You Gots To Chill. The ILM Ambient Listening Club >>> UPDATED EVERY MONDAY

So as a lurker I'm somewhat nervous about making my first ever post a "Listening Club" thread, but insomnia demands I do something rather than continue as I have for the last 2 hours lying in bed listening to the house creak, my girlfriend's breathing, while outside droplets of today's rain now periodically fall from trees onto parked cars and the clearing up of a cold has left my nasal cavity largely free of mucus but with enough of a blockage to emit a strange mouse like squeak as the bedside clock tick tocks and I'm left thinking of how Eno came to compose his glut of ambient albums after a shawty nursing him to recovery post bike crash was thoughtful enough to put on some classical chillwave at a volume too low for use and the arm of the record player too far to reach by the crippled Brian.

Also, I'm a big fan of music that drifts around my day to day largely sedentary activities and lowers my heart rate, and actually may lull me to sleep. So, I'm looking forward to chill-pill recommendations be it Basinksi, Kompakt strain ambient, FSOL, Vangelis Blade Runner, or obscure ambient works by artists that normally work in other genres. No strict rules, and if we have to do ambient-dub, then so be it.

ENOugh is ENOugh accusations may well be valid with yet another listening club thread, but enraged cynics are encouraged to partake in some of this thread's listening in order to lower their blood pressure.

I expect some snarky comment soon, but take it in my stride and quote Erick and Parrish:

http://www.dustygroove.com/images/products/e/epmd~~~~~~~_yougotsto_101b.jpg

Week One:

Brian Eno: Thursday Afternoon

http://open.spotify.com/album/6AKF0REZoFiXMorWDpSiZt

http://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/1639/cover_25491082009.jpg

With songs like "Thursday Afternoon," he was experimenting with what he called a "holographic" style, composed according to mathematical principles, in a series of repeated loops in which each component represents the whole. >> http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/04/magazine/04funny_humor.html?_r=1

I enjoyed Wendy McClure's True-Life Tale (June 4) that chronicled the less-than-enthusiastic reception Brian Eno's ''Thursday Afternoon'' received in Rossi's, ''an amiable dive bar.'' I am concerned, however, that readers unfamiliar with Eno's work might accept the reaction of the bar's patrons as informed and legitimate criticism. In that setting, Bach's ''Goldberg'' Variations would have evoked a similar response.

'' Thursday Afternoon'' is an organically complex work best experienced through a quality sound-reproduction system, in an environment without intrusive noise that would obscure the myriad intricate details suspended through the recording's dynamic range. McClure's ''Ting . . . ting. . .ting . . .'' characterization of the piece, while not inappropriate in context, is analogous to reducing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony to ''da-da-da-DUM''; there's really quite a lot lost in the process. >> http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980CE6DC1331F93BA25755C0A9609C8B63

Erik Satie: Gymnopédie No.1, No. 2, No,. 3 (piano) and versions

[Removed Illegal Image]

Pitchfork hated it, so you know its actually quite good really >> http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/4618-e-luxo-so/

Not on Spotfy for Europeans or other proxy deviants, but maybe your library has it ?*

This time, tomorrow?

Newbie nerves + lack of sleep. Try again:

Erik Satie: Gymnopédie No.1, No. 2, No,. 3 (piano) and versions

http://minimaljames.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/eriksatie2.jpg

http://open.spotify.com/album/41cNy2eZeJ3tP16bMcQopg

http://open.spotify.com/album/2Qfs0zjdWYg5MIxmQZUtyH

The Gymnopédies, published in Paris starting in 1888, are three piano compositions written by French composer and pianist Erik Satie. These short, atmospheric pieces are written in 3/4 time, with each sharing a common theme and structure. Collectively, the Gymnopédies are regarded as the precursors to modern ambient music - gentle yet somewhat eccentric pieces which, when composed, defied the classical tradition. For instance, the first few bars of Gymnopédie No. 1 consist of an alternating progression of two major seventh chords, the first on the subdominant, G, and the second on the tonic, D. This kind of harmony was almost entirely unknown at this time. The melodies of the pieces use deliberate, but mild, dissonances against the harmony, producing a piquant, melancholy effect that matches the performance instructions, which are to play each piece "slowly", "dolorously" or "gravely". From the second half of the 20th century on, the Gymnopédies were often erroneously described as part of Satie's body of furniture music, perhaps due to John Cage's interpretation of them. >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnop%C3%A9dies_(Satie)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBiPQKK1upk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-9DTISjujQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNdDoL3s8aA&feature=related

Satie's "Nocturne" and "Gnossiennes" are also worth exploring.

