http://www.ambientreview.com Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:30:50 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The 2004 masterpiece Ghosts on Magnetic Tape by the musical mastermind Steven Wilson shows his versatility as a musician by creating evocative pieces of minimalism with the aid of processed field recordings as well as using old 78 rpm records played at half speed to achieve an aural, ethereal sound ... http://www.ambientreview.com/bass-communion-%e2%80%93-ghosts-on-magnetic-tape/ Patashnik has been my favourite album for years: as I am on here to replace the snapped tape in immortal optical plastic, I thought I'd share my impressions. Its actually a good one to own on tape, for a bit of analogue comfort-noise and ease of continuously looping it. First off, ... http://www.ambientreview.com/biosphere-patashnik/ Harold Budd was a new name to me but apparently he's been around for some time & has worked with some quite high profile characters in the music world. Brian Eno & the Cocteau Twins to name but two. This is perfect home listening of a more classical, soundtrack nature. ... http://www.ambientreview.com/harold-budd-avalon-sutra/ In some ways, Apollo reminds me of the soundtrack to ‘2001’. They’re certainly not similar in musical style, but what brings them together is their dense and pervasive atmosphere. They both exude an astonishing range of moods – fear, triumph, beauty, mystery – all coming from the dark recesses of ... http://www.ambientreview.com/brian-eno-apollo/ Tangerine Dream's first disc for Virgin and an absolute classic! Brooding synthesiser sounds over complex pulsing sequencer patterns, where the intonation constantly shifted and where tunes and melodies and the other trappings of popular music are entirely absent from an album unlike anything else of its day. The title track opens ... http://www.ambientreview.com/phaedra-tangerine-dream/ Sitting in my new bedroom as the remaining few hours of 2008 dwindle, I bring with it my final review of the year, I present you with Boards of Canada's "Music Has The Right To Children". BoC are a duo who use the warmest electronic equipment and make it nostalgic, ... http://www.ambientreview.com/boards-of-canada-music-has-the-right-to-children/ This album is a testament to advanced creative thinking. It always was ahead of its time, and i think it still is almost 8 years on. Nothing else exists that sounds anything like this. Having been an FSOL fan for much of my life, i have never been compelled to write ... http://www.ambientreview.com/the-future-sound-of-london-dead-cities/ Conceptually, Max Richter's The Blue Notebooks-- German-born composer mixes contemporary classical compositions with electronic elements in a dreamscapy journalogue featuring excerpts from Kafka's The Blue Octavo Notebooks as narrated by Tilda Swinton-- reads like a relentlessly precious endeavor, as new age music for grad students, the sort of record that ... http://www.ambientreview.com/max-richter-the-blue-notebooks/ Eluvium is the project of Matthew Cooper, who has abandoned many of the conventional instruments used by bands and by him in the past. There is no guitar to be found on this instrumental epic, but varied brass, keyboards, piano, and stringed instruments fill the speakers with beautiful emotive brilliance. ... http://www.ambientreview.com/eluvium-copia/ This is the first album from Portland-based ambient artist Helios that I've had the pleasure of listening to, and I must say it was an incredibly eye-opening (or should I say, mind's eye-opening) experience. We use words like "evocative" and "atmospheric" and "captivating" to describe certain kinds of music that ... http://www.ambientreview.com/helios-unomia/