Ambient Recommendations

I've been really into the "arctic" side of dark ambient these days. My drift-off-to-sleep soundtrack for the past week has been Thomas Köner's Aubrite and Kaamos back-to-back. Aubrite in particular feels special to me. There's nothing creepy about it--just pure, deep, all-enveloping darkness.
https://staalplaat.bandcamp.com/album/aubrite

Koner is all time but I don't reach for him much at the moment. As mentioned above, the brighter, calming stuff is where I'm at right now. I don't know that particular album though - will give it a listen.

idk if it's considered "all the way" ambient music, but william tyler's latest definitely reaches into areas of floating melancholy, if not quite full on "DARK AMBIENT."

Lots of stuff to check out. Thanks, all.

hmmm my favorite stuff seems to have elements of both, like Biosphere's Cirque seems dark ambient adjacent. ambient that isn't goth or metal but is kinda subterranean.

― lukas, Tuesday, September 15, 2020 12:26 PM (thirty-six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

yeah totally i'm way into this liminal vibe

Struck me that I ought to recommend this as it's been a top favorite for well over a year at least, maybe approaching two?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faFyG4uFA74

ambient is about 90% of my listening this every year.

Same tbqh

all this dark ambient talk makes me wish i still had zeit on lp

feel like i need to save that deepchord track for a special run

ooh I'm gonna put that on right now, I have a super sweet Ohr OG /braggin

I've always got time for Zeit.

icwydt

I listen to dark ambient at work all day because it doesn't carry outside my office, but now I'm at home I listen to it even more because my giant speakers can do the nice rumbly bass... can't go wrong with Lustmord's "The Place Where the Black Stars Hang" or Raison d'Être's "In Sadness, Silence, and Solitude"

been listening to this guy all day lately while I wfh

https://rhucle.bandcamp.com/music

Not sure if it's been said on this thread before, but just about everything on the Clay Pipe label provides a rewarding listen and could be considered 'ambient'.

Nice sleeve, Rhucle is a good listen. Haven't checked in in a while as he is so prolific, but I have enjoyed a few Rhucle releases over the years. Thanks for the reminder.

man I'm kind of worried about the dude, no new releases since March

he's OK, he just released a new album called Middle!

cool thanks! I'm sure I'll listen tomorrow.

Thought I had seen one recently, glad I am not completely outside of time/reality!

yeah, I must have missed that before, released Sept. 4th

Never heard of Rhucle before. Thank you ilx user sleeve for this great rec!

My fave dark ambient listen is Kevin Martin's Isolationism compilation, which still feels definitive 26 years after it was released.

One of my go-to dark ambient records is David Lynch's 'The Air Is On Fire'. You don't see it mentioned a lot, not even in the Lynch-o-sphere (as far as I can tell anyway), but it's pitch black, unsettling but without any obvious 'I'm David Lynch!' in your face. It's dark and bare, I love it.

xp yeah all those "Ism" comps are still holding up

Sounds cool. I really liked his 'duet' with Marek Zebrowski, Polish Night Music, parts of which ended up in Inland Empire.

(xp)

new Richard Skelton sounding good as well, I think I learned abt him in this thread?

https://phantomlimblabel.bandcamp.com/album/these-charms-may-be-sung-over-a-wound

He's the best. I've been singing his praises for years, mentioned him in the poll last year.

Skelton is an ambient/neo-pastoral pagan god, no doubt about it.

xp yes that was it I think! thanks!

All those Virgin Brief History of Ambient compilations were great, although #4 (Isolationism) was a big departure... I bought it on release and it was too much for me, shelved it for like 15 years and then came back to it and loved it.

I keep wondering whether Richard is related to John.

xps

the zoviet france track on Isolationism is GREAT

and included in the new VOD "More Collusion" 2LP release, to my great delight

I have just spent a few mins on all fours peering at the bottom shelf of my CDs to see if I still have Isolationism and I do! Yay, thanks for the reminder, I'm gonna go listen to some Main now.

Not sure where the line is between vaporwave and ambient but I’ve been bingeing CMD094 and US Golf 95 today and pretty sure most ambient listeners would dig them both.

Christopher Bissonnette has released two albums this year, both very good. The newer one, WAYFINDING, is a nice mix of field recordings, guitar and piano.

Wholeheartedly recommend the new Grand River album on Editions Mego, 'Blink A Few Times To Clear Your Eyes'. Really engaging multi-layered stuff. Didn't know her work before this but her previous record was on Donato Dozzys label and is similarly great

lf58 - alterazione

this is really quite incredible

Alterazione presents a critical statement – distinguished by its technical execution and breathtaking artistry. The album itself is a cathedral of sound, each cavernous chamber an exploration of space and consciousness. Presented in four movements (one track per side), altogether they extend as a transportive experience of evolution for the listener.

Iniziazione – a steady departure that unfurls like the opening of a portal; a process of molecular transfiguration commences. Panoramic landscapes begin to stretch wide, glistening with an exotic beauty, before the shamanic incantations of Rituale draws things deeper. Pulsating rotations push through the next phase of transformation, now drenched in hyperspace white-noise. The procedure continues through the quiet ethereal orbit of Metamorfosi, before finishing with the three-part Evocazione/Contatto/Risveglio; uplifting synth motifs drive forward with optimism, before fading back into the great expanse.

Alterazione is both cerebral and meditative, and one cannot help but be pulled at the core by its potency.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOpA2sDI7cM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h9wwyZ3qOU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUW2KY7EN94

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g3KuJjuDiY

good find there, sounds nice!

Ambient / electroacoustic / electronic / experimental music is Black music:https://t.co/mTY1cb5BTS

w/ @joseph_kamaru @oui_ennui @laminfofana @_LOTIC @no_allies @lichensarealive @AngelHo_Studio @infinitykniives @nailah_hunter @NamirBlade et al pic.twitter.com/dIUZt8jehN

— Musicophilia (@musicophiliamix) October 27, 2020

Late great, I'm going to hazard a guess that album's on Astral Industries judging by the artwork? Will hit that up later cos they normally put out amazing stuff

haha yeah astral industries ftw

and yes they generally put out amazing stuff with amazing artwork but that one is a real standout for me, both in terms of music and artwork

excellent new work from Grand River who made one of my favourite albums from 2020. i love the way her pieces evolve, the mood is always shifting from light to darkness and back, but there's always a sense of beauty. awesome home set-up too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZPnuhx201M

I posted it on another thread but I really like the Ana Roxanne album from last year, and her NTS radio shows as well.

yeah, that's a good one too!

Jordan what's funny is my partner serendipitously recommendded that same ana roxanne album the other day, when you mentioned you heard it on spotify. so did she, that day, in a coffee shop! the spotify gods must have been shining on her that day.