Here are modern electronic act Isan's quite good versioning of Gymnopodies: http://open.spotify.com/album/3iJgUmRkjc1Yf4hejFbLhw

Labradford - E Luxo So

http://www.recordstore.co.uk/images/covers/mute/BFFP157-300.jpg

Pitchfork hated it, so you know its actually quite good really >> http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/4618-e-luxo-so/

Not on Spotfy for Europeans or other proxy deviants, but maybe your library has it ?*

This time, tomorrow?

Thurday Afternoon was originally released as a soundtrack to a set of 7 video paintings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdiMxlcdq64

"Thursday Afternoon" is one of the few Eno works I've never heard. Now might be the time.

Unhappy Hour, what happens when someone plays Thursday Afternoon on a bar jukebox.

TS: Thursday Afternoon vs Neroli

Ohh count me in for a week on this sometime

Me too.

Nice to see this thread being welcomed! Any thoughts on frequency of updates? Twice a week for hardcore insomniacs? Once a week? How many selections?

I'm reluctant to impose any set criteria other than perhaps your choices shouldn't total more than say, 4 hours playing time.

Selections can certainly be individual tracks rather than albums, especially if anyone wants to dive into early 90s UK chillout where most electronica artists threw in a couple of quieter pieces t round off EPs or albums.

Thoughts please!

I'd like to choose a week of this.

Weekly and two selections sounds good like a good idea to me.

Go Andrew O'H. Gymnopédie No.1 is my jam.

Can I have a week as well please?

dude that Labradford album is so fucking great

Let's see how a four day turn-around works out, and feel free to comment on any recording at any point even after the thread as moved on to other "suggested listens" - if no big conversation occurs, and we just share some great music that in itself is good enough.

Thursday Afternoon >> 6 May >> Herman G. Neuname
Sunday Morning >> 9 May >> Sundar
Wednesday Morning, 3AM >> 12 May >> Nom Nom Nom Chomsky (WmC)
The Ghosts of Saturday Night (After Hours at Napoleone's Pizza House)>> 15 May >> Tannenbaum Schmidt

Looking forward to your choices!

Suits me! I have 3 varying albums lined up.

cool, I may ask for a week in a bit. I listen to a lot of this stuff.

I'll take a week, thanks!

I'd like to have a week too sometime, thanks.

Thursday Afternoon >> 6 May >> Herman G. Neuname
Sunday Morning >> 9 May >> Sundar
Wednesday Morning, 3AM >> 12 May >> Nom Nom Nom Chomsky (WmC)
The Ghosts of Saturday Night (After Hours at Napoleone's Pizza House)>> 15 May >> Tannenbaum Schmidt

I've run out of cute days in the week song references, but here you go:

Tuesday 18 May >> bug holocaust (sleeve)
Friday 21 May >> I just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor)
Monday 24 May >> Heavy Potato Encounter (MaresNest)

Go Andrew O'H. Gymnopédie No.1 is my jam.

― nuttin doin (herb albert), Monday, 3 May 2010 14:39 (Yesterday) Bookmark

hearing that loud and clear.

Labradford helping me remain calm while my workstation starts to freeze up on everything I try and do.

oh, I wasn't expecting that jarring door being slammed mid-way through track 3 on the Labradford! Wonder why they felt they needed to insert something so "disruptive" smack in the middle of it.

idk but i love it!

Last track on Labradford making me suddenly feel very sad and melancholy = this is amazing! really beautiful album.

Are we ok with links like the "library ;-)" one above? I thought ILM's attitude was "hey, its cool, but not on our patch"?

