Bass Communion - Ghosts on Magnetic Tape.

Yesyesyesyesyesyesyes

I find that there is a crossover of music that is put under the umbrella of 'Ambient' and it can mean many different things to different people. Balearic Chillout, Muzak, Minimalism, Krautrock and even Prog Rock could all be classed as one form of Ambient or another.

Personally I don't think that any one particular genre is more relevant than another and although in the true sense of the term Ambient suggests to most a steady and stable sound that eschews rhythm and instead relies on monotony, in pure listening terms I am in the camp of those that get the maximum enjoyment from laid back sounds no matter what genre they come from.

So ALL these songs are Ambient to me:





Kudos to the Stars Of The Lid mentions. They occupy the minimalistic side of Ambient but hold the attention beautifully if you are in the mood for such a stripped down sound.

Probably the finest of early 20th century composers that fit the bill:



I could throw out names like Steve Reich, Rhys Chatham, The Field etc but I am sure many people know about them too and that their music is so pure that we may fall asleep ;) I am a fan but a snippet of Chatham is not the best convincer in the short term.

To me, keywords are evocations and atmosphere.

*Jean Michel Jarre: Waiting for Cousteau. Imagine the ocean depths. And Zoolook: in my opinion, a great album. It is from 1984, but its sound still surprises me.



*Mike Oldfield's album The Songs of Distant Earth. Inspired by Arthur C. Clarke's science-fiction novel.



*Jam & Spoon, a German band (1991–2005):



*A very particular subgenre: Flamenco Chill. This group is Chambao:

Of course it's ambient week! I've been listening to a lot of ambient latley, what a coincidence. Latley I've been digging the likes of Brian Eno, Mike Oldfield and Aphex Twin. Last couple albums I've bought were Brian Eno's 'Ambient 1: Music For Airports' and Aphex Twin' Selected Ambient Works '85-'92.

I got into ambient through psytrance and downtempo music. It's not so exciting, but it makes for excellent sleeping music, smoking music, or contemplative/meditative music

So, so pleased to see "Ess Gee" mentioned here. My love for Underworld knows no bounds and that selection is a fond favorite. Underworldfan94's Extended Ansum Edition of A Hundred Days Off from 2016 was one the best fan mixes ever to come out of the Dirty forum.

And I was going to keep this a secret until my Christmas post, but I treated myself to two essential grails of the ambient genre on vinyl to celebrate the holiday. Here are Stars of the Lid's And Their Refinement of the Decline and The Tired Sounds of... on wax.

https://i.imgur.com/7Nbbea4l.jpg

Great band!

https://is4-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/t...1200x630bb.jpg

masayoshi fujita & jan jelinek - bird lake objects