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Topic: Any MO fans into ambient music?, Just curious< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
ex member 892 Offline




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Posted: Nov. 17 2009, 21:06

Hi, I'm just wondering if there are any other MO fans that like ambient and/or experimental atmospheric music (and by ambient, I don't mean dance or new age music, I mean ambient in the traditional sense - like Brian Eno). I personally love Eno, and I'm really getting into the netlabel ambient scene. There's some wonderful stuff on some of these sites.
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larstangmark Offline




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Posted: Nov. 18 2009, 02:53

Main, Stars on the Lid, Ater, Pisces, Mystified, Asmus Tietchens and Silverman are names that I can think of at the top of my head. I find it difficult to overview this genre because there are so many artists doing so much music.
There's a prosperous "scene" on the internet and many quality artists put out their work free of charge. My main source for ambient music is the blog at http://www.elektrobong.com
I also make ambient music myself. Check it out at myspace.com/larstangmark

I never got into Eno's old records as I found them a bit too rudimentary and unengaging. Aphex Twin did some good stuff in the mid 90s, but to me it seems this genre has really blossomed in the last ten years.


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"There are twelve people in the world, the rest are paste"
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Dirk Star Offline




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Posted: Nov. 18 2009, 04:43

I went through a period during the early to mid 80`s where I was kind of heavily into Ambient stuff.So people like Eno,Harold Budd,Michael Brook, etc all those dudes on the old EG label I guess.The only one I really stuck with over the years though was Harold Budd,although I have caught up with some of Michael Brook`s albums recently.

As Larstangmark says I am kind of aware that Ambient music has grown over the last 10-15 years or so,although I have to confess I`m completely ignorant to all of those names mentioned there,Aphex Twin aside.I think what tends to happen with me is,is that I`ll go out with good intentions of kind of re-educating myself with some of the more recent ambient stuff.And then I somehow get kind of lured away by lounge/soundtrack and rare groove music etc.Which is probably more associated with the more  populist side of modern "ambient" I know,but that`s how it tends to go for me.I should probably check that blog out though,sounds good.

That said there are quite a few artists I like who have kind of flirted with ambient music to some degree or other.People like Jah Wobble,Bill Nelson,Amorphous Androgynous/FSOL,William Orbit,Bill Laswell.Most of those guys have been around for a good few years now though,so as I said I`m way behind the times.
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Scatterplot Offline




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Posted: Nov. 18 2009, 15:52

Eno bores me to death. I do acknowledge him as an electronics pioneer tho. "Miss Shapiro" on Manzanera's album Diamond Head is classic. A great example of both overdubbed guitars and vocals. "Listen Now" was another fine example. Eno did not sing on that one.
Jim


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ex member 892 Offline




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Posted: Nov. 18 2009, 18:29

Quote (Scatterplot @ Nov. 18 2009, 15:52)
Eno bores me to death. I do acknowledge him as an electronics pioneer tho.

I can't stand Music for Airports, but the second album in the Ambient series (The Plateaux of Mirror) is pretty cool. I quite often find myself drifting off to sleep when I listion to it though.  :zzz:
Does anybody know if Steve Roach is any good? I've heard a lot about him, but I haven't actually ever listened to him.
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Dirk Star Offline




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Posted: Nov. 19 2009, 03:10

Quote (Syd B @ Nov. 18 2009, 23:29)

Quote
but the second album in the Ambient series (The Plateaux of Mirror) is pretty cool.


Ah you see that`s because The Plateaux Of Mirror is more of a Harold Budd album than it is Brian Eno.Their second album together The Pearl recorded a few years later is even better imo.You should maybe check out Harold Budd if your a fan of that album,I`m sure you would like him.

I`m not a big fan of Eno either,but I think as Jim rightly says you`ve got to give him credit for being the great pioneer and innovator that he was.Plus as Jim also alludes to there as well,he`s a great collaborator.You know he brings out the best in other people,which in turn seems to bring out the best in himself I think.His albums with the likes of Robert Fripp,David Bryne and Harold Budd are testament to that imo.Mind you partly because of that he is pretty much to blame for the longevity of U2,so it ain`t all good news.