> Here are modern electronic act Isan's quite good versioning of Gymnopodies

yeah. gary numan does a version too.

Are we ok with links like the "library ;-)" one above? I thought ILM's attitude was "hey, its cool, but not on our patch"?

― tomofthenest, Tuesday, 4 May 2010 11:13 (34 minutes ago) Bookmark

I saw a similar *cough* on the Funk listening thread, and thought this was acceptable on occasion... by all means, please let me know. In any case, once the next in line choices are up, I intend to "clear up my cough"

Is this an issue, as the "DJ Post Your Mixes For D/L" is chock full of direct links (albeit to mixes an not single artist works)

- - - - - -

dude that Labradford album is so fucking great

― DUM DUM DUM DUMMMMM! (HI DERE), Monday, 3 May 2010 15:55 (Yesterday) Bookmark

Anyone who has copped and enjoyed the Labradford album should (obviously purchase it) also look in Pan Amercian, and offshoot by Mark Nelson.

see the cough didnt link to a direct link, it went to a blog for everyone to read, and, should a menu elsewhere be on a blog, we cant be held responsible ..

and I recommend Pan American, I was going to post one of their albums but decided on another album.

i love me some gymnopedies, but i'm all about his gnossiennes. there's a certain sense of despair to those pieces that really appeals to me

i strongly recommend akira rabelais' album eisoptrophobia for a digital update on satie's piano pieces

whats up with the three day intervals, all other clubs roll full week andrew

Samosa, it's because I have a heart condition that requires a fairly constant need to be relaxed otherwise my blood boils/heart explodes - like the opposite of Crank - and ambient music is the cure to my fever. Seriously.

I kid you not.

- - - -

see the cough didnt link to a direct link, it went to a blog for everyone to read, and, should a menu elsewhere be on a blog, we cant be held responsible ..

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, 4 May 2010 15:33 (1 hour ago) Bookmark

and I recommend Pan American, I was going to post one of their albums but decided on another album.

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, 4 May 2010 15:34 (1 hour ago) Bookmark

If it would have been something other than "360 Business", I would have been keen to listening to it....

hey thanks for the week! I'll do my best to surprise and relax y'all.

only thing I have to add right now about Thursday Afternoon is that it came out right before the CD boom took off, when home taping was still big. That is why Eno made it 61 minutes long, so that no matter what kind of tape you used you wouldn't be able to record the entire uninterrupted piece. My friends at the time were annoyed but kind of impressed.

Many years later I burned a CD copy from a friend, it is still the one I am least familiar with up until the flood of self-released stuff.

Samosa, in seriousness, I figured a 3 or 4 day gap between each poster would be fine with this "genre" but then I'm in not really listening too many of the other listening club choices (instead limiting myself to anything that I already had on my radar, had read something about at some point and made a mental "must check that out" note.

While, by no means diminishing the impact or quality of essentials in this "genre" I find you can certainly absorb it while "doing other stuff" - more so than other music - so imagined active participants would churn the choices a bit more speedily. Additionally, I wouldn't expect too much discussion about the music directly as this really is a genre that would pretty much elicit the same mood / graceful calmness / serenity no matter who the artist.

But if people want to talk about production / concepts / artist intentions / etc that would be great too!

If there's a consensus that it should be a weekly change over then please comment and I can amend.

yeah I might suggest a week just for consistency, so I know in my head that on e.g. Mondays there will be a new set of ambient listening suggestions.

maybe people could leo stuff that isn't on spotify?

I would prefer a week. I'm already way behind in the few listening-club threads I'm interested in.

i think a week would be better. it's nice to listen to this stuff slowly

and discussion should totally be encouraged. there's already two perfectly good ambient recommendation threads on noise board

I commit to listening to Thursday Afternoon on repeat on Thursday, May 6th, from 12:01 PM to 5:59 PM CST. I'll report if its functional "furniture-music" for day-job, commuting, yard work, and web-surfing. I suspect it will be inappropriate as background for screaming at my broker, but we'll see how that goes.

xxpost: there's already two perfectly good ambient recommendation threads on noise board

Thought 1: I want to go to there
Thought 2: why the fuck did I not know about this before
Thought 3: who are all these people?
Thought 4: gonna listen to that Matthew Hawtin mix now.

