I decided to do a quick rundown of some albums that have really hit me right recently. Some of these are truly “new” and others are simply “new to me”. These are all at least vaguely under the term “ambient”, although a couple don’t quite fit the ambient definition so well. Oh – my personal definition of ambient is music equally at home in the foreground as in the background, with or without beats. I also love minimal techno and that tends to get rolled into my favorites as well, but not so much in this list.

This will have to be a “volume 1″ as I didn’t hit all of the artists and releases that I’ve been spinning a lot the last couple of months. Some are free netlabel releases, and some are commercial releases.

adamned.age – whiteout – Label: PublicSpaces Lab

Hanne Adam has written a wonderful album with “whiteout”. It’s gentle minimal beats, static pops, flowing rhythms, bell melodies, interweaving lines… it’s an album I connected with on the first listen and it only grew stronger over time. This album caused me to seek out more of her music, discover her photography, and eventually ask her to do an in-depth interview for the rM Community. Whiteout is like a gently flowing stream. If I had to label it I’d say it’s closer to idm in the early autechre sense, but not dated early 90′s by any means. This is timeless music.

Altus – Coma Cluster – Label: Endless Ascent

This is beatless drift drone ambient at it’s utter finest. Very slowly moving textures. Billowing atmospheres. A soundworld that envelopes my desk at work on many an occasion. If you like your ambient slow drifting beatless… download this.

Bob Ohrum – Elevated – Label: Relaxed Machinery

Ok, disclaimer, this album is released on my label, Relaxed Machinery. But wouldn’t you think there was something a little wrong about me releasing an album I didn’t like? I love this album and I can’t count how many times I’ve listened to it. It’s filled with emotion and you can hear it so plainly on the first track. Bob’s wearing his heart on his sleeve and the music coming out of his bass guitar and effects is pure beauty in sound. That first track was written the day they spread his father’s ashes in the valley you see on the cover art. He came home, plugged in his bass, and that first track came out. The album is dedicated to his father who passed away in 2007. I’m very, very proud to release this album on Relaxed Machinery. This is beatless ambient, tender, caring, minimal, emotional music.

Adam Williams and Leonardo Rosado – Take This Longing – Label: Feedback Loop

This to me is perfection in a collaboration. Adam’s gentle, minimal piano lines over a bedding of abstract electronics and microscopic rhythms. It’s truly worth hearing. There’s just beautiful use of space in this album – nothing is cluttered – Adam takes his time between notes. There’s a lot to be said for the notes not played. Leonardo’s electronics fit so well, always adding to the music, never covering up or taking away. It’s as if these two were truly connecting and having a conversation – something normally reserved for a live recording with two musicians in the same room looking at each other, however, this was a long distance collaboration. All the more reason to download and give this album a try!

I’ve Lost – Dissociative Fugue – Label: Feedback Loop

Bobby Jones records as I’ve Lost… he uses only guitar and effects and plays his songs live with no overdubs. The musician in me likes to know those types of details. This listener in me doesn’t care how it was recorded, just that it is simply and sublimely beautiful. Very minimal, focused, flowing beauty. Emotional. This album is almost uplifting in a vague way. The owner of Feedback Loop actually sent me this e.p. before it’s release and told me I might want to get Bobby on Relaxed Machinery for a full length album. I was blown away, and I asked Bobby to join – and he did. I’d heard his work before – we’ve stumbled across each other from time to time, but I’m grateful to Leonardo for making the suggestion.

Subterminal – Bright Dawn Sketches – Label: PublicSpaces Lab

Speaking of Leonardo Rosado – he released this album on PublicSpaces Lab under the artist name, Subterminal. This is a very organically digital album… like taking a walk as the sun crests the horizon and electronic waves wash lazily on a beach. Birds ride the air currents in the sky and a peaceful quiet hangs in the air. It’s a contemplative album.

Chris Russell – Frozen – Label: Relaxed Machinery

Frozen is Chris’ third ambient release and the first on my label, Relaxed Machinery. When I listen to it I can hear the crackling of the winter snow, the crisp air, and as the album progresses you can start to feel the subtle shift from winter into spring. Cold to warmth. The beginning of new growth, the emergence of hope. Chris is a relatively young artist (well, younger than me at least…) that I see continuing to evolve and grow and I’m amazingly proud to have him on my label.

Specta Ciera – Wind Shift – Label: Luxus-Arctica

I’ll admit – I’m really, really new to Specta Ciera and I downloaded because so far just about everything on Luxus-Arctica is so well worth downloading. I’m really enjoying this release and have spun it multiple times now, enough that I think it deserves a spot on my list today. If you like beatless, thoughtful, ambient – give it a spin!

Marcus Fischer – Arctic/Antarctice – Label: Luxus-Arctica

This album was such a happy find for me… I played it five times through the first afternoon I downloaded it. Minimal beauty. Reading about the album is fascinating… taken from http://mapmap.ch/: “arctic/antarctic is a collection of songs centered around a series of guitar based improvisations. the first half, arctic, consists of the gradual folding and unfolding of melodies played on guitar and sustained through the use of a custom designed granular delay plugin. the asynchronous delayed notes are pitched both up and down resulting in organ-like textures. layered atop portions of arctic there are the playful sounds of hail on the exposed tines of a toy piano.
the first 1/3 of the antarctic portion is based on the slow shifting of loop points within a larger guitar loop. the rest of antarctic contrasts with prior sections. rather than using digital processes, this portion relies only on loops created using a system of modified analog cassette tapes. these cassettes were played back and rerecorded at a distance capturing some of the surrounding sounds such as cats moving about the room and hints of nearby construction.”

Nettless – Phobos and Deimos – Label: Earth Mantra

This a double album release by Finnish artist Toni Viholainen. In fact it’s only his second ambient album, this is a new style of music for him and I believe he’s tapped into a style he’ll thrive in making. So much so, I invited him to be an artist on Relaxed Machinery – his 3rd release is tentatively planned for this December. Phobos and Deimos is a wide ranging album with a lot of influences and styles all intermingling. Toni wrote in a blog post on the rM Community that this album comes from thinking about a friend that had taken his own life 12 years ago. With that context you’d think this album would be a lot more dark than it is. I truly enjoy this album and his 1st effort on Earth Mantra.

Emmalee Crane – Crux – Label: Streetlight Farm

Emmalee I found on twitter and suggested we trade albums – and I’m so glad I did! She plays so many instruments – oboe, clarinet, flute, piano, guitar – she likes to mess things up through effects. She’s not afraid to let an oboe get dirty through distortion – and what a unique sound she makes. Layers of texture with hints of the instruments used peeking through once in a while. I truly find her music a joy to listen to and I can’t wait for her new album, Formantine, coming soon.

Thanks for reading and for supporting the artists and labels!

John

image: bee balm towers taken in my back yard.