I do quite like Ambient 4 On Land though.And Another Green World has some good moments.Oh yeah and his brother Roger has recorded some good stuff,he`s a little bit under-rated imo.
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larstangmark Offline




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Posted: Nov. 19 2009, 09:15

Eno's music is packaged in such a way that it makes rock critics feel smart. Critics could never stand the stoner/hippy aspect of the early krautrock bands. Journalists have always been suckers for the type of lucturer/academic attitude that Eno uses. It makes them feel right at home.
Tangerine Dream's "Zeit" is often dismissed as boring. "Music for Airports" is seldom dismissed as boring because Eno had already explained why it is boring and that it's supposed to be boring. That's the thing with journalists; they need to have everything explained to them. To them it's never about the music - it's about the idea behind the music.


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"There are twelve people in the world, the rest are paste"
Mark E Smith
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Sir Mustapha Offline




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Posted: Nov. 19 2009, 09:34

Rock critics shouldn't be given credit anyway. Eno's music has that academic aspect to it because he IS academic. He defines himself as an anti-musician[/i]. His work is exactly about the idea behind the music, because he works far more often in the technical aspects of music. And yet, when he goes purely for the artistic aspect, he pulls off great (even amazing) records like Before and After Science, Another Green World, Another Day on Earth and the Byrne collaboration Everything That Happens Will Happen Today.

And to be honest, I prefer much more the technical/academic approach of Eno than the artistic self-righteous mumbo-jumbo of the likes of Tangerine Dream.


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larstangmark Offline




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Posted: Nov. 19 2009, 09:37

Quote (Sir Mustapha @ Nov. 19 2009, 09:34)
And to be honest, I prefer much more the technical/academic approach of Eno than the artistic self-righteous mumbo-jumbo of the likes of Tangerine Dream.

What? Mumbo jumbo is the shit!  :(

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ex member 892 Offline




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Posted: Nov. 20 2009, 16:12

Quote (Dirk Star @ Nov. 19 2009, 03:10)
Ah you see that`s because The Plateaux Of Mirror is more of a Harold Budd album than it is Brian Eno.Their second album together The Pearl recorded a few years later is even better imo.

Thanks, I'll check it out. If you like any of the poppier songs on Another Green World you might like Another Day on Earth. It's kind of an interesting album.
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Dirk Star Offline




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Posted: Nov. 20 2009, 22:02

Quote (Syd B @ Nov. 20 2009, 21:12)
Quote (Dirk Star @ Nov. 19 2009, 03:10)
Ah you see that`s because The Plateaux Of Mirror is more of a Harold Budd album than it is Brian Eno.Their second album together The Pearl recorded a few years later is even better imo.

Thanks, I'll check it out. If you like any of the poppier songs on Another Green World you might like Another Day on Earth. It's kind of an interesting album.

Yeah I remember when that came out, it did sound like it would be pretty good.Never got round to listening to it though..From Another Green World I really like St Elmo`s Fire.While I`ll Come Running starts off kind of cute,and then begins to grate by about the time the millionth verse comes around.You know you`re kind of left thinking..."For God`s sakes buy her a pair of slip-on`s" .
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ex member 419 Offline




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Posted: Nov. 21 2009, 00:46

Plenty of material to ponder on here. In a Zen state of mind, mmmm, must try ambient, but not in the car lol! Deb
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ex member 892 Offline




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Posted: Nov. 21 2009, 11:05

Quote (Sir Mustapha @ Nov. 19 2009, 09:34)
And to be honest, I prefer much more the technical/academic approach of Eno than the artistic self-righteous mumbo-jumbo of the likes of Tangerine Dream.

Who the heck is Tangerine Dream, anyway? I think I might have heard of them before, but I don't know anything about them. That's gotta be a candidate for silliest band name ever. And Dirk Star, Another Day On Earth is pretty cool. You should really check it out.
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ex member 892 Offline




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Posted: Nov. 21 2009, 16:58

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention some of the netlabels I get music from. For really out there, avant-garde craziness I go to TLHOTRA (which stands for Two Left Hands On Two Right Arms lol). Some of the stuff on there - uh, I'm not sure if you could actually call it music. But there is some interesting stuff, so check it out. For more conventional ambient/electronica, I frequent Archaic Horizon. There's a very strange netlabel called Aerotone, and finally I recommend Serein, which is no longer a free netlabel, but is actually my fav.
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Scatterplot Offline




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Posted: Nov. 22 2009, 02:41

"Who the heck is Tangerine Dream, anyway?"

