A couple other aesthetics that are distinct but related: I see Dead Texan has been mentioned already, but I want to put in a plug for "Sun Drugs" off the underrated Stars of the Lid release The Ballasted Orchestra, as it totally nails the feeling of laying in a wide-open field under a cloudless sky listening to the rumble of distant jet aircraft. Also, the recent GYBE album with the title beginning Asunder, Sweet... gives me a very strong out-of-the-blistering-midday-heat, into-the-cool-shade-of-the-suq vibe
― bernard snowy, Sunday, 19 March 2017 16:28 (seven years ago) link
Labradford - Mi Media Naranja
^ good twangy morricone vibes, but also twinkly electronics that make me think of satellites flying across a vast starry sky
― Benylin Ascent (NickB), Sunday, 19 March 2017 18:24 (seven years ago) link
^ a midway point between eno and morricone, a desert drifter looking up into the night sky and seeing twinkling satellites sailing across the vastness overhead
― Benylin Ascent (NickB), Sunday, 19 March 2017 18:32 (seven years ago) link
Lol fucking phone playing tricks on me
― Benylin Ascent (NickB), Sunday, 19 March 2017 18:33 (seven years ago) link
thanks in advance thread
― example (crüt), Sunday, March 19, 2017 1:30 AM (twelve hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― jason waterfalls (gbx), Sunday, 19 March 2017 18:34 (seven years ago) link
Should add for anyone who missed it on the Steve Roach thread that the Dust to Dust mentioned up top which started this is his collaborative album with Roger King:
https://projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/dust-to-dust
It is and remains one of my all time favorite albums.
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 19 March 2017 18:36 (seven years ago) link
If people have mentioned Sketches of Spain the Grateful Dead's lift as Spanish Jam should also fit as should other of their stuff.
I was thinking bits of QMS too especially Calvary.
― Stevolende, Sunday, 19 March 2017 18:41 (seven years ago) link
oh yeah and on the QMS tip there are some longer Rangda pieces ("Plain Of Jars", "...Hermetic Museum") that fit in here, and Sun City Girls' Funeral Mariachi album (but not much else of theirs imo)
― sleeve, Sunday, 19 March 2017 19:09 (seven years ago) link
this thread was better when it was a little more specialized and not "this drone band used clean guitars and a slide once"
― Wimmels, Sunday, 19 March 2017 19:45 (seven years ago) link
ah yes the long 13hr lifespan of this thread
― jason waterfalls (gbx), Sunday, 19 March 2017 19:48 (seven years ago) link
Brokeback, Brokeback and the Black Rock
― Wozniak on Kimye's Baby (jaymc), Sunday, 19 March 2017 19:52 (seven years ago) link
William Tyler?
― just sayin, Sunday, March 19, 2017 4:27 AM (eleven hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Absolutely William Tyler!
― Evan, Sunday, 19 March 2017 19:57 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRGns0huaCM
This is my favorite kind of Calexico and as mentioned above it fits the thread theme very well.
― Evan, Sunday, 19 March 2017 20:01 (seven years ago) link
I could certainly recommend the proper instrumental/experimental Calexico stuff if anyone was actually interested.
― Evan, Sunday, 19 March 2017 20:08 (seven years ago) link
Train Songs by Two Dollar Guitar.
― heaven parker (anagram), Sunday, 19 March 2017 20:13 (seven years ago) link
Brian Grainger – Blue Wheatfield: https://wil-ru.bandcamp.com/album/blue-wheatfieldlots of stuff by Expo '70; e.g., Inaudible Bicoastal Trajectory: https://aguirrerecords.bandcamp.com/album/inaudible-bicoastal-trajectory
― example (crüt), Sunday, 19 March 2017 20:19 (seven years ago) link
https://www.discogs.com/Garlo-Vent-De-Guitares/release/1575820
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jjIhVE7ek4
― Milton Parker, Sunday, 19 March 2017 20:29 (seven years ago) link
man I had forgotten about that Two Dollar Guitar album
thanks to crut for those last two as well
probably everyone here has heard Brightblack Morning Light but they definitely fit
Brightblack Morning Light ... WTF?
