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
I don't often post other dj mixes on this blog but this one is so freakin good I just had to share it. This is an amazing mix from Germany's Basicnoise ( Peter Fanai ). At the age of five Peter started with classical piano lessons at the conservatorium. Aged just 13, he got his first synthesizer (Korg M1), resulting in an affection to electronic music. Around 1995 he got a groundbreaking mixtape with tracks from Sähkö, Basic Channel and Peacefrog.
Direct Download. Right click then select 'Save link as ... '
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.
"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.
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.
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 ?
All of the above mentioned websites are a veritable treasure trove of free electronic music so if you are on a tight budget do check them. out. Of course, don't forget to mail them and tell them what a great job they are doing - I'm sure they would love to feel the love.
Another recent art find has been the work of Isaac Abrams. I was very pleased to run across Isaac's website as I find his flowing, bubbly psychedelic artwork to be somewhat similar to my own work at times. Mind you, Isaac is a far better painter than I could hope to be at the moment 8)
