Best products from r/ambientmusic

I can tell you this right now, I recommend AGAINST the Aphex SAW II reissue you can find easily right now. It's the CD hastily transferred to wax, and it shows. It lacks the love and care that good vinyl has. Doesn't stop me from listening to it frequently, but man... it's a bummer.

But some recommendations include:

65daysofstatic - No Man's Sky (Soundtrack) 4xLP This is a post rock soundtrack to the video game that's fairly ambient, and the last 2 discs are procedurally generated ambient music that's super great, a bit hectic at times, but great to study/work to.

Disaserpeace - FEZ (Soundtrack) Another game soundtrack, but more akin to something like Boards of Canada. Gorgeous, massive, warm synths enveloping you in this crisp lo-fi goodness. It lulls me into a fugue state every time I hear it, as does the game, which is gorgeous.

[Stars of the Lid - Avec Laudenum] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RPiFJBXhdI) YouTube link for this one, as I can't find a great link for buying it (Amazon redirects the Vinyl to some other entirely different thing). The best short album from Stars of the Lid. More literally ambient than BoC or Aphex, but gorgeous all the same. I love my copy of Avec Laudenum, and I recently picked up a copy of Tired Sounds Of, which is frequently described as their best, and I love both. Super clean pressings, gorgeous music. I want to pick up the other 2 hour long album of theirs, but I can't justify another $40 vinyl purchase.


Mike and Rich - Expert Knob Twiddlers Hey, what if Aphex Twin and Mike Paradinas from µ-ziq got drunk and recorded an album together? What you get is the track Vodka, and from that night and recording they decided to make a whole album. It dives in and out of ambient and atmospheric, and into Aphex's more acid side, and also some goofy shit, and it makes for some interesting listening.

Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - A Year With 13 Moons I bought this vinyl directly from the artists hand. He performed in a gallery space at my college. Jefre is an easy introduction to noise music. Gorgeous drones, beautiful textures, and it sounds like a hard drive is dying on top of it all. His process of recording is interesting: he plays guitar live, to the recording, and also to a tape recorder. The tape recorder then pitches it up a few octaves, and stacks all previous layers on top. Meaning every part of the music you hear is building and building to this glorious droning glitchy dreamy tone.

Christopher Willits - Opening Opening is the soundtrack to a short film I haven't seen, nor do I care to. Supposedly it's of nature shots and it's supposed to be a "abstract narrative speaking to personal transformation and connection to the earth". Kinda like Koyaanisqatsi, but without Philip Glass. Featuring Scott Hansen (Tycho, before Tycho got additional members), this is like a Tycho album if you were to make it more ambient. Synths take the foreground here, and while there are drums and guitars, they are footnotes in the background.


Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A# (Infinity) I end this list with the most out of left field recommendation I can think of: Godspeed You! Black Emperor. A loud post rock band out of Montreal, their debut album, F#A# Infinity is so named because it was first only released on vinyl. All songs by GY!BE are long, and last at the bare minimum 10 minutes, frequently spanning entire sides (though in reality are composed of smaller movements, each with their own name). F#A# has 2 side spanning songs. One in F#, and one in A#. And the second song never ends. The record ends on a locked groove, repeating this dark, moody drone over and over until you lift the needle. GY!BE aren't for everybody, and they definitely fall in the post rock category more than ambient, but F#A# is definitely more ambient than their other releases. Sustained violin strings and a bass guitar being bowed over two drummers, strange tape loops, and eerie synths, made to sound like the biblical apocalypse. If want to feel like you, or the world around you is dying, GY!BE can put you in that apocalyptic tone. I was fortunate to see them live, while studying abroad in Montreal, debuting a interpretive dance show (that had been performed once, set to a recording rather than live music, in 2008), called Monumental, and it's a show I can honestly say, without hyperbole or exaggeration is life changing. Also, the digital versions of F#A# contain an extra 20 minutes, so try out both versions.

Early 90s. I was exploring all sorts of electronic stuff, at the time mostly industrial and early rave/acid house. I came across a couple tracks on Skinny Puppy's 'Cleanse Fold and Manipulate': The first half or so of 'Draining Faces' and all of 'The Mourn'. Basically beatless, sample-heavy soundscapes, would definitely be classified as dark ambient these days. I wanted to hear more like this. I somehow ended up on Aphex Twin's 'Selected Ambient Works Volume II'. This one led me to all the electronic ambient stuff released throughout the 90s: The Instinct Ambient and FAX labels, some of Future Sound of London's stuff, compilations like the Excursions in Ambience series. Throughout the 90s I would amass a fairly large ambient collection, mostly of the electronic variety. Then, in the early 2000s, I discovered David Toop's book 'Oceans of Sound: Aether Talk, Ambient Sound, and Imaginary Worlds'. If you have an interest in ambient music/sound, I highly, highly recommend this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Ocean-Sound-David-Toop/dp/1852427434

This opened up whole other worlds of music for me to explore.

edit: the punctuations, the words.

Love. Beautiful album. Reminded me that I hadn't looked for new material for awhile. He released an album (N-Plant) in 2011 (first new material since 2006). Just bought it and enjoying the first track a lot.

I pre-ordered the hardcover book on amazon for $25 bucks but the image they used was of the standard edition. Is there a chance I am going to get the standard edition?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RG2XJNM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

VS

https://shop.udiscovermusic.com/collections/brian-eno

Edit: I think I may have gotten really lucky, we will have to find out when it finally comes to my door

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Title | Hypnotic Meditation "Drone-Scape" Chords for Contentment/Relaxation
Description | Want some really hypnotizing sounds for deep meditation or chill time? Give this music by Kevin MacLeod a burl. It's just beautiful and haunting. As there are not many changes within it, it's perfect. No sudden changes, just smooth flowing chords and occasional cow bell. For shorter, powerful version. visit here: http://youtu.be/h4nAmzoEl2k For same version with binaural beats, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eb-lD3winXM Music By Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Crea...
Length | 1:03:26


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Title | Arctica - Annuminas (Ambient, Dark Ambient, Field Recordings, Drone) [2014]
Description | Listen full album on Spotify: https://play.spotify.com/album/280mlvHB02ifN4J6CCAeSP Listen full album on Bandcamp: https://gv-sound.bandcamp.com/album/annuminas Download album on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/annuminas/id883101100 Download on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L4LXX3U?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0 Also you can buy Annuminas (Extended Edition): https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/annuminas/id1193251853 Artist page on Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/artist...
Length | 0:59:51






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