This week I've decided to try something a little different here at PsyAmb. Regular visitors to this site will know that I do love my beats and bass when it comes to psybient music. However, I also appreciate all the quality beatless ambient music being produced by the many fine artists within the psychedelic ambient music scene. With that in mind I present to you here a very chilled out selection of deep ambience that's lights on the percussion.
The opening track is from one of my favorite releases of last year - "Tokyo" by "Marconi Union" . Marconi Union are Richard Talbot and James Crossley, a British musical duo with strong links to the Manchester based DOTCA arts collective. They are notable for incorporating elements of electronica, ambient, jazz and dub into their music, and a tendency to make records that are conceptually-based. Frequent comparisons are drawn between Marconi Union and bands such as Talk Talk, Sigur Rós and Boards of Canada."Pan Electric" is next with the track "A Winter's Walk". This is a great tune from the excellent "Conscious Pilot" album of 2007. Pan Electric is one man audio magician Matt Coldrick from the U.K. Matt was featured in a previous episode of PsyAmb ( Episode 14 ). Check it out for more info and tunes from this highly regarded artist. I also recommend stopping by the label Matt operates called "Absolute Ambient".
Following on from Pan Electric is a tune from one of my all-time favorite CDs. "Slim Westerns Vol I & II" by the group "A Small, Good Thing". It plays out as a soundtrack to an imaginable western - think of Ennio Morricone mixed with Brian Eno and throw in Clint Eastwood on a desolate landscape - tremendous ! Band member Andrew Hume is also a member of "O Yuki Conjugate" - another of my favorite ambient groups.
Next we have "Objekt4" from the CD "Space Jungle Slums" released through "Ajana Records" in 2007. Objekt4 (pronounced "Objective" because 4 = IV in roman numerals ) is the industrial, dark ambient band created by Anders Peterson in 2003 with the aim of expanding cinematic sound design into music. I'm not sure in Objeckt4 is still around though. I remember he released a notice a few years ago saying that he has put the project to rest. However he has so many aliases it can be difficult to keep track of him. Anyway, everything he touches is gold and well worth looking into if you like your ambient a bit on the dark side. This CD can be found at "Ajana Records" along with many great psychedelic ambient records.
Track four in the mix is from Australian music legend "Gus Till". Active as a musician/producer and DJ since the Punk days of the 70's in Melbourne Australia. The keyboard player for many pop groups (Beargarden and The Models) and was part of Michael Hutchences ( INXS ) 'Max Q' project before forming "Third Eye" with fellow Australian Ollie Olsen. He was also a member of 'The Ears' upon which the infamous 'Dogs in Space' film was based. Towards the end of the 80's he recorded a project with Bono and Edge from U2 and Todd Terry. This period saw shifts to New York and Paris for 3 years before finally settling in London. During this period he worked with and remixed African Jazz/Soul legend Manu Dibango, Nina Hagen, Jamiroquai, producer Youth (for who he was his in-house engineer at Butterfly studios) amongst others. Gus is well known in the psychedelic music scene through his work with projects like Bus , Turban Block and Zen Lemonade and Slinky Wizard. This tune comes from the ambient compilation "Wabi" released through once defunct now reborn ( as a donation based net-label ) "Flying Rhino Records". The Rhinos are doing an amazing thing here - a lot of their back catalog is now available for download with PayPal donation going to help starving children of Goa , India.Circular is a Norwegian band who found themselves a nice home on "Ultimae Records" after a few releases on various labels. Their CD on Ultime is called "Substans" and is an absolute beauty ! This track comes from Cirular's early days - a 2001 "Interchill Records" release called "Flotation". Much like "Wabi" , this was another CD I played to death.
Following Circular is ambient superstar "ISHQ" with a track from the highly acclaimed album "Orchid". ISHQ's members , Matt Hillier and Jacqueline Kersley, are based in the UK and have been making music since about 1995 under various guises including 'Indigo egg , Ishvara , Elve and a few other alter egos. Matt and Jacqueline also run ' Virtual ' a limited edition cd label which releases their more experimental soundscape music and other studio works. Orchid is an amazing piece of art. A true meditative masterpiece that should be in the collection of all lovers of ambient music.
Next we have Italian duo "Aqua dorsa" and a track from "Zaum Vol 1" CD released through Irish label "Psychonavigation Records". The CD is a mix of pure ambient and some more up beat driven tunes. A pretty solid release overall. The group involves "Enrico Coniglio" and "Gianluigi Gasparetti" a.k.a "Oophoi". This track can also be found on their debut albumn "Cloudlands".
