Spacetime drones. Long-stretched synthy soundscapes for late-night orbital flights.
Put this onto your ears if you want to beat silence, yet not distract you from whatever you are doing otherwise. The album does a great job of catching you mid-thought, making you realise how cool the sounds sound that you were not listening to, and letting you of the hook not a full minute later. Best consumed after sunset, in a darkened room, while you shake off a busy day. Continue reading “Derek Nigell – [2017] Heartbeat of the Universe”
Meditative tech house. Long loops, straight beats, simple two-chord harmonies. Great background music.
This oldie from still active (as of 2018) Colombian netlabel Monofonicos mostly plays with sound texture. Both rhythm and harmony loop with only slight variations, while voicing, instruments and effects vary. The result is a meditative musical carpet. Continue reading “Qk – [2009] 415”
Ambient acoustic guitar. Very musical 2 track EP.
With only two tracks, this short EP by artist Fellirium makes it easy for me to select my habitual two tracks for you. Airy guitar tones with noticeable reverb calmly meditate over beautiful riffs with minimal synthetic background drones: Continue reading “Fellirium – [2017] Bill A & 24/7”
Minimal house. Repetitive beats and only subtle changes in harmonics introduce an element of trance (pun intended).
Japanese netlabel Bump Foot has been in “business” for over a decade now. It separates its releases in to branches: “Bump” for techno and house, “Foot” for ambient and IDM. The release presented here is more on the minimal side of the house: so if you feel like you are in for twenty minutes of carefully crafted monotony, read on. Continue reading “In Vitro – [2017] Deep Hope”
Dreamy soundscape. Fairytale forest ambiance, masterfully crafted.
When I first encountered this release over ten years ago, I did not like it right away. I just was not yet prepared to accept something this non-musical as background ambience. But if you accept that good background “music” does not have to follow a traditional song structure, you’re in for a hell of a ride. So, darken your room, lower the volume and do something else while this 74 minute track teleports you into an enchanted forest… Continue reading “Djinnestan – [2004] Rain 1”
Recreational electronic beats. Unobtrusive chord patterns and subdued melodies.
Netlabel Discos Confort specialises in House music styles, featuring multiple artists and DJs. This release by Mexican DJ Bluevet is one of the more silent pieces. I wouldn’t call it ambient, but it does for some indie flavoured background music. Continue reading “Bluevet – [2014] Believers”
Monotonic, minimal trance. Evokes unconscious head nodding; its creator calls it “hypnotic”. No experiments.
I usually only listen to trance music when doing something else, like programming or reading. There are no lyrics, no fast changes, nothing which would distract me. Yet I can notice the rhythm, the pace, which I find somehow relaxing. This release is a prime example of that type of music, released on Digital Diamonds. Continue reading “Floating Machine – [2017] Convergence EP”
Minimal guitar drone ambience. Soothing instrumental music based almost completely on subdued, soft, echoing guitar melodies.
It is surprising how much can be accomplished with only long, soft chords, without any percussion, in terms of structure and rhythm. While most artists that employ these drone tones work without a discernable short-term rhythm, Geotic succeeds in giving his bars a certain punch. Interesting! Continue reading “Geotic – [2009] Hearth”
Silently impressive. Gorje Hewek is a master of deep house and similar styles. He has performed at Burning Man 2016. In this old release back at trusty netlabel Fuselab, he shows a more silent side of his craft.
Frosty minimal techno. This (by online standards) antique release at the Thinner netlabel had a big part in slowly seducing me into exploring the less danceable areas of electronic music. I wonder how this album will sound to me in 30 years. It now feels quite timeless, a bit like some tracks by Kraftwerk. Continue reading “Rktic – [2003] Northern Lights LP”
