# _AMBIENT_MUSIC_



## aqxsl (Jun 25, 2012)

NOT background music, IMMERSIVE music.  There is a fine line between boring and engrossing ambient, The real introspective stuff;  post the best of the best only:

1) William Basinski - The Disintegration Loops;  although ridiculously repetitive, the concept makes it compelling.  Basinski rediscovered some of his old, decaying tape recordings in storage.  As he played the tapes, their strips slowly disintegrate.  The album is the sound of these tapes looping over and over, disintegrating gradually until they "die" completely.  It's supposed to be the sound of music "dying" and the result is powerful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJiUJFd--sQ

2)  Shuttle358 - Understanding Wildlife; vibe for solitary traversal of your brain's thought forest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfzNCO9Fg5I&feature=related

3)  Tim Hecker - Harmony In Ultraviolet; vibe only to be listened to in dark environments, good for crushing your own soul

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE37ihb8ot8


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## Heliophobic (Jun 25, 2012)

Lustmord.

Fantastic dark ambient. Mood ranges from almost literally immersive, to unsettling, to fucking insane.

[video=youtube;qpNc4kpOXnE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpNc4kpOXnE[/video]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU2AJGOMHIQ
Wow, this is the first time I've ever been the first viewer of a video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPdQ0KGLVKE
And again.


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## Kit H. Ruppell (Jun 25, 2012)

Tangerine Dream
[video=youtube;Obukg_6thhE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Obukg_6thhE[/video]
They've had decades of practice


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## Demensa (Jun 26, 2012)

Another excellent thread from aqxsl! XD
Even though I'm not usually a big fan of ambient, It's very nice as a change in pace for my listening.
All of the stuff that's been posted so far is great! I especially enjoyed that bit of the disintegration loops. The concept for that is fantastic.
A few ambient tracks:
Buckethead: Releases a lot of ambient influenced stuff.  Most of his really ambient he releases as Death Cube K
Dreamatorium - Land of The Lost
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scF6jRSw2e4

Joseph Andreoli: HLY MTN
http://giraffesgiraffes.bandcamp.com/track/hly-mtn

Most other ambient music I listen to however, would fall into a "post-rock" or soft acoustic guitar type genre more-so than ambient...


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## Heliophobic (Jun 26, 2012)

Trent Reznor did some fantastic ambient for Quake. Pure isolation, I shit you not.

[video=youtube;mDnkhlQZt5M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDnkhlQZt5M[/video]

Whispers / Hall of Souls

Gloom Keep / Shub-Niggurath

Edit: Damnit, some retard's mixing up the names.


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## Judge Spear (Jun 26, 2012)

[video=youtube;Q7UNmskEg-A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7UNmskEg-A&amp;feature=relmfu[/video]

I still don't quite understand. You say no background music and no boring music so I may post something that isn't relevant, but I always found this soothing. And if you can find it, there is BEAUTIFULLY done music in Portal 1. It's just hard to find because meme obsessed motherfuckers like spamming Still Alive like it's still funny. The others are buried under all the reuploads of that one song.


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## aqxsl (Jun 26, 2012)

Phenomenal posts by all so far; the Lustmord is especially great, I hear so much about this guy but I've never really dove into his stuff (what's his best album?  must download).

Yo Demensa, great taste as usual bro! I never expected this from Buckethead tbh; damn good.  

4) *Xerrox Vol II* - *Alva Noto*; this album has hit me unbelievably hard.  This is the type of music you wait to listen to until the sun sets, a perfect soundtrack for gazing at a dark city or industrial wasteland.  The sounds in this album are literally samples of a Xerrox machine being layered over one another many, many times (intending to 'Xerrox' the sounds themselves).

*Xerrox Monophaser 2* = 

[video=youtube;cgxYOOLLLFE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgxYOOLLLFE[/video]

5) *Ben Frost* - *Steel Wound*; Distortion-washed sounds of machines on a cold, desolate planet (also check out Theory of Machines from him).

*You, me and the end of everything* = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJI-lufs7pU

6) *Cendre* - *Fennesz Sakamoto*; collab between some of the best ambient musicians ever.  Really sad stuff

*Abyss* = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk7eyrE-1ZU


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## Sar (Jun 26, 2012)

[yt]vkJ50PPdru4[/yt]
[yt]1R1LCgThrKc[/yt]


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## Heliophobic (Jun 26, 2012)

aqxsl said:


> Phenomenal posts by all so far; the Lustmord is especially great, I hear so much about this guy but I've never really dove into his stuff (what's his best album?  must download).



I personally like _'Metavoid'_.

So immersive... so lucid...

I don't know if I'm allowed to say this here, but you can download his discog over at www.kat.ph.

_'A Document Of Early Acoustic & Tactical Experimentation'_ is also a fantastic album, and I recommend it if you like surreal and unsettling stuff.


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## Isen (Jun 29, 2012)

Love me some Tim Hecker.