Im happy if its twice a week but If others arent its fine. I'm up next so just let me know when I can post my 3 picks.

i love this thread already

My vote is for once a week as well.

Once a week, please.

So am I still to post my albums at midnight or to wait til sunday/monday?

Sorry, Herman I've only just had a chance to check here today. The people's choice seems to be Monday, so if you don't mind waiting till then.

10 May >> Herman G. Neuname
17 May >> Sundar
24 May >> Nom Nom Nom Chomsky (WmC)
31 May >> Tannenbaum Schmidt
7 June >> bug holocaust (sleeve)
14 June >> I just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor)
21 June >> Heavy Potato Encounter (MaresNest)

Any others?

yeah no worries

just hope we get some chat on these albums then if we're waiting.

Broken Social Scene's "Feel Good Lost" is an ironed on Balearic classic.
From Newfoundland.

Catching up ... at the time, I didn't like Colleen's "Everyone Alive Wants Answers", so I wasn't too jazzed about hearing "The Golden Morning Breaks". But it turned out to be awesome!

Glad you liked it! Yeah, her first album really isn't much aside from the first one or two tracks -- she gets a lot more interesting when she starts moving towards acoustic instruments/music boxes.

Kinski's "Don't Climb On and Take the Holy Water" is just so-so -- pleasant, but not something I'd really get into. It's TOTALLY a Leeeeee album though, I can see why you love it (that's not meant to be an insult BTW).

But... it doesn't sound remotely like Bardo Pond!

Yeah, but it's got this fuzzy, zonked-out, improvisational feel that BP also do so well (mainly on the Volume comps).

I love the TU M album ... I knew I would, when Basinski's name was dropped in the description then I knew I'd be hooked.

Looking forward to revisiting the Tetsu Inoue, it's been a while. I just bought Marsen Jules' "Herbstlaub" and listened to it for the first time only yesterday! So I'm definitely in the mood to hear more from him.

If anyone really likes "Yara" and wants to hear his excellent previous, "Lazy Sunday Funerals", let me know. It was a legal free download for years so I don't feel that bad about sharing it.

Substrata was the one I'm not decided on. Does anyone else find it sort of contrived? Tracks show up, do their things and then it's on to the next. They don't have an independent existence, they don't breathe. (can't totally shake Hyperborea + Kobresia tho.)

man, Chukhung has to be high on my list of favorite songs. has haunted me since the first time I heard it. It's one of those tracks that makes me wish I was a movie director.

but I've listened to Dropsonde more than I ever did Substrata. I'll probably put that one up if I ever take a week on this thing.

This Colleen album is very great! Thanks

OTM. Can't believe I never heard of it before.

Hello World.

given that lukas didn't post until thursday i'm going to spread these out, one a day, if that's ok.

One: Isan live at King's Place (10th Feb 2010)

http://soundcloud.com/isan/isan-live-at-kings-place-london-250210

once upon a time, a long time ago, peel played a record. and i wrote the name down. the next time i was in Rough Trade i realised that i didn't have the bit of paper and i'd forgotten the name of it. but luckily the bloke behind the counter knew the lyrics i quoted to him (in fact, it was one of their store picks at the time). that was Damil 85 and i've been a fan ever since. took about 9 years to get around to seeing them play live (they don't do it much and i'd always find out about it the week after) and then caught them about 6 times in as many months. and then life intervened (antony moved to denmark) and they stopped playing for a bit. the above was the first time they'd played in or around london for a couple of years. was part of the Bubbly Blue And Green series of gigs at King's Place, a venue more known for its modern classical gigs (and comedy, the night i was there)

first and last songs are (extended versions of) things from the recent lp (Glow In The Dark Safari Set), the others are old favourites, a couple of them with water-themed samples replacing the usual ones in honour of the occasion. the first couple also feature robin's non-patented Dripsophone which is a big bag of water dripping onto various percussion instruments producing effectively notes that are woven into things. lots of tape loops towards the end as well, done using cassettes and charity shop recorders.

