Ambient Music Mix Download - PsyAmb 43
Today's mix is the third in the minimal ambient mix downloads. This one kicks of with ISHQ's track "El Morya" which you can find on Celestial Dragon Recordings "Portals Of Perceptions" release from 2005. An excellent compilation overall. This was the closing track and plays out over are rather delightful 12 minutes ! I haven't included the entire 12 minutes in this mix so check out the track at CDRs if you want to enjoy some more listening time. ISHQ is brilliant so definitely check out their work if you have yet to do so - I don't think I've ever heard a bad tune from them.
Next we have "Sound of Silence" by "Pallers" from their recent debut album "The Sea Of Memories". The release took three years to compile as members Johan Angergård and Henrik Mårtensson traveled the globe finding inspiration where they went. The result is a real gem of a release that deserves all the high praise is will garner over the years to come.Both members come from the same small town in the south of Sweden, Åhus, and have known each other half their lives. One member has a love for ambient, trip hop and electronica while the other is deeply involved in the world of pop. Pallers combine these seemingly tricky components with such ease it almost seems effortless – turning it into something new - something of their very own. A must buy for any fans of of textural soundscapes and evolving melodies.
The third tune in this mix comes from "Lemongrass" ( Roland Voss ) via his 2011 release "Sirius", a mix of ambient, downtempo, chillout and future jazz styles. Roland has been making music for about three decades now. He made his start in the 1970s as a drummer in various bands and has continued making music ever since, becoming one of Germany's most prolific electronic music recording artists. With his brother, Roland manages record label "Lemongrass Music" which they established in 2005 as a way of releasing their own music and that of other artists they both enjoy. They label certainly has been busy with close to 20 releases this year and growing ! Here is a good interview with Roland from back in 2004.
"Maps and Diagrams" is the brainchild of Tim Martin, a highly esteemed ambient music producer who has released on a number of leading labels such as Handstitched ( his own label ), Expanding, Static Caravan and more.This track, "Fragments Of a Former Moon" comes from the Fluid Audio release "Cubiculo" of 2010. This was an exclusive mini release for Fluid Audio comprising of four tracks if I remember rightly. It is a tasty little release as it succinctly highlights what the Maps and Diagrams sounds is all about - wonderfully beautiful looping dreamscapes with infinite possibilities.After Tim is a track from an artists I just recently discovered - Hummingbird. The album "Our Fearful Symmetry" from which this track comes is best described in the words of one reviewer as "an album of incredible poise, precision and elegance". Personally I found the album to be tinged with melancholia which makes for great listening on those bleak wintry days. You might struggle to find a copy these days as the album was limited to just 100 copies but you could try a used copy from Discogs but be prepared - it won't be cheap as I well discovered !
Next up is Sattyananda, a.k.a Nikhel Kumar Mahajan, with a lovely bit of ambient Indian music from his 2006 release "Internal Activities" of 2006 on DadA music. In 2005 Nikhel conceptualized an album Vande Mataram - which showcased Indian Electronica at its best. The CD was launched by Music Today. Following which he put all his energy into forming India's first electronic label, DadA Music. He went into the studio in the winter of 2005-06 and composed, produced and arranged 'Internal Activities'. He has skillfully incorporated traditional Indian Classical Instruments in the compositions whereby creating a timeless journey into the inner-self. I feel this album was overlooked somewhat by the psychill/psybient crowd who I think would get a real kick out of it. The DadA music website seems to be down these days so you might have to check out places like Psyshop or SaikoSounds if you want to pick up a copy.
Not to be confused with the Jaia of goatrance fame, Jaja ( not the second j ) is the work of German artist Jana Rockstroth. this track comes from the free to download album "OUM". This was released through Cyan Music, the German label, not the Australian Cyan Music that is an offshoot of Psy-Harmonics ! Pretty cool release if you ask me. Grab it now over at Cyan netlabel.
Next we have a couple of big names in the ambient and electronic music scenes - Carbon Based Lifeforms, Thomas Fehlmann, Brian Eno, Aes Dana and Vibrasphere,.These are all artists that get a fair amount of track time here at PsyAmb so for the sake of keeping this post short and not boring you all I suggest checking them all out if you have yet to do so. Quite frankly they are all essential listening and defined the past present and future of ambient and psychill music in their own ways.
So let's fast forward through the mix to "Cipher" . This tunes comes from the CD "No Ordinary Man" released in 2003 on "Hidden Art". Cipher - originally formed in 1996 to compose a soundtrack to Alfred Hitchcock's silent classic 'The Lodger' - is the combination of the two well established artists, Theo Travis and Dave Sturt. Theo is well known for his work with the likes of Porcupine Tree and Gong ( awesome group !) , Dave is a long time producer and member of Jade Warrior. These two guys have done so much work over the years across so many projects that it's impossible to list it all here. For a quick run down try the Cipher website. This album I can't recommend enough. I listened to it for hours on end back in the day when it was released. Absolutely sublime music.If you like your ambient music with a bit of a moody feel that wraps you up in a warm aural blanket then look no further. "Stars Of The Lid" with their track "A Meaningful Moment Through a Meaning(less) Process" and the "Hammock" tune "Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow" must be two of the most amazing pieces of ambient music ever produced You can listen to both tracks on YouTube so check them out and see what I mean. The albums that both the tracks come from are absolute classics in the genre and should not be missed.
We wrap up to do with the short and sweet "Neil's Theme" from Robin Guthrie and Harold Budd. This comes from the soundtrack to the movie "Mysterious Skin" in which a teenage hustler and a young man obsessed with alien abductions cross paths, together discovering a horrible, liberating truth. A worthwhile film with some excellent performances by Brady Corbet and Joseph Gorden.
