Rolling Ambient/Modern Composition/Drone Thread 2018 Edition

#1

New year, new ambient thread. As in at least one previous year, I’m going to kick this off with the always excellent Headphone Commute best of lists.

I’ve just started working my way through ‘Music For Bending Light And Stopping Time’ and enjoyed the floating synths of Celer.

Also, going to re-post my late discovery from last year, https://shallremainnameless.bandcamp.com/releases as it probably would have threatened my top 5 if I’d found it earlier. Proper Higher Intelligence Agency / early Biosphere vibes.

Electronic / IDM / Ambient / Drone listening club
New album releases 02/03/18
Electronic / IDM / Ambient / Drone listening club
#2

Ace. I’ll try and contribute this year - did a lot of lurking last year and enjoyed the thread cheers all involved!

Enjoyed the Taylor Deupree album on the Headphone Commute list, and look forward to working through the rest.

Celer releases too much stuff so i (probably stupidly) often give 'em a pass but i may check this one out.

Saw a tweet from Taylor Deupree recently mentioning the next shuttle358 will please fans of frame so i’m looking forward to that this year

#3

I love Taylor Deupree. His solo one and the collaboration are both well worth a listen on that list.

Agree on Celer too.

#4

Yea, I’ve listened to the solo one a lot this (last) year and it’s excellent but somehow the collaborative one passed me by. That has been rectified now!

#5

Planets + Person is a great one by Richard Barbieri aka Japan then later on Porcupine Tree keyboard and synthesiser virtuoso player.

I’ll have to relisten to it and absorb those mellow ambient sounds and sweet touches of melody one moment and almost discordant ones the next!

#6

Just tried to start a new thread without checking! Apologies.

Not aware of much that is due to be released…hoping for SOTL as ever…but mainly excited about All Melody by Nils Frahm. Always hard to tell which way his albums will go (stark piano, on-the-spin improv, collaborations, concept albums about using extra felt) but I’ve always hoped he’d expand on this incredible, incredible track:

#7

And whilst we’re still talking about 2017…I missed far too much stuff last year, but did manage to get to grips with the new Slow Meadow record

I adored s/t…and this is potentially even better…moving away from the Hammock sound (which he did so well, btw)…with some songs taking unexpected routes and good use of electronics.

#8

Love Slow Meadow. Really interested to see how he develops.

#9

Deceptively prolific too…I forget that he released an album’s worth of singles/doubles (of no lesser quality) between the two albums

#10

Some of this fits in this thread, particularly the lovely Leaves Pt II, has something of a Mark McGuire / William Tyler feel about it:

#11

New Benoit Pioulard EP “Slow Spark, Soft Spoke” beautiful lush atmospheric goodiness as always. Great thread last year lets keep up the good work this year ladies and gents!

#12

Emily Sprague of Florist has made a very pleasant ambient album:

#13

Still churning through the HC end of year lists. Really enjoying Arve Henriksen’s Towards Language, which has some kind of woodwind instrument as the centrepiece over layers of gentle elecroacoustics.

#14

Alright gang, I’ve really enjoyed @theShipment’s hip hop listening club over the past few months. Would there be appetite for something simliar for ambient/IDM/drone? One person chooses an album each week. We all listen to it and post our thoughts. That thread has been really good for exposing me to styles of hip-hop I wouldn’t have checked out, as well as ‘lost’ albums which just don’t get a mention anymore.

Thoughts?

#15

This is a cracking idea. Not sure if it’s worth me suggesting an album as my ambient/drone knowledge is a little on the basic side but I’d be well up for the listening and discussing.

#16

Even a ‘popular’ drone album would be worthy of discussion - think I’ve been involved in more ‘arguments’ about Tim Hecker on here than any other artist!

#17

Alright I’m in. But if all the cool IDM kids make fun of me I’m blaming you.

#18

#19

Yea i’d be up for this. Lots of great discovery’s off here in the past :slight_smile:

#20

Yay. Will stop disrupting this thread now.