http://www.isan.co.uk/isan/

given that lukas didn't post until thursday

i'll never stand between ambient heads and their music again, trust me. bunch of addicts.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511LvPNIcEL._SL500_AA280_.jpg

Two: Flying Saucer Attack & Tele:funken - Distant Station (Part 2)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Distant-Station/dp/B002X1NLIC (englishers)
http://www.amazon.com/Distant-Station/dp/B000YH8UQU (americans)

controversial Amazon link. it's only 69p you cheapskates. other links may be available <cough>holyfuckingshit40000</cough>

Thought for a while what the 'ambient' thing means. and it's pretty wide. and i figured this wouldn't be out of place on Ambient 4: Isolationism so... FSA are a part of my indiepop past, a natural progression from the Mary Chain etc, tunes overlaid with noise. and now with added Tele:Funken, making it a bit bleepier than usual. it gets a bit loud and scary towards the end, but i've always liked that, like the end titles of UFO or the aforementioned Ambient 4.

(and part 2 only because part 1 suffers from (i think) bad digital clipping, even on the cd, and i hate that)

I used to see that CD used all the time, never heard it!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/images/B000005EKO/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=229816&s=music

Three: Windy & Carl - Antartica

now, this was going to be Tomorrowland's Stereoscopic Soundwaves but i couldn't find that anywhere and this was easy. i wanted to pick one of the Darla Bliss-Out series, of which this is my favourite, i was just avoiding it because we've not long had some W&C.

so, first thing i did with internet access was to join some mailing lists - specifically 4ad-l and indie✧✧✧@esk✧✧✧.c✧✧. and that was around the time these cds started being put out so there was a lot of talk around them. i have the first 7, W&C is the 2nd, Tomorrowland is the 6th (fuxa, flowchart, mizra, amp etc being the others). looking at discogs i see there were about 20 altogether.

this woke me up for about 5 years, but not very well. often i'd just lie there listening until track 2 started, 20 odd minutes later.

The Piano Magic Bliss-Out (no. 13) is really nice . . .

(indiepop @ eskimo . com)

yeah, i had a look at some of the others but the one i had samples for didn't really feel like it belonged to the bliss-out albums of yore. it had vocals for a start. i relistened to the 7 i had and the flowchart and fuxa stood out but were a bit sonic. the amp was too long. the tomorrowland was more ambient.

The Biosphere and Terre Thaemlitz albums were pretty much what I expected. Biosphere's tracks always sound blissful, but a bit too pleasant. For the most part, Thaemlitz's album didn't make me sit up and take notice, but in the second half I was feeling good and spooked out, so I guess in the end it was working for me. Might be a grower, that one.

just got around to checking out that sylvian/czukay album and it is kind of amazing. very late-80s, kinda balearic, i think karoli and liebezeit are on it too? for some reason this is reminding me of certain jon hassell pieces, which is a very good thing

that's interesting, I've always thought of a lot of the stuff on Substrata, and later Biosphere albums, as kind of epic and full of mystique

The second song that starts around 14 minutes into the Isan pick -- I guess that's "Slow Bulb Slippage"? -- is damn fine.

that's an old (2004) live favourite given the watery samples treatment.

I like some tracks on Substrata. The opener (actually the second track, as the first is just a field recording, I think?) and the one with the voiceover (in Russian?) are my favourites, probably because of the semi-orchestral "cinematic" quality they have—muted strings and such, I respond to that kind of thing in a near-Pavlovian way. The rest of the album is mostly good but not great, and its lows ("Times when I know you'll be sa-ad / times when I know you'll be sa-ad / times when I know you'll be sa-ad...") are truly low. Maybe I should give it another listen, but I think I might like it even less after that. Kryoniks by Henrik B kind of ruined Biosphere for me.

The track with the (Russian?) voiceover is my favourite too ("Hyperborea"). Everything before that is fairly typical 90's ambient -- a sort of multicultural stew of "found sound" and field recordings, fluffy bunny ambient where the clouds part and you hear the gentle strum of an acoustic guitar*, etc. The second half of the album is a lot better.