Helios
[yt]ON1yNCUhCOc[/yt]

Hammock
[yt]c-ayuRE5xd8[/yt]

Eluvium
[yt]WfV7hNPaP78[/yt]


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## Aden (Jun 29, 2012)

Kind of occupies the margins of ambient, noise, and drone, but Black Swan albums are fucking fantastic listens

[yt]_btUOsGUUb4[/yt]


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## aqxsl (Jun 29, 2012)

Sollux said:


> I don't know if I'm allowed to say this here, but you can download his discog over at www.kat.ph.



Thanks dude, can't wait to absorb this.



> Love me some Tim Hecker.



Agreed, you see he's playing at Pitchfork Music Festival this year?  wtf?  Didn't know Tim was so hip.

Love the Helios btw, can't stand his new stuff though.


7) Birchville Cat Motel - Chi Vampires; probably my favorite drone artist.  His epic track Beautiful Speck Triumph is one of the greatest pieces of drone ever; you'll feel like a better person after listening to it (couldn't find a link but definitely look it up).

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

8) Yellow Swans - Going Places; the bands last album, hence the ironic title.  Super potent album about failing to go places.

[video=youtube;dmwyj4DvOO4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmwyj4DvOO4&amp;feature=related[/video]

9) Max Richter - Infra; amazing contemporary classical/ambient.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhR7NCIxjfY


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## Little Ghost (Jul 3, 2012)

aqxsl said:


> 9) Max Richter - Infra; amazing contemporary classical/ambient.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhR7NCIxjfY



Wow, never thought I'd see that album mentioned by anyone who isn't me. Fantastic album, I own it on vinyl. It isn't really ambient though, when modern classical is layered above ambient electronics, that's typically referred to as 'neoclassical darkwave.'

Anyway, Gas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJg5tY8QZLk


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## aqxsl (Jul 7, 2012)

Oh man, I'm jealous; wish I had Infra on vinyl.  Yeah it seems like Max Richter still isn't super well known even though he's getting a lot of Hollywood exposure (aka Nature of Daylight in Shutter Island, and I think Sarajevo was used in Prometheus).  Not sure I'd go so far as to say he's not "musically" ambient though.

Love the Gas track btw, it immediately melted my brain.

10) Vladislav Delay; Another "ambient" favorite artist of mine.  I feel like his music creates some of the best darkcity/cyberpunk vibes I've ever heard, which is a pretty important criteria for me. A bit dubby, but entirely orignial nonetheless.

Lumi (from Whistleblower)
[video=youtube;r1bPTNUqPu4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1bPTNUqPu4[/video]

Raamat (from Multila)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQZgDEnLVjw


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## Skrappy (Jul 8, 2012)

I thank Kelly Bailey and his work on the Half-Life soundtracks for introducing me to ambient music. 

[video=youtube;5_5TBAq9CEg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_5TBAq9CEg[/video]


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## aqxsl (Jul 14, 2012)

11) Bersarin Quartett - II;  Fantastic ambient classical idm type stuff that just came out last year:

[video=youtube;LeFKLxg6bp8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeFKLxg6bp8[/video]

12) Microstoria; amongst the most ambient of ambient.  Their stuff can get so ambient that there's often no sound at all.  The rest is mostly samples of computer hardware, which results in a really sad "mathy" atmosphere.

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

Also, of interest to people itt.  There's this ongoing project from Future Sequence to release free and huge compilations of current ambient artists.  There's a super eclectic list of humans on these SEQUENCES(1 to 4); so its well worth checking out if you want to find something new in ambient.  Plus it's like 4 GBs of damn good music; so shit, take a chance.

http://www.futuresequence.com/sequence1/


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## Little Ghost (Aug 9, 2012)

I just found this gem while looking for downtempo music today. 

Lemongrass - Hypnosis
[video=youtube;ST0lAPPwXGs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST0lAPPwXGs[/video]
Very lightweight, chill ambient. Seems like something that would be really nice to listen to while sitting on your porch alone on a hot summer night, drinking a cold coke.


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## Harbinger (Aug 10, 2012)

Been listening to these to recently, the skyrim one has basically been the soundtrack to my room all day.

[video=youtube;IGnDOObUHH4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGnDOObUHH4[/video]


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## Harbinger (Aug 10, 2012)

[video=youtube;H1VreyJwMVM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1VreyJwMVM[/video]


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## aqxsl (Aug 11, 2012)

Little Ghost said:


> I just found this gem while looking for downtempo music today.
> Lemongrass - Hypnosis
> Very lightweight, chill ambient. Seems like something that would be really nice to listen to while sitting on your porch alone on a hot summer night, drinking a cold coke.