― sleeve, Sunday, 19 March 2017 20:50 (seven years ago) link
"Susan Alcorn - And i await the Resurrection (maybe not her best, but its what I have)"
you need to get her extremely lovely Soledad album, Sanpaku or anyone who digs this aesthetic.
― calzino, Sunday, 19 March 2017 20:56 (seven years ago) link
I'd take a more desert-focussed Calexcio primer, Evan. Cheers. 'Hot Rail' is fantastic.
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Sunday, 19 March 2017 21:10 (seven years ago) link
Date Palms "Dusted Sessions"
― daily growing, Sunday, 19 March 2017 21:39 (seven years ago) link
re: Calexico, The Black Light and Spoke are both great for winding/long stretches, southern Utah driving. also, seconding Dirty Three and Tren Brothers. Whatever You Love You Are is a beauty, though it's less propulsive. Bad Timing by Jim O'Rourke is an absolute slam dunk.
― braunld (Lowell N. Behold'n), Sunday, 19 March 2017 21:47 (seven years ago) link
I recall Lanterna, who incidentally did a split release with Scenic, being described as "atmospheric desert music" or some such
― a but (brimstead), Sunday, 19 March 2017 22:22 (seven years ago) link
I loved all the Yo La Tengo music in Old Joy--not sure if that fits your definition, but it does recall the Paris, Texas soundtrack, I think, and they do do a lot of driving in the movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcuXOtwZSiw
― clemenza, Sunday, 19 March 2017 22:27 (seven years ago) link
Yawning Man
Meat Puppets debut and second
― Jessie Fer Ark (Mobbed Up Ping Pong Psychos), Sunday, 19 March 2017 22:58 (seven years ago) link
http://www.bendingcorners.com/2005/desert_moments/ is a good mix of this sort of thing
― I hear from this arsehole again, he's going in the river (James Morrison), Sunday, 19 March 2017 23:33 (seven years ago) link
The Bruce Kaphan is nice as expected. Wide open chords
― calstars, Sunday, 19 March 2017 23:39 (seven years ago) link
Some Mazzy Star/Hope Sandoval would probably apply
― Carlotta's Portrait (Ross), Sunday, 19 March 2017 23:47 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAb8NbM8PKU
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Sunday, March 19, 2017 5:10 PM (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
I would start with both Toolbox and Travelall, as they're both instrumental and have the same vibe as the Hot Rail track. Hot Rail the album however is my favorite straightforward Calexico record (the previous two I recommended were originally tour only CDs). Atmosphere was clearly a number one priority at the time. Later it dropped a little with each subsequent album as they moved closer and closer to more straightforward pop/rock.
Some samples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvv9dQX12kc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQtGHOeflTM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Esbtr6LKHdg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxO6kVo5P7E
― Evan, Monday, 20 March 2017 03:06 (seven years ago) link
That being said after driving up and down Arizona this past October I found William Tyler to be the most powerful accompaniment to the sights. I made a desert mix especially for the trip. I should revisit to see what I'm forgetting.
― Evan, Monday, 20 March 2017 03:09 (seven years ago) link
Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger
― that's not my post, Monday, 20 March 2017 03:59 (seven years ago) link
Jimmie Dale Gilmore's singing always makes me think of the desert southwest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGsTrLaDaHQ
― that's not my post, Monday, 20 March 2017 04:12 (seven years ago) link
I think of Scenic as more western tinged instrumental rock. There's an omnipresent drum kit, which keeps it out of ambient territory.