* I guess we can thank/blame The KLF's "Chill Out" for this?

would totally stan for more steel/slide guitar ambience in the vein of Chill Out/zoviet:france's Something Spooked the Horses, if I could find any. Tenative forays have so far only uncovered new-age bullshit.

running about a week behind with the picks here btw.

Does Fennesz ever use steel guitar? You should check out Polmo Polpo if you like steel guitar + ambient (also with noise and some beats -- it may not fit your definition of ambient)

will do, ta. damn spotify sucks for electronics musics.

The Marsen Jules album is tremendous.

ok

Karma Moffett - Golden Bowls of Compassion

http://rootstrata.com/rootblog/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/gc_l.jpg

Image hosted by Root Strata, the blog that tipped me to this album to begin with. Since early 2009 I think I've somehow spent more nights listening to this than any other ambient record since high school, including those Eno's, or Erosphere, or anything. In some ways this recording is just going to the bank with an ancient musical tradition, praising this too much risks sounding like someone talking about how great a glass of branded water is, but there are a lot of recordings of Tibetan Bowls out there and then there's this CD. Karma is an SF local and so I've braved the yoga workshops (if not the Sausalito houseboats) he sometimes plays -- seeing him at Grace Cathedral clued me in to the exact performance method. He's spent years running the Tibet Shop in the Castro, cultivating his collection of huge resonant Tibetan Bowls. He usually buys two of each, and then lays them out symmetrically before him. He'll pace out the melodies, usually hitting one bowl and letting it ring for a while before hitting the twin. On this close mic'd stereo recording, when the second bowl is hit, it sounds a near-identical pitch -- but as no bowl is completely identical, you get beating and difference tones that basically send your mind straight through the top of your head, there really is almost nothing like it.

I'm a big fan of the Henry Wolff & Nancy Hennings 'Tibetan Bells' CDs, but they go for a wider range of sounds that's more geared for alert, focused meditation -- those records are special, but I can't sleep to them so they get saved for special occasions. And I love all varieties of percussive & bowed metal records, from Robert Ruttman to Aidan McIntyre to Harry Bertoia to Rhys Chatham to Warren & Samolis' 'Bowed Metal Music' but this one just seems to suit any level of attention you give it -- quiet it sounds utterly calming, moderate it sounds like a constantly shifting series of chords, and loud it just sounds like leaving orbit in a rocket. He's got countless other CDs & CDRs of his performances -- this one's much better than his first one 'Golden Bowls' -- which is good, but the audio engineering isn't quite as there. And I sometimes don't follow him when he expands the instrumentation to flute / sax / nature sound effects, even though I am usually a sucker for that kind of thing. Of the others I also like 'Chakra Bowls' which is a little more mysterious & edgy, and I also like 'Golden Bowls For Peace'.

http://rootstrata.com/rootblog/?p=1022

Garlo - Vent De Guitares

http://images.artistdirect.com/Images/Sources/AMGCOVERS/music/cover200/drf800/f872/f87207bif16.jpg

Without a description of what it is you're listening to, this would probably initially come across as a very deep piece of cosmic electronic drone. But even if I hadn't read the liner notes going in, I think within 10 or 20 minutes I would have begun to wonder about the exact origin of this music. The cover is an actual concert shot, 54 acoustic guitars spaced along the side of a very tall sand dune, each with special open tunings, and multitracked with direct lines in as the desert wind coasts up the side of the hill and sets the strings vibrating like aeolian harps. you can hear the occasional gust of howling wind, but mainly you just get these unbelievable swells as the rows of guitars all come to life singing -- you can hear the gusts travel through the instruments. I'm sure it was carefully balanced and arranged in the mix, the drones are very deep and the open tunings instantly evoke the kind of tonalities you usually only get with electronic music, but there's something about this record and distinguishes it from a home electronic studio recording, it's the best kind of sound art imaginable, like 'I Am Sitting In A Room' it works as music, but slowly lets on that it's got a voice slightly more elemental than what we're used to when listening to 'music'.