Really digging this...so expansive

Supppose I'll post sum more:

In respose to the Skyrim soundtrack, love it too.  Can't get enough of one of the town theme tracks (can't remember which tho).  You very well may dig these guys, I get a major Skyrim vibe from this album:

Deaf Center - Pale Ravine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdRUMqds5r8

Pleq - Metamorphosis : love this man.  Super bleak, beat-oriented stuff with a thick atmosphere
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLYpcCrTO-4

Steve Roach - Structures From Silence : classic shit, whatev; very good
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_So6ZqJZa4k


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## Bread (Aug 24, 2012)

that yellow swans album that was posted here is a masterpiece, I remember falling asleep to it once and it was just this wave of sound slowly approaching me in total darkness. It as amazing and I wish I could experience is again 

also this
[video=youtube;27Ra2bxZsGk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27Ra2bxZsGk&amp;feature=related[/video]


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## Little Ghost (Sep 9, 2012)

Holy shit aqxsl, I just realized that we're both furries from Madison that like ambient

Endless Melancholy - Dreams 
[video=youtube;XMRtWmX4Frw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMRtWmX4Frw[/video] 
Piano based Ukrainian ambient that's very heavily influenced by neoclassical darkwave. One of my favorite ambient albums/EPs ever.


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## aqxsl (Sep 9, 2012)

Bread said:


> that yellow swans album that was posted here is a masterpiece, I remember falling asleep to it once and it was just this wave of sound slowly approaching me in total darkness. It as amazing and I wish I could experience is again
> also this
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27Ra2bxZsGk&amp;feature=related



guhhh, fuk i love coil so much

this track brings me to tears ;_;



Little Ghost said:


> Holy shit aqxsl, I just realized that we're both furries from Madison that like ambient



yeah madtown! we should vibe some time bro

aka, you listen to 91.7fm?  i secretly do the one and only ambient-focused show at the station; maybe join me as a guest dj eh?  

this album sounds pretty fooking perfect btw, will be DLing this one asap

*Demdike Stare:*

[video=youtube;0F0EbN3aICI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F0EbN3aICI&amp;feature=related[/video]
*
A Winged Victory For The Sullen:*  I bet Little Ghost will like this one; probably heard it already no?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h_rtoSbbe0


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## greg-the-fox (Sep 9, 2012)

No Boards of Canada? I'm seriously disappointed in you guys :V
[yt]CZHS52l-4Nw[/yt]
[yt]NxQuRpfmhNA[/yt](youtube raped the quality of this)

What about stuff with a beat, does that count? I have a lot of stuff that you could call downtempo, chillwave, etc, but very few true "ambient" stuff I think, most of it has some kind of percussion.

Like is this ambient enough?
[yt]noS61QN9nag[/yt]


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## Little Ghost (Sep 9, 2012)

aqxsl said:


> you listen to 91.7fm?  i secretly do the one and only ambient-focused show at the station; maybe join me as a guest dj eh?



What time is your show at? I'd love to hear a good radio show, as I've been looking to get into ambient more since some of my favorite genres (ambient pop, neoclassical darkwave, downtempo) are closely related to ambient.
I don't have the talent or confidence to DJ, but I'd be open to meeting up some time. You live on the east side?

Olafur Arnalds - Found Songs
[video=youtube;mYIfiQlfaas]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYIfiQlfaas[/video]

Nice piano ambient, with a slight neoclassical influence. Found Songs is a very nostalgic album, and at least for me, it's guaranteed to bring up memories of childhood summers.



> What about stuff with a beat, does that count? I have a lot of stuff  that you could call downtempo, chillwave, etc, but very few true  "ambient" stuff I think, most of it has some kind of percussion.
> 
> Like is this ambient enough?


You're right, ambient with a beat is downtempo. Chillwave is a subgenre of downtempo that features atmospheric vocals and retro synths. There is ambient with percussion that isn't considered downtempo, and when this is the case, the percussion is usually sparse and inconsistent versus downtempo's mostly constants beats.

Washed Out is chillwave, and very good chillwave at that.


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## Aldino (Sep 9, 2012)

Ladies and gentlemen if it hasn't already been posted how about Steve Roach?

Or the Marconi Union?

Both very good.


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## aqxsl (Sep 10, 2012)

Little Ghost said:


> What time is your show at? I'd love to hear a good radio show, as I've been looking to get into ambient more since some of my favorite genres (ambient pop, neoclassical darkwave, downtempo) are closely related to ambient.I don't have the talent or confidence to DJ, but I'd be open to meeting up some time. You live on the east side?



you'd probably especially dig my show then since i play a ton of downtempo (it's ambient to the point of being cybery)

just added a link to my show's shitty static webpage in my sig, take a chance take a look

also, no confidence is needed to dj; a trained monkey could do this shit.  plus as a guest, you'd only need to bring those vibey tracks

i live on/near campus btw


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## Little Ghost (Sep 12, 2012)

aqxsl said:


> you'd probably especially dig my show then since i play a ton of downtempo (it's ambient to the point of being cybery)
> 
> just added a link to my show's shitty static webpage in my sig, take a chance take a look
> 
> ...



I do love me some downtempo.

I guess I could guest DJ, as long as it's not to high pressure or hard. The only problem would be in scheduling, as I have high school. I don't think Thursday at 9:00 would be possibl unless it were a holiday break or something along those lines.

As for meeting, feel free to PM me any time. I'm fairly new to the Madison area, so the only noteworthy place I've been in Madison is State Street, but I could get to anywhere around campus pretty easily.


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## greg-the-fox (Sep 29, 2012)

This is amazing

[video=youtube;T2u8_NPL5cY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2u8_NPL5cY[/video]


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