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FatalExcursion

/r/electronicmusic Weekly Album Discussion #3 - 90s Ambient Classics (6/3 - 6/9) (Aphex Twin, Biosphere, & Global Communication)

Discussion Topic

ALBUM DISCUSSION PROMPTS & OUTLINE

Here are the albums to discuss for this week!

(6/3 - 6/9)

The new schedule for these threads will now be recurring weekly on Saturdays instead of Thursdays; I'll have an updated schedule and our expanded topics for July and early August soon. Streaming links for our albums that are the most accessible have been included. An introduction to our thread of the week is located in the body of the text in the middle, and prompts and a general OVERVIEW FOR THE SCHEDULE for upcoming weeks are at the END. As always, let's see some awesome discussion.

If you haven't already, listen to and be ready to discuss these albums of note:

PREFACE

Ambient music can attribute its genre associations to the experimental expansions of synthesizer and reverberated productions, often meshing 70s New Age exploits of electronic artists to create atmospheric and lush works that lacked structure and beat. With Brian Eno at the apex of ambient music's rise and often attributed to popularizing it as a meditative genre, hybrid subgenres also emerged that took elements of house and techno, and later in the 90s; breakbeats, industrial, and IDM to create ambient mutations to counter contemporary dancefloor movements throughout the decades.

While still not entirely shedding its pretentious 'furniture music' image from some critics into the early 90s, ambient music was embraced further into the club setting through the use of 'chillout rooms' that worked as respites for the high, and the growing popularity of ambient house/techno in the UK. Unsurprisingly, a slew of artists came forth with debuts that worked towards sparking ambient music's spread in electronic circles, or even at the end of the cycle, pushing forward the medium into new and creative territory.

While not the first, Aphex Twin's "Selected Ambient Works 85-92" released in 1992 on the Apollo label worked as a kickstart to ambient techno and IDM's spread throughout London, inspired by Eno's ambient work and taking a dense, percussive direction that made it popular in the Warp and R&S circles. Certainly "Selected Ambient Works Volume II" is the more ambient release in comparison, but the debut is not without its acclaim and legacy within the genre.

Two years later in 1994, a production duo consisting of Mark Pritchard and Tom Middleton had formed Global Communication and worked on a sample-heavy debut ambient LP known as "76:14", a titan of an album that spanned over an hour and sixteen minutes while also boasting a slew of rich and spacious tracks occupied in left-field bouts ambient house and minimalist downtempo. While less broad in its appeal as compared to other contemporaries at the time, "76:14" sits comfortably at ambient's peak in the 90s for a forward-thinking push into all that ambient could encompass.

Nearing the end of the ambient boom of the 90s, Biosphere (consisting of Norwegian solo musician Geir Jenssen) was neither a new name or taking new and exciting leaps in comparison to his peers just years earlier. Despite lacking a debut to change ambient music's landscape or the innate boost from UK labels, Jenssen utilized modified audiotrack and film samplings and a greater drone emphasis througout his tracks to create the equally rich and distant ambient classic "Substrata", released in 1997 by All Saints Records and Origo Sound. Often considered one of the late great albums to enter the ambient boom of the 90s, "Substrata" closed the gap in the decade with acclaim put towards looping motifs throughout the album and an untouched atmosphere that paid inclusion towards acoustics and field recordings as well as synthesizers.

FOR FURTHER READING

Red Bull Music Academy, "Ambient House: The Story of Chill Out Music, 1988-95" by Matt Anniss

FACT, "The 20 greatest ambient albums ever made" by Kiran Sande

A Stangely Isolated Place, "Neither scene nor heard: a journey through ambient music" by Sherief Younis

PROMPTS

Prompts are just possible points of interest for discussion, not guidelines.

  • How has ambient music progressed throughout the 90s, and is there any worth to some criticisms that ambient music has lost what makes the genre special over that period of time by incorporating sub-genres such as house and techno?

  • Does ambient music inspire you in any way as opposed to other music; do you believe it is purely meditative, or do you take it as thoughtful music?

  • Can ambient music be criticized in the same regards to other genres of music?

  • Which albums do you believe hold more worth or legacy, and which albums are your favorites of those listed? Why?

  • Where does ambient go from here; do you believe ambient music reached its experimental peak in the 90s, even earlier during the New Age era of the 70s and 80s, or is it still innovating today?

Next week's discussion thread will be: LOS ANGELES BEAT MOVEMENT (6/10 - 6/16)

Listen to:

  • Flying Lotus - Los Angeles (2008, Warp Limited)

  • Baths - Cerulean (2010, Anticon)

  • Nosaj Thing - Drift (2009, Alpha Pup)

REFER TO THE SCHEDULE HERE (unrevised) FOR MORE DETAILS, keep an eye out for any updates to how threads will work in the upcoming weeks. Also contact me if you want to contribute to thread ideas or volunteer some writing for some months in the future!

Posted Jun 3, 2017, 4:44 PM UTC

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