Your nominations for the ILX AMBIENT ALBUMS POLL (nominations close on Friday, May 31st)

I was OK with looking at this as a poll of non-beat-oriented drone-like music with an electronic component and accepting all of it but Steve Reich did raise my hackles a little: although there is definitely a connection between minimalism and ambient, Reich was going for something that would inspire "closely detailed listening", arguably the opposite of "non-intrusive background music". Music for 18 is also very rhythmic and entirely acoustic, if that matters. Still, there IS a connection so.

There's a connection, but I don't feel at all bad about drawing a line that excludes all Reich. Trust me, he wouldn't want to be in this poll anyway.

Giusto Pio-Motore Immobile
Andrew Chalk-Baroque Screens
Andrew Chal-The Cable House
Vikki Jackman-Whispering Pages
Jan Jelinek/Masayoshi Fujita-Bird Lake Objects
Michael Brook-Hybrid
Arp-Inversions
Inoyama Land-Danzindan Pojidon
Dean McPhee-Four Stones
Gas-Zauberberg
Ian Middleton-Well of Sorrows
Jonathan Fitoussi-Imaginary Lines
Robert Turman-Beyond Painting

13/30, with apologies for genre boundaries/definitions etc.

The Seven Fields of Aphelion - Keep the Ocean Inside

4/30

There's a connection, but I don't feel at all bad about drawing a line that excludes all Reich. Trust me, he wouldn't want to be in this poll anyway.

THE POLL THAT STEVE REICH DOESN'T WANT YOU TO VOTE IN.

NUMBER FIVE WILL SHOCK YOU!

PGWP, you nominated this, but neither Discogs nor Wikipedia has any info on Growing having released a self-titled album... Which album did you mean?

― Tuomas, Friday, May 17, 2019 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Sorry, it's The Soul of the Rainbow and the Harmony of Light. For some reason Spotify lists it as s/t though I knew that was incorrect!

Ok, thanks!

Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians

Groovypanda, you nominated this, but there are several different recordings of this composition. Which one do you want to nominate?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X14B7JHAooNtfPbNilJ1xPshNaKBbL6q-8E1xUdM7xU

Here's a link to the nominations so far, lemme know if something's missing. (I've corrected some of the artist and album names, so your nomination might be elsewhere alphabetically.)

As for the debate on what's ambient, I have no way of making that judgement, so I'm not gonna disqualify anything... And the nomination process in polls like this is always a bit messy, but I do agree that this is not a poll for just any kind of minimal music, or music to smoke weed to, or experimental/artsy electronic music in general. So hopefully when it comes the time to vote you do stop to consider that ambient is narrower than those definitions, even if it's not easily defined by conventional genre boundaries.

SunnO))) - Flight of the Behemoth

I mean, I loathe to use Pitchfork as a measuring stick, but their list, which includes a KFW intro and blurb by a bunch ppl who are over the age of 35 (Beta/Sherburne/Richardson/Masters/Reynolds) has a very open attitude towards what is considered "ambient"

https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9948-the-50-best-ambient-albums-of-all-time/

fantastic work tuomas

personally prefer a wide definition myself

I mean, everyone can vote for THE ARTIST CLEARLY INTENDED THIS MODULAR SYNTH RECORD AS MUSIQUE D'AMEUBLEMENT PER THE DICTATES OF SATIE but that's not as fun imo

Also, I'm probably very close to my full noms but here's some big dogs that we've overlooked in case someone else wants to nominate them

Mort Garson - Plantasia
Philip Corner - Satie Slowly
Raymond Scott - Soothing Sounds for Babies Vol. 1
Raymond Scott - Soothing Sounds for Babies Vol. 2

Colleen - Les Ondes Silencieuses

15/30

Fripp and Eno - No Pussyfooting
Sakamoto and Alva Noto - Vrioon

Vangelis, "L'Apocalypse des animaux"