Well that's it for this mix. I hope you enjoy listening to it. I've been listening to it while writing this post actually and I'm enjoying it more each time. This is just the third mix in the ambient music downloads series so if you haven't caught the other ones check the links below or go to the mp3 mix downloads archive from the link on the right page. See you all next time and have a relaxing, ghostly halloween weekend.
Track / Artist
- 01. El Morya - Ishq
- 02. Sound Of Silence - Pallers
- 03. Nibiru - Lemongrass
- 04. Fragments of a Former Moon - Maps and Diagrams
- 05. Defining Space - Hummingbird
- 06. Space Fields - Sattyananda
- 07. Oxygen - Jaja
- 08. System - Carbon Based Lifeforms
- 09. In The Wind - Thomas Fehlmann
- 10. Complex Heaven - Brian Eno
- 11. Currents - Aes Dana
- 12. Aguas Calientes - Vibrasphere
- 13. Dusk - Cipher
- 14. A Meaningful Moment Through a Meaningless Process - Stars of the Lid
- 15. Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow - Hammock
- 16. Neil's Theme - Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd
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Top 10 most relaxing songs
What are the the best relaxing songs ? Neuroscience research group "MindLab International" are in the business of finding out why we react the way we do to certain stimuli. A recent research project of theirs was the compilation of the world's top 10 most relaxing songs. The study was commissioned by a British manufacturer of spa and relaxation products so there was a big commercial intent aiming at the viral video market behind all this.
Anyway, what is most pleasing about the findings is that topping the list is one of my favorite bands - Manchester's Marconi Union with the most relaxing song ever.
Carefully arranged harmonies, rhythms and bass lines help to slow the heart rate, reduce blood pressure and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Marconi Union worked with sound therapists to create the best of the relaxing song, which also slows breathing and reduces brain activity. Researchers played the song to 40 women and found it to be more effective at helping them relax than songs by Enya, Mozart and Coldplay . I never found those three that relaxing anyway. If anything, listening to Coldplay usually induced stress ! Studies found Marconi Union's tune "Weightless" was approximately 11% more relaxing than any other song and even made many of the women "drowsy" in the lab.
Dr David Lewis-Hodgson, from Mindlab International, said: "The results clearly show that the track induced the greatest relaxation - higher than any of the other music tested.
"Brain imaging studies have shown that music works at a very deep level within the brain, stimulating not only those regions responsible for processing sound but also ones associated with emotions.
"In fact, Weightless was so effective, many women became drowsy and I would advise against driving while listening to the song because it could be dangerous."
Richard Talbot, from Marconi Union, said: "It was fascinating working with a therapist to learn how and why certain sounds affect people's mood.
"I always knew the power of music but we have previously written using gut feeling."
Here are the top ten most relaxing songs that came about as a result of the research conducted by Mindlab. Click on the track to follow a YouTube link to each song. There are some decidedly pop flavored tunes here. It would be interesting to know what the team's exact listening pool was in the first place but I guess we'll never know. Now keep in mind this a list made by scientists, not necessarily lovers of modern electronic chill music ( they include the most relaxing classical music in the list ) so keep an open mind here.
1. Marconi Union - Weightless
2. Airstream - Electra
3. DJ Shah - Mellomaniac (Chill Out Mix)
4. Enya - Watermark
5. Coldplay - Strawberry Swing
6. Barcelona - Please Don't Go
7. All Saints - Pure Shores 8
8. Adele - Someone Like You
9. Mozart - Canzonetta Sull'aria
10. Cafe Del Mar - We Can Fly
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3D Psychedelic Art
Continuing with our psychedelic art series, today I have another interesting psychedelically inspired artist that recently caught my eye. Based in Miami, mixed media artist Jen Stark has created a series of wonderful, swirling, psychedelic art sculptures using colored paper. This is some cool visionary art. These creations must take forever to create. They would make for great 3D psychedelic wall art I think. Apart from creating these incredible sculptures Jen is also a talented drawer and video producer. To see more of her work and other psychedelic pictures visit her website.
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What is ambient music ?
What is ambient music ? A friend of mind asked me this question the other day and it struck me as odd that I couldn't find a definition that I found satisfactory for my own mind. In other words, I wasn't happy because I found myself saying "it's this ...but it's also this...it's not this nor this but then again it could be if ... ". So I've decided to open this question up to all psyamb listeners ... what is your own definition of ambient music ?Is it , as one of the most recognized of ambient artists Brian Eno said, music that can be either "actively listened to with attention or as easily ignored, depending on the choice of the listener", and that exists on the "cusp between melody and texture" ? I kind of like this definition myself. That line "cusp between melody and texture" evokes an ambient music feel.
With so many sub-genres of ambient music these days including dark ambient, illbient, ambient techno, ambient house, isolational, nature ambient and organic soundscapes is it even possible to come up with an overall answer for what is ambient music ? Drop a comment below and let me know what you think.
Favourite Halloween Flicks
With Halloween just around the corner, here are my top three favourite Halloween flicks:
Practical Magic
The Craft
little known fact: when I was young my friends and I actually tried the "light as a feather, stiff as a board" levitating trick... it didn't work!
I can't stand tons of blood and gore I always got nightmares from the super scary flicks. Growing up these three were some of my fav's. So what are some of your favourite Halloween flicks?
Hocus Pocus
one of my favourite things about this movie has got to be the Victorian house they used to film in
and the local herbal remedies store that Sandra Bullock's character owns and runs is amazing...I always wanted to have my own store just like this!
here is one of my favourite scenes from the movie...
I can't stand tons of blood and gore I always got nightmares from the super scary flicks. Growing up these three were some of my fav's. So what are some of your favourite Halloween flicks?
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