Read the music review of "ambient" recordings in the March issue of The Absolute Sound. It was pretty good although it neglected one old favorite of mine, "Sonic Seasonings" by Wendy/Walter Carlos.

The best part of the article was a list of 10 essential recordings. So far,I've picked up two. The first was the John Cage "In a Landscape" - a recent recording of his piano and organ pieces including the infamous toy piano sonata(?), which was boring. Two of the pieces engaged me and all showed that he had excellent skills as a composer.

The better of the two CDs was Brian Eno's "Ambient 1: Music for Airports." This one was a surprise. It didn't follow the classical virtues of music - harmony, melody, theme and variation, structure, etc. Yet it was moving, it evoked a quiet emotion from me. I like it.

I did listen briefly to several others on the essentials list at Barnes and Nobles but none appealed.

Too bad "Music for Airports" is no longer available on SACD. It seemed to have been for sale in Europe for a while but didn't seem to have made it to the US. If anyone has a copy of the SACD they'd like to sell or know where I might find it, PM me.

I intend to look into this genre at greater depth and welcome suggestions.

WH-- i had a deep and long obsession with all things ambient, beginning with the discovery of Eno/Budd's 'Plateaux of Mirrors' back around 81 or 82. where could you go wrong with Eno? the aforementioned is one of my all time faves, particularly on vinyl, and anything from the Eno 'Ambient' series. just search em up, you'll find them. other Eno faves are 'Apollo' and 'The Shutov Assembly'.

there were many forays into this beatless format in the 70's. Tangerine Dream's early stuff get's thrown in there--'Phaedra' and 'Stratosfear' being notable, along with 'Zeit' and 'Atem'.

Paul Horn's 'Inside' series, beginning with 'The Dome of the Taj Mahal', and then 'Inside 2', then 'The Great Pyramid'

Wendy Carlos 'Sonic Seasonings' I have on 4 ch. vinyl, though never heard it on such equipment. a perfect example of 'ambient', though i don't believe he used the term in describing it.

some other notables: Aphex Twin 'Selected Ambient Works, Vol. 1' and of course, the follow-on 'Volume 2'

quite often, 'ambient' gets thrown in with 'new age', which is mistaken, because 'new age' almost always contains elements of sentimentalism or deliberate attempts at creating faux exotic atmospheres w/o also having the sense of fun or tongue in cheek that les baxter and martin denny had. 'ambient' subverts all listener expectations of beat, melody, resolution, climax etc.

have been of any assistance at all? i could go on and on

Well, you reinforced the article by mentioning Aphex Twin, as the article mentioned them (meaning those two sets of recordings), too.

I'm a big fan of ambient, but for some reason, most of Brian Eno bores me to tears. Eno deliberately composes "static" music -- music that doesn't change (much). I like some ebb and flow to my music.

Check out Pete Namlook and the Fax label.

So far, the genre is worthy of further investigation.

What is intriging to me is how this style can evoke the emotional states without all the classical elements of music.

Here are the ten essential records per Andy Dowling writing in The Absolute Sound:

Air: Moon Safari
Moby: Ambient
Boards of Canada: Music has the Right to Children
John Cage: In a Landscape*
Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works 85-92
Wm. Basinki: Disintegration Loops
David Bowie: Low
The Orb: Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld
Brian Eno: Ambient 1: Music for Airports*
Fripp and Eno: Equatorial Stars

* records I own now.


BTW, what format was the the quad "Sonic Seasonings?"

WH-- i own every one of those records, with exception of basinski and cage, and have listened to them all over and over again through the years. interesting to me that he places Moon Safari and Low in the list, as neither to me qualifies as ambient. Moon Safari is a superb piece of electronic pop that never fails to satisfy the sweet tooth for sugary sonics and haunting melodies. Low is Berlin-era Bowie, produced by Eno. Those two just kinda shacked up together in a studio in Berlin for a while and cut some fantastic records. Low is nascent electronica art rock.

to me, ambient music has elements deliberately left out, which can only be filled by the listener. the way those hollows are filled is what is responsible for the moods and emotions that are elicited by the best of the genre.

i am going to get the issue. oh, i am unsure of the quad format on the Sonic Seasonings pressing i own, and it would take me some doing to locate it, but i'll give it a shot

Greetings,
I have been a fan of Ambient music since the late 70's
and look forward to every Sunday evening, on one
local NPR radio station to tune into that airs
"HEARTS OF SPACE".It is a syndicated program
and airs across the country at 9:00 pm.
you can check this website to find the station in your local or you can Stream THIS weeks program
for free on their site.They have a fantastic Archive
section where you can access every program aired
since 1981,I think,If you become a subsciber for a
small monthly fee.There is so much stuff OUT THERE
that I would'nt know about if it was'nt for HOS!
I Highly recommend it !
ENO released several of the Ambient series,
If you like music for airports,check out-
Ambient 4/On ground.you can play them back to back and its seems like one piece.
I would not cosider LOW an ambient recording,
it is one of my all time favourites and Danceable
some cuts are layed back.
Also ENO released "ANOTHER DAY ON EARTH"
in 2005 after not putting anything out for over 10 years,I like it alot.
If you like Synth music,explore Jean michael Jarre!
great stuff,Oxygen or Equinox would be good starters
A cant say enough about "Hearts of space"
http://hos.com/
Let me know what you think?enjoy-Sluggo

Sluggo, I will hug a tree because of you. I just listened to Hyperborea this week radio transmission via stream. Thanks a million for the "Hearts of space" link.

I think the program changes tonight on the web site.
my computer speakers are Boston acoustic and sound
good,but I like the sound much better coming through
my Vintage analog NAD 4080 tuner hooked up to
my Dynaco A-25's with the YAGI antenna on my roof!
have you or anyone been able to find out your local
radio station its aired on???
Sluggo

I will try to find out which station and the time for next Sunday so I can use my tube tuner. I will hug a lot of trees!

Yeah, I thought Air was a little "what doesn't belong here?" in that list, too. The Bowie I understand, if you take out the vocal tracks. Perhaps All Saints would have been a better choice? ...as it is a collection of the instrumental tracks from that period...

i have music for airports on regular cd and love it.

at work i go to this web site and listen to ambient music.

http://www.radioio.com/radioioambient.php

Strange what they classify as "ambient". I have the "Boards of Canada" album - and I think of it as electronica or chilled beats instead of 'ambient'. The genre is so much more complex than that.

guys-- i read that article in TAS, and found it to be kinda 'ambient music 101' level, but nevertheless covered the high spots.

i thought of another recommend for anyone still tuned in: anything by Biosphere. oh my goodness, yes. check him out, for sure

I don't know that I'd call Boards of Canada ambient either, but they sure are good. I like their new album "Campfire Headphase" just as much as "Music Has the Right To Children." All good stuff.

I'd probably lump them together with Mogwai and M83 as Electronica or something, if I was asked.

Mogwai is electronica?