu,
> 
> Honestly, you scare me half to death


Just saw this. wut?


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## Ilarion (May 22, 2015)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> Just saw this. wut?


Hi Huilu,

You had started (#1) this thread with "ambience music". What I do know of you is that you are a seriously professional musician who wants to attain a Masters degree and I perceive it will be a cakewalk for you(meaning: it will be easy). Therefore I was a little concerned that you might have given up on your dream and gone down a path with an unknown end - thereof my being scared "half to death" - So, my point was to support my Tc colleague, not to "throw grouse in the machinery". And so now, hoping that all is well with you, I wish you a pleasant week.

Cheers...:tiphat::tiphat::tiphat:

Ps: I should have linked to your original posting - That might have clarified things a bit........


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

What does liking ambient music has to do with giving up on attaining a masters degree in music? 
I'm afraid that came across as a little elitist, just a little.....


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Anyway, back on topic:

Zoeptrope, Lustmord's soundtrack to a short film and in my view one of his best albums.

https://lustmord.bandcamp.com/album/zoetrope

Very unsettling and claustrophobic at times, definitely worth a listen.... in bed, at night, with headphones, if you dare...


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## Ilarion (May 22, 2015)

DeepR said:


> What does liking ambient music has to do with giving up on attaining a masters degree in music?
> I'm afraid that came across as a little elitist, just a little.....


Point well-taken! Thank you, blessed Tc colleague:tiphat::angel::cheers:


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