Steve Roach - The Magnificent Void
Steve Roach - Quiet Music

Robert Rich - Calling Down the Sky
Robert Rich - Humidity

The Necks - Mosquito
Johan Johansson - Fordlandia

Looks like I get five more

Raymond Scott - Soothing Sounds for Babies Vol. 1
Bohren and Der Club of Gore - Black Earth

that pitchfork list is kinda dumb, we talked about it at the time. like tim hecker, fennesz, pretty laptop noise... lol

Sorry

After 5-6 weeks of listing to Bacharach songs this will be a nice tonic.

but that's not as fun imo

Part of the fun for me here is trying to figure out why some records feel ambient to me and some don't. Replica? Returnal? Persian Surgery Dervishes? Some of my favorite records, but they scratch a different itch.

But say Rifts isn't my definition of ambient either but fine, it's definitely part of the same fantasy musical universe as Structures From Silence.

So it is written, so shall it be done.

Eno Moebius Rodelius - After the Heat

Oöphoi – Static Soundscapes: Three Lights At the End of the World
Antrilon – Mind Erase
MWVM – Rotations
Lull – Like A Slow River
Hazard – Wood
Deep Magic / Pine Smoke Lodge – Split

15/30

Les Halles – Transient

16/30

^^^ good one

I think ambient-ness for me has something to do with difficulty of perceiving movement, lack of drama, also just a general diffusiveness and um.... driftiness... a sense of distance/absence/“not there”-ness, indirect, sonic blankets

Fennesz/Tim hecker include plenty of actual bursts of noise. and bald faced emotion. I like em both

Steve Reich/tony Conrad/Niblock stuff is so intense and lysergic it just doesn’t float or sit enough

I also hate sentimental gooey “ambient” that sounds like it could soundtrack a serious moment in a stupid movie/tv show. The ambient equiv of like Explosions In the Sky.

Ok end rant, only posi non-annoying brimstead from now on promise

Norman Westberg – 13
Mark Wastell – Come Crimson Rays

18/30

Irresistible Force - Dreamfish

This should be: Dreamfish - Dreamfish, and is Mixmaster Morris + Pete Namlook

I also hate sentimental gooey “ambient” that sounds like it could soundtrack a serious moment in a stupid movie/tv show.

pleasantly surprised to see no bvdub yet

beard papa at 9:06 18 May 19

Irresistible Force - Dreamfish

This should be: Dreamfish - Dreamfish, and is Mixmaster Morris + Pete Namlook

I've updated the nomination list, the link above still works, but here it is again:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X14B7JHAooNtfPbNilJ1xPshNaKBbL6q-8E1xUdM7xU

Alain Presencer - The Singing Bowls of Tibet

1/30

I haven’t missed a playlist for the nominations, have I?

gas - narkopop

9/30

ta for correcting the dreamfish mistake folks.

I haven’t missed a playlist for the nominations, have I?

If you start listening now you should get about halfway through by the time voting closes.

Tuomas at 9:34 17 May 19

Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians

Groovypanda, you nominated this, but there are several different recordings of this composition. Which one do you want to nominate?

Not sure. The original 1978 release I guess. Not bothered if it's left out if people don't think it's ambient as I possibly wouldn't vote for it anyway.

If you start listening now you should get about halfway through by the time voting closes.

I plan on sampling as many singles as possible.

I haven’t missed a playlist for the nominations, have I?

E2-E4 (Radio Edit) xp

Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions
Spacemen 3 - Dreamweapon: An Evening of Contemporary Sitar Music
Gigi Masin - Wind
Gigi Masin - Talk to the Sea
Earth - Hex; or Printing in the Infernal Method
Grouper - Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill
Grouper - Ruins
Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica
The Caretaker - An Empty Bliss Beyond This World
Ulver - Messe I.X–VI.X
Tim Hecker - Virgins
Ryuichi Sakamoto - async
Stephan Mathieu - A Static Place
The Seven Fields of Aphelion - Periphery

14/30^

good call on Dreamweapon!

Deathprod - Morals and Dogma