Harold Budd appears on the last Scenic album, which adds +50 to ambient
― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 20 March 2017 07:00 (seven years ago) link
Bruce Licher's bandcamp also has this great 45min piece he and his wife put together for an installation of hers:https://brucelicher.bandcamp.com/track/suspension-of-disbelief
― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 20 March 2017 07:03 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LGt2N5L4JA
― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 20 March 2017 07:04 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6V9vEO76Z8
― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 20 March 2017 07:05 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4S-aE879T0
― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 20 March 2017 07:07 (seven years ago) link
Chris Isaak's old guitarist James Wilsey (that's him on "Wicked Game") has an instrumental album out that's well worth tracking down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7XBBRvNkBk
― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 20 March 2017 07:09 (seven years ago) link
Brian Grainger - Eight Thousanderhttps://attacknine.bandcamp.com/album/eight-thousander
― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 20 March 2017 07:16 (seven years ago) link
Lost in the morass of mid-90s surf rock was this great album by Death Valley.https://www.discogs.com/Death-Valley-Que-Pasta/release/2335153
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86l9awk-VLY
― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 20 March 2017 07:30 (seven years ago) link
Nice Cocteau Twins cover too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClZnB84DljY
― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 20 March 2017 07:31 (seven years ago) link
Jon Porras' Black Mesa is the first thing that came to mind
― Dinsdale, Monday, 20 March 2017 07:57 (seven years ago) link
And there has to be some Barn Owl as well, I think Lost in the Glare is the one that sounds the most like that
― Dinsdale, Monday, 20 March 2017 08:01 (seven years ago) link
That Cocteau Twins cover is great.
Earth - Bees Made Honey
― Carlotta's Portrait (Ross), Monday, 20 March 2017 08:27 (seven years ago) link
giant sand own this thread. an example from "chore of enchantment", his masterpiece.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJtbKgZkpc0
― it's the distortion, stupid! (alex in mainhattan), Monday, 20 March 2017 12:33 (seven years ago) link
The whole "The Earth is not a Cold Dead Place" by Explosions in the Sky.
― satans favourite son, Monday, 20 March 2017 12:48 (seven years ago) link
after moving to Texas, The American Analog Set's 'The Golden Band' suddenly made a lot more sense, striking me as the kind of music you would make after a brutal August day of 100+ degrees.
― campreverb, Monday, 20 March 2017 14:35 (seven years ago) link
*wearily puts on high-vis jacket and gets to work* I can only side-eye the romanticised inhuman aesthetic at work here & wld question the appeal of it, even tho I like some of the music mentioned itt. also I wld humbly suggest that there is quite a bit of music from/indigenous to the desert (or the edge of it, I suppose) which is much better than this stuff *stretches back, sighs heavily, clocks off*
― ogmor, Monday, 20 March 2017 15:30 (seven years ago) link
Quit humbly suggesting and actually suggest.
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Monday, 20 March 2017 16:20 (seven years ago) link
Uncut included this Ambient Americana compilation CD with the Velvet Underground issue they put out a couple of years ago, might be relevant:https://www.discogs.com/release/17866393-Various-Ambient-Americana-A-Road-Trip-Across-Psychic-State-Lines
― brimstead, Sunday, 4 June 2023 20:23 (eleven months ago) link
There was a nice NTS show back in February: https://www.nts.live/shows/the-nts-guide-to/episodes/the-nts-guide-to-ambient-americana-16th-february-2023
― Stars of the Lidl (Chinaski), Sunday, 4 June 2023 20:33 (eleven months ago) link
I've been slowly putting together a playlist of 'wide open desert' and adjacent stuff. It's called Vaulted Ceiling, Vaulted Sky as some of it is in cathedrals and resonating chambers but chambers/canyons who's counting? Fill yer boots if it's your thing.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/504idjJNXjNKl2xajh8Pbv?si=b5fed292a37f4e41
― Stars of the Lidl (Chinaski), Sunday, 4 June 2023 20:41 (eleven months ago) link
i know the stuff in this thread is more of an 'ambient' focus, but easter everywhere always sounds great in the desert ime
― ꙮ (map), Sunday, 4 June 2023 20:56 (eleven months ago) link
They were mentioned before upthread, but last week I took a road trip through the desert and can confirm that this album is a playlist must.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5ZmZd6fRRQ
― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 5 June 2023 07:35 (eleven months ago) link
New Boxhead Ensemble!
https://boxheadensemble.bandcamp.com/album/ancient-music
― daily growing, Tuesday, 1 August 2023 16:37 (nine months ago) link
This band from Tuscon is on tour and I'm feeling their wide open desert vibe:
https://compersionmusic.bandcamp.com/track/kitchen-mirror
― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Wednesday, 2 August 2023 16:05 (nine months ago) link
Swell's 41
― Cow_Art, Wednesday, 2 August 2023 16:33 (nine months ago) link
That's a favorite!