If you like this, 'Voices of the Wind' by Roger Winfield's Aeolian Harps is also pretty great, a very calming shimmering major chord made out of the pure harmonic series. On the noisier, howling side there's the Alan Lamb records and then the real beast is the Wind Harp: Songs From The Hill 2 LP set from the 70's which is more demonic than most noise music.

non spotify link, but I left off the last track

you definitely want to buy this one for the last track & the pictures in the booklet of the dunes, let alone the picture of the 'composer' himself in trenchcoat and sunglasses. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/garlo

Luc Ferrari - Éphémère I & II

http://www.seenallover.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/ferrari.jpeg

Reissued this year by Alga Marghen, two live tracks from 1974 / 1975, neither of which were on the 'Complete Works' GRM box set last year. First track is a fantastic maze of spoken word emerging out of a drone, but it's the 51 minute second track that is the real revelation here. A lot of Ferrari's stuff demands your full attention. The early stuff is hyper-kinetic, constantly exploding sound sculptures, and even his contemplative drone pieces are usually quite tense or prone to ruptures -- i.e. even those pieces where he lets you drown in purely lovely, calm textures, you never know when he's going to throw in a terrifyingly loud thunderclap. So this livemix from 1975 is a complete surprise, or maybe it isn't -- early 70's Paris were the home of Terry Riley's all night tape-delay concerts, endless billowing arpeggios and spirals, often held in churches, often heavily amplified. Several friends have described these concerts to me, though the 'descriptions' are usually just gibbering concluding with 'if you weren't there you don't know' etc. In any case -- when I hear Éphémère II, I hear Ferrari thinking to himself that he wanted to up the ante. This is a tape decay / cyclical loop piece built not out of organ sounds but out of John Fahey-esque acoustic guitar improvising. And I kind of can't understand why it's not getting reviewed everywhere. I got it at Aquarius, which raved about it, but I still hope this is seeding itself in time for some serious end-of-year attention -- with that said, I'll only post the second track, though the first one is just as good and you'll want the whole thing, even if it's 'II' that is the opener

non-spotify link
http://www.aquariusrecords.org/bin/search.cgi/exkeyword=ferrephecd

This looks great, especially the Tibetan bowls recording ...

I love that Tibetan bowls one. I was a bit wary of it to begin with 'cos for me it had associations (unwarranted ones) with panpipes and those CDs you see for sale in garden centres, but it's really good, and very good for zoning out after a hard day at the parenting rockface.

Or, in other words, what Milton said...

there are a lot of recordings of Tibetan Bowls out there and then there's this CD

That Luc Ferrari description is spot-on. You wrote that "this livemix from 1975 is a complete surprise", and was prepared to be surprised ... and I was still surprised!!

I liked the live Isan recording from last week too ... mainly for the first track.

Oh I want that Luc Ferrari but I think it works out at about £20+ to ship it over.

Milt, you're a star

the karma moffett and ferrari are great - thanks.

Hi thread, gimme a couple of hours

OK beatless-heads, here ya go.

1. Jliat - 16:05:94

"16:05:94 was made using the FM operators of the Yamaha SY99 & TG77 synthesizers which allow looping of envelopes. Because each sound is made from four elements which in turn are made by six FM operators, each with its own envelope, complex loop sequences can be programmed. The FM sound can then be sampled and these samples again made into loops. Such looping techniques in the past utilised tape. The piece then needs to be played simply by triggering the loops. Although a sequencer would appear to be the obvious choice I have found its fixed structure limiting. The loops have in them by virtue of their differences an undiscovered sequence, simply by letting them play against each other is all that is needed. The keyboard is used as a set of switches. I have borrowed a method of Herschel's who used brass weights to create an organ continuum, these are placed on the appropriate keys. Over time the rhythms generated produce new sounds. Because each start of a piece is unique, in the relation of the start of each looped sequence, the recording to DAT is of a completely unique event, the same set of algorithms played later produces a different piece."