"System 7" , gods of psychedelic techno and chillout step up with a track from "Point 3 - Water Album". "Steve Hillage" and "Miquette Giraudy", both members of space jazz eclectic rockers "Gong", formed System 7 after hearing the likes of The Orb playing Hillage's 1979 ambient record "Rainbow Dome Musick". They soon became part of the underground dance scene in London. Hillage released a number of solo prog space rock albums from as early as 1975 with quite a number of them charting in the UK top 50. The second solo album , simply titled "L" went as high at top 10. While Hillage and Giraudy form the core of System 7, it is more of an extended collaboratory project with artists such as Carl Craig, Laurent Garnier, Derrick May, Alex Paterson (of The Orb), and Youth. Unusually for an ambient/dance band, System 7 makes extensive use of Hillage's guitars. Hillage and Giraudy have also launched a spin-off project called "Mirror System", which they describe as "the new vehicle for developing the chilled & downtempo dimensions of our music". They have also worked under the name Groovy Intent.Next up is "Sync24" with the track Hibernation. This comes from the "Chillogram" compilation released by one of my favorite labels, "Peak Records". Peak Records have loads of excellent psychill artists on their roster at the moment and don't look like slowing down. Synch24 is part of the Ultimae Records juggernaut and also a member of the much loved "Carbon Based Lifeforms".
"P.Laoss" featured in the episode 21 of PsyAmb with his minimal dubby ambiance. This time we have an ever more stripped back tune , once again from his "Landscapes and Machines" CD.
After that is composer and musician "Clint Mansell" with a tune from the soundtrack to "The Fountain". Beautiful music that sends your body off floating into the ether of imaginary fields. I was very surprised to discover that Clint was the lead singer of "Pop Will Eat Itself" back in the mid 80s to mid 90s. Good to see he is still producing the goods. This is about as far removed from PWEI as you can get ! The movie is awesome too ! He has also done soundtracks for "Requiem for a Dream" and "Pi". Pi had a brilliant soundtrack too - all those frenetic industrial scrapes and drum and bass beats.
Following Clint we have a tune from "Nick Doof ( aka Nick Barber aka Doof )". Nick has been around the psychedelic music scene since the early 90s. Nick is also one third of Vatos Locos,along with Celli Firmi and Xavier Fux,and half of one of my dub favs - Third Ear Audio with Celli Firmi. Apart from an extensive catalogue of electronic music under his belt, Nick also released a collection of songs in a more traditional folk / vocal style called "Clear Blue Sky" . It's surprising quite good too - very smooth and relaxing. This tune comes from Tip Worlds great "Twelve" compilation of some years back.Canadian duo "Drift" are next with the tune "Frog" from the compilation "Northern Circuits". Drift comprises of talented multi instrumentalist and electronic producer "Adahm Shaik" and guitarist Tim Floyd. If you can track down their self titled debut album , don't hesitate to part with the cash - its awe-inspiring. Long and smooth guitar tinged rivers of ethno-dub ambiance .
"Sister Bliss" by "Ganja Beats" is a lovely little tune featuring some wonderful gliding vocal chants . Ganja Beats is the name used by the very prolific artist Jake Stephensen. Jack was known for running the Kinetix label, but also for making music as Shamanic Tribes On Acid, Alien Mutation, Dr. Psychedelic, Mantra, Crystal Moon (together with Ishq), Bass Meditation, Mind Control, Eyetek, Whitestar and off course Optica and Optic Eye. Jake tragically died back in 2005 at the age of 42, right after he had completed the album this tune comes from , "Paradise & Tranquility".
The final track for this week is another tune from "Matt Coldrick". This time from his CD "Music For A Busy Head" which is a well loved favorite of mine. Once again , check out the "Absoulte Ambient" website for more info. You can also sign up to the Absolute Ambient newsletter there so you can keep up to date with future releases from this excellent label.
That's it for this week. Hope you all enjoy this ambient music mix - its a nice change I think. Something that can play out in the background while you go about your daily activities. 8)
Artist - Track
- 01. Marconi Union - Lost In Neon
- 02. Pan Electric - A Winters Walk
- 03. A Small, Good Thing - Cropduster
- 04. Objekt 4 - Time to Die
- 05. Gus Till - Bermuda
- 06. Circular - Drifting
- 07. Ishq - Essene
- 08. Aqua Dorsa - Daylight Fading Into Evening Silence
- 09. System 7 - Sirenes (Tranquility Mix)
- 10. Sync24 - Hibernation
- 11. P. Laoss - Landscapes and Machines pt 2
- 12. Clint Mansell - Xibalba
- 13. Nick Doof - Ab ( A flat )
- 14. Drift - Frog
- 15. Ganja Beats - Sister Bliss
- 16. Matt Coldrick - Heart Green Contentment
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