Free ambient music sites and sounds are becoming increasing popular over the last few years with professional quality music being released by online web labels every day. There are plenty of online ambient radio stations but what about free downloads we can all use and copy to our mp3 player of choice for listening offline ?
While I make use of online pay per download sites such as ITunes, Beatport and online CD retailers, when my wallet is feeling light I head over to some of my favorite free music sites. Here I list some of my favorite free ambient music download resources for you to enjoy. These free album download sites often have links to other similar services so I should warn you now - you may find yourself spending all day on these sights !
There is a huge collection of sounds as free mp3s on offer here so be sure to check them out and bookmark them for future reference.
1. Ektoplazm
Ektoplazm.com is a must visit for any fan of psychedelic ambient music. Founder Dj Banasilisk created Ektoplazm as a storehouse for free psychedelic trance music. His online free music distribution formula proved so popular that it has now been expanded to include techno and an excellent collection of psychedelic ambient music including ambient, chillout, dub, downtempo and psybient styles.
The site also contains monthly download rankings so you can get a good idea of what is currently popular with listeners around the world.
2. Last.fm
Last.fm is well known as a site where people can listen to music online and connect with other like minded individuals. You can see what an artist's most popular songs are and also see what artists might be similar to your favorite musicians, opening the doors for new listening experiences. Surprisingly,. not a lot of people seem to know that Last.fm also offers a significant number of free downloads.
If you Google "Free ambient music last.fm" you'll get the link to 67 pages of free ambient music at the last.fm website ! Or simply follow this link.
Free full album music downloads and sharing the love is what Earth Mantra is all about. The site has many ambient albums all available for free download ( for non-commericial use ). The EM site puts a lot of effort into assuring the music thy release is of the highest quality and you will find close to 200 free ambient albums released in high quality 320 kbps Mp3s or FLAC files. Great stuff !
4. Slient Flow
Silent Flow is a netlabel based in Chisinau, Moldova and was founded in 2009. For a relatively new label they have a good amount of free ambient music on offer. Apart from popular ambient music styles the label also has a catalog of more experimental and sound-scape music on offer so there is something for all fans of free ambient music downloads to discover.
5. Bump Foot
Bump Foot is a netlabel based in Japan. They have an ambient spin-off called Bump Side which you can access through the main Bump Foot website. Close to 200 ambient electonica albums on offer and some real gems to be found amongst them.
Although no longer releasing new music, 17 Sons did manage to release an enormous amount of free music during their active release period. Luckily for ambient music lovers, all the music is still available for free download. Lots of ambient, drone and experimental music on offer.
7. Stadtgruen
Like 17 Sons , Stadtgruen no longer releases new music but has left behind a tasty collection of free ambient music for us all to enjoy. Running a net label must be a time consuming past time ( much like a music blog .... haha ) so I can sympathize with these guys when they feel they can no longer carry on due to time constraints. But let's not dwell on the past and celebrate what is on offer here - great chillout and ambient music.
With currently 209 ambient, drone and electroacoustic albums on offer, Webbed Hand is a must visit for you deep ambient music listeners out there. This is one netlabel that is still going strong with their latest album released just last week I believe. Free music to download at it's finest. Great site.
9. Aventuel
Here you will find atmospheric, meditative, chillout, instrumental, neo-classic, new Age and soundtrack music in a well organised and easy to navigate site. The site offers both an english and french language version.
10. Zimmer Records
The site looks very familiar ! I think they use the same blog template as me haha ! Zimmer Records has been around for years and years and have collected an impressive amount of quality ambient music. Not only will you spend days going through their back catalog they also have a link to a further 90 of their own favorite netlabels for you to support ! May I suggest a pot of coffee ...
You like it dark ? This site offers dark ambient that is so dark even the light bits and dark ! They only have a handful of releases on offer but some of you dark dronesters might get a kick out it. Hopefully we can see some more releases from them in the future.
12. Id.Eology
Excellent site this one. Apart from a number of fantastic ambient albums the guys at Id.E have their finger on the pulse of the ambient dub, dubstep and ambient electronica community as well. One of the best free music download sites I've come across.
Homework is a Russian based netlabel that focuses on IDM, ambient, experiemental, downtempo and minimal music. I've unearthed a number of top albums here that I am still listening to so I heartily recommend a visit.
14. Ouim
Ouim.net is a netlabel with a focus of ambient, electro, techno and trance. Listeners of this blog my be familiar with a number of the artist who have released free music through these guys including Kliment, Synthetic and Maharishi. Another well designed site that is a pleasure to visit for free chillout sessions.
15. Kahvi Collective
Another site that I've used in psyamb mixes in the past in Kahvi Collective. This site is a little difficult to search through ( there is no direct search option ) however you can select the "List All Releases" link and scroll down to find those marked as ambient / IDM etc. Excellent resource for people into ambient music and more.
16. Jamendo
One of the largest collections of free music available on the planet, Jamendo has grown from humble beginnings into an online sounds megasite that is now hosts approximately 340,00 free songs ( including over 5000 albums tagged as ambient ) and close to 50,000 Facebook fans ! If you can't find something you like here chances are you need to see your ear doctor.
Well that's probably enough for now. As I remember more I'll post them here. I was considering adding some free ambient music loops,royalty free stuff etc to the list but I think I'll save those for another post in the future. If you know of any good free ambient music sites with albums for download post a comment below and share the vibes or shoot me an email and I'll add to the list. Happy listening !
> You might also like this Best Ambient Music post