"I would say that I depart from the minimalist aesthetic in that I would want the pieces to be a witness to a spiritual possibility. The pieces perhaps need to be listened to in not quite the same manner as one would listen to 'conventional' music. It is possible to explore the complex waveforms 'internally' but rather than this I would see the pieces being used not as explorations of music but as modern religious works. Religion in an inner sense of self exploration which would encompass relaxation, meditation, and prayer."

no images available

This guy put out a bunch of fascinating, dense drone records in the 90's. Then he vanished as far as I can tell. There are way more extensive liner notes than what I quoted here.

non-Spotify link

2. Rapoon - Vernal Crossing

http://www.discogs.com/image/R-76565-001.jpg

(that's a Discogs image, sometimes they don't show up for people)

I don't know whether Robin Storey or his former bandmates are responsible for holding up the much-needed reissues of the Zoviet France back catalog, but I try not to hold that against the guy. This is an early release of his and a big favorite of mine, we've been falling asleep to this a lot lately. Very similar to ZF discs like Just An Illusion which was almost all Storey anyway. I left off the last track. I think you can find this pretty easily if you look around - there was a less limited CD without the elaborate wooden box.

non-Spotify link

3. Mirror - Visiting Star

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_imtRA1TFv9s/SiojhCdYk_I/AAAAAAAAGgg/gWfdcuHM9kc/s400/R-582173-1175417070%5B1%5D.gif

Went back and forth about which one of theirs to put up, but this is my favorite. Yet another piece of collector-bait from Heeman and Chalk, I think Andreas Martin might be on this as well. The second side is the real winner here, lowkey sputtering drone that goes nowhere most pleasingly. Views is good too, but you can find that over at Mutantsounds.

non-Spotify link

I'm falling behind, but gotta say that the Garlo album is excellent. Last track definitely worth tracking down. Dance beats!

bump for new answers

loving the jliat. reminds me of a 60 minute version of one of the tracks from Geoffrey Chandler's "Starscapes". Rapoon is always dependable & looking forward to checking out the Mirror

man this luc ferrari is gorgeous, really rich and tactile

Just got the Garlo CD mentioned upthread. Great stuff. Still catching up on last weeks.

just seen this, really looking forward to hearing sleeve's jliat recommendation as i've spent the past year seeking out more and more digital/fm based ambient stuff. cheers

after listening to that Luc Ferrari piece I now see where Rafael Toral got a bunch of his ideas from, I was surprised to hear guitar creep into the mix but it works really well.

Sundar - it's your turn - break out the non-beats, need my fix.

wait ... was it my turn yesterday?

will post tonight if so.

OK, let's see if we can get back on track...I think I was supposed to do mine last monday.
Kent Sparling: Evening Air, Freeway Birds, No Wind Bird
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ymgk5MnVL._SL500_AA280_.jpg
A whole hours of meandering guitar/sounds. Possibly the most relaxing use of a siren ever. I listen to this last thing at night.
Available on Amazon for 79p/99cents as a single d/l. But let me know if you want it.
DJ Olive: Bouy
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514nV814HBL._SL500_AA280_.jpg
One of DJ Olive's three 'sleeping pills' - I think this is the best.
This is a sleeping pill. Listen to it as quietly as you possible can. Mainly two things are going on at once. One is a metaphor. Buoy - an anchored marker that maps the passing waves. Boringly singular, but never the same twice. There for you in a storm. The other is an environment. A sleep over, early morning light across the room - a screen door occasionally whispers as someone moves about. light fingers touch something. Curled in a cosy corner friends near by at the edge of sleep.
You can hear a bit here.
http://www.room40.org/mp3/RM404.mp3

Again let me know if you want it...

That should by 'Buoy' obviously.

Haven't gotten chance to check out DJ Olive or Kent Sparling, but have just heard a track ("In the Nothing of a Night") from Hammock's Chasing After Shadows..., and it's very Eluvium/Infinite Body, full-bodied drone sort of ambient.

Oh shit, it's supposed to be me! Sorry I been sick the last few days. Can prob put up tomorrow or someone can take my slot?

I think it's safe to say that Adam's spot has passed, so what the hey:

Various - Women Take Back the Noise (CD 1)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SAWFVD8N

Part of a 3-CD box, with each one focusing on a different aesthetic. The first CD is the best imo -- all drone, all the time, and as the name suggests, all by women.