    Actually I think it's a cool name. Tangerine Dream was/is a group of German Synthesizer buffs who made synth albums from the early 70's to the present. Some of their early stuff was quite boring. But as technology progressed, so did they. They have done some FINE soundtracks for movies such as Firestarter and The Bounty. I like them a lot for certain albums, but their body of music is large, some very boring, much of it I dismiss. "Melrose" was very good as was "Force Majeur". If you like MO you will like some of their material. Its not unlike Vangelis or Synergy. You should check out their offerings and see which ones you like.
Jim


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nightspore Offline




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Posted: Nov. 22 2009, 03:27

The name "tangerine dream" comes from the Beatles' song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (a song I think much more effective, incidentally, in Elton John's imaginative version).

As for ambient: not really a fan, although given an appropriate background it can be quite mood-enriching. I remember accidentally listening to Fripp and Eno's "An Index of Metals" while driving along a lonely strip of coast road a few hundred kilometres from anywhere. There was a sandstorm "white out", and the swirling really seemed to fit with the music.
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nightspore Offline




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Posted: Nov. 22 2009, 03:32

PS At least that's the story of the name according to one source. But of course, it's a mishearing of the phrase "tangerine trees".
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ommaGeddon Offline




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Posted: Nov. 22 2009, 05:19

I’m into ambient big time but I always felt that Eno’s ideas were always better than his actual music. A bit like John Cage, really… ;)

And I love the name Tangerine Dream. Phaedra and Rubycon are their albums for me. I think they went a bit wishy-washy after that!  

I really love Harold Budd’s stuff: Lovely Thunder, The Room and Luxa. Gypsy Violin from Lovely Thunder is absolutely gorgeous!!!

Also like Ashra’s New Age Of Earth album. This was done years before the term ‘New Age’ was coined so don’t let the name put you off if you haven’t heard it – wonderful album!

Kontinuum and Mirage by Klaus Schulze are also wonderfully minimal.

I really like Kit Watkins too. Most of his albums are really interesting but Music For The End and SkyZone are also very ambient.

I also rate some of those groove-ambient guys like Ulrich Schnauss (A Strangely Isolated Place and Goodbye), Jan Jelinek (Loop Finding Jazz Records), Jon Hopkins (Opalescent and Contact Note), Patrick O’ Hearn (Metaphor and Slow Time), and Boards Of Canada (Music Has The Right To Children).

For experimental ambient, I highly rate Cluster 71 by Cluster (or was it Kluster? I can’t remember which version of the group it was).

Haven’t heard any Steve Roach, though. Will have to check him out…
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Dirk Star Offline




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Posted: Nov. 22 2009, 05:42

Quote (ommaGeddon @ Nov. 22 2009, 10:19)

Quote
I really love Harold Budd’s stuff: Lovely Thunder, The Room and Luxa. Gypsy Violin from Lovely Thunder is absolutely gorgeous!!!


Great stuff,I think those would have been the first three albums that I would have mentioned also.That said his whole discography is jam packed with some absolute gems.And like Eno,Budd is also a great collaborator imo.Drift Music with John Foxx(who himself has done some pretty cool ambient stuff now) The Moon And The Melodies with The Cocteau Twins.Through The Hill with Andy Partridge.And best of all for me By The Dawn`s Early Light which heavily features Bill Nelson.

Of some of the other stuff you mentioned I have both of those Ulrich Schnauss albums,which I listen to quite regurlarly.
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ommaGeddon Offline




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Posted: Nov. 22 2009, 06:46

Ah, I’ll have to check out By The Dawn’s Early Light. I saw it on Amazon a while back but was a bit put off when I heard there was poetry on it (I tend to like my ambient music purely instrumental).
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