― But his face would not turn into hot Kirby (Evan), Wednesday, 2 August 2023 16:34 (nine months ago) link
This JAB release is very wide, very open
https://johnalsobennett.bandcamp.com/album/out-there-in-the-middle-of-nowhere
― ionjusit (P. Flick), Wednesday, 2 August 2023 18:59 (nine months ago) link
that JAB record is incredible, love it.
w/o being too self-promo here, my band's stuff definitely fits into this zone
https://prairiewolfcf.bandcamp.com/album/prairiewolf
― tylerw, Friday, 4 August 2023 16:55 (nine months ago) link
it does and it's good!
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 4 August 2023 17:30 (nine months ago) link
*looks up a few entries* Steve S I'm seeing that Compersion band playing at a venue called the Warehouse in SF next Wednesday but googling for it is impossible. (They're not talking about the bar out at Port Costa, are they?)
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 5 August 2023 00:13 (nine months ago) link
It is a uh... "low-key venue" that's been shut down a few times for obvious reasons.
I've only been 2x, Spiritual Cramp last year and then Fentanyl last month.
That said: not sure I feel posting the details on this thread, what is the best way to get a hold of you in a private manner?
― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Saturday, 5 August 2023 05:20 (nine months ago) link
How did I not hear about a new, 90 minute Boxhead Ensemble album? They strike me as the sweet spot for this thread. Listening now, and it's predictably gorgeous. I had no idea Michael Krassner now runs a pizza restaurant in Phoenix.
― JonR345, Saturday, 5 August 2023 05:31 (nine months ago) link
I live in Phoenix and it is a legitimately great pizza restaurant, I strongly recommend it!
― intheblanks, Saturday, 5 August 2023 22:43 (nine months ago) link
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 6 August 2023 04:28 (nine months ago) link
emailed ya... 🙊
― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Monday, 7 August 2023 19:26 (nine months ago) link
Thank ya. In 'well that's irony' territory, though, I've suffered a slight sprain around my left knee so I'm mostly not moving for a few days, so hopefully next time!
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 7 August 2023 20:08 (nine months ago) link
Get well soon Ned. I'd happily wheel you around but the pavement in that neighborhood is particularly jagged.
― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 15:39 (nine months ago) link
I can guess!
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 8 August 2023 16:30 (nine months ago) link
What with one thing and another, I've barely listened to music in the last two weeks. To be a fresh lawn on which the new Boxhead Ensemble falls like the first leaves of autumn makes the whole thing entirely worth it.
― (picnic, lightning) very very frightening (Chinaski), Friday, 11 August 2023 22:34 (nine months ago) link
loving this compersion track
― budo jeru, Friday, 11 August 2023 22:48 (nine months ago) link
Compersion were not only incredible live but were total IRL sweeties. <3
― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Friday, 11 August 2023 23:32 (nine months ago) link
Compersion track is lovely. Making me think of 'Constant Craving', played by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Love the metal shirts, obvs (even if one is a Sade shirt, masquerading as a metal shirt).
― (picnic, lightning) very very frightening (Chinaski), Friday, 11 August 2023 23:39 (nine months ago) link
I keep thinking about an 'ambient Americana' thread but I hate the name so much I can't bring myself to do it. Anyway, a couple of recent things on the Centripetal Force label would seem to fit here: a compilation of stuff called Of Ambience and Americana that's 'name your price on Bandcamp' (and has a track by Prairiewolf!): https://centripetalforcerecords.bandcamp.com/album/of-ambience-and-americana
And Luke Schneider's It Is Solved by Walking, which is one of those bizarre '$1000 for digital release', but is on Spotify: https://lukeschneider.bandcamp.com/album/it-is-solved-by-walking
― I would prefer not to. (Chinaski), Sunday, 12 May 2024 09:08 (yesterday) link