Brian Eno — Ambient 4: On Land (1982)

I already covered the first three albums of the Ambient Series in this blog (see: Ambient 1, Ambient 2 and Ambient 3). So it's time to close those reviews with the fourth and final chapter: Ambient 4: On Land.

On Land is a collection of tracks, each inspired by a landscape or an impression (just read the tracks titles: Lizard Point, Lantern Marsh, Unfamiliar Wind etc.) But rather than the minimal Satie inspired piano of the first Ambient albums, what we get there is really an aural landscape. Each track has it's own sound and evokes a different place. You can hear synths that sound like the wind, distant chimes or insect noises. This is atmospheric music. Everything is conceived to give a vivid impression of a place as if the listener was there himself.

This is definitely the darkest album of the series and it was a turning point for ambient music because it is one of the first albums that can be labeled as dark ambient music (maybe with a few earlier albums like Zeit [1972] by Tangerine Dream). It inspired many of the albums to come and paved the way for artists like Lustmord and the whole dark ambient genre. Of course it is not very menacing by today's extreme dark ambient standards. It is more subtle and that is definitely a quality. This is Eno at it's best, and this is really what ambient music has become: elaborate landscapes of sound.

Best of ambient — 9 albums

I have always loved lists. That's often the way I discover new artists or albums I didn't know of. Since I have been listening to a lot of ambient music lately I decided to share with you my favorite albums of this genre [in chronological order]:

1. Brian Eno — Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks (1983)

Soundtrack for the movie For All Mankind about the Apollo moon landing. This album is a collaboration with guitarist Daniel Lanois who plays something like "space-country" here. I definitely prefer the synth parts made by Eno. This album is worth it, if only for the superb An Ending (Ascent) that was featured in many movies.

2. Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster & Panaiotis — Deep Listening (1989)

Ambient accordion? Yes, it's possible. This album is entirely made with acoustic instruments and recorded in an empty cistern. The result is a strange music made of reverb, trumpet sounds and resonating noises.

3. Hoedh — Hymnvs (1993)

Don't let yourself be fooled by the horrible cover art of this album. This is really a gem. Majestic dark ambient music with repetitive patterns. Almost sounds like religious music.

4. Aphex Twin — Selected Ambient Works Volume II (1994)

Each track of this album is inspired by the photograph of a texture shown in the album booklet. This is minimalist ambient techno music. It took me some time to get into this album, maybe because it's so simple. It's now one of my favorites.

5. Robert Rich & B. Lustmord — Stalker (1995)

Fictional soundtrack for the sci-fi movie Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky. This is the music of nightmares (but it never gets agressive). The sound of this album is strange, like looking at the beauty of an alien lanscape.

6. Biosphere — Substrata (1997)

This album spawned a whole genre called Arctic Ambient. Music sounds minimal and features the sounds of water, creaking ice, campfires (and some samplings from Twin Peaks). This is an album that I keep returning to.

7. Stars of the Lid — The Tired Sounds Of (2001)

The term Soporific Ambient has not been invented yet to describe Stars of the Lid. It is music for sleep, ideal to listen to at the end of the day. Sometimes sounds inspired by post-rock, like Godspeed You! on valiums.

8. Deathprod — Morals and Dogma (2004)

Helge Sten is a norwegian sound artist also playing with the jazz group Supersilent. I can't find other words to describe this album than "creepy". It is scary, claustrophobic music. The track Dead People's Things really stands out.

9. Deaf Center — Pale Ravine (2005)

Music for rainy days. Piano with a melancholic touch and some neoclassical arrangements. Includes sampling of sounds of nature (water, firecamp, wind).

Laraaji – Ambient 3: Day of Radiance (1980)

I have already reviewed Ambient 1 and Ambient 2 on this blog. So now, here's the third album of the Ambient Series.

When I first heard it, it was probably my least favorite of the Ambient Series, because it is so different from the three others. But it grew on me with the years and I'm starting to enjoy it more each time I listen to it.

Laraaji (Edward Larry Gordon) is a musician from Philadelphia. He studied the violin, piano and trombone in his early years. However, he became famous when Brian Eno heard him play the dulcimer in Washington Square Park, and decided to introduce him to the world, producing this album.

The album really has an eastern mysticism feel (sometimes reminescent of the sound of gamelan music). The songs mix dulcimer and zither, with little or no electronic effect. The music is more intense in the beginning of the album (The Dance #1, #2 and #3) and start to slow down as the album progresses. You really feel that the album is getting slower as it plays, slowly disintegrating. My favorite tracks are Meditation #1 and Meditation #2 at the end of the album. Those two tracks sound more like the other albums of the Ambient Series.

After releasing Ambient 3: Day of Radiance, Laraaji has worked in meditation and yoga workshops and released other zither albums.

Harold Budd/Brian Eno – Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror (1980)

The first post I did on this blog was about the album Ambient 1: Music for Airports by Brian Eno. So I decided to continue in this direction and give my readers an overview of the four albums of the Ambient Series:

• Brian Eno — Ambient 1: Music for Airports (1978)

• Brian Eno/Harold Budd — Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror (1980)

• Laraaji — Ambient 3: Day of Radiance (1980)

• Brian Eno — Ambient 4: On Land (1982)

In 1978, Brian Eno discovered the music of the pianist Harold Budd while working with him on the production of the album The Pavillon of Dreams. The music of Budd is mostly improvised atmospheric piano pieces. Not surprisingly, Brian Eno found some similarities with the piano improvisation of Budd and his album Music for Airports. 

Both musicians started collaborating together in the creation of this album, which is mostly improvised by the pianist (with some sound effects and manipulations by Eno). The most obvious difference between the first Ambient album and the second is the sound. While Ambient 1 has a synth sound that is more pronounced, Ambient 2 has a more acoustic piano sound (that ages better in my opinion). The album is relaxing to listen to and it is ideal music for meditation or relaxation.

This is the album that started Harold Budd's carreer and many collaborations with Brian Eno (The Pearl — Harold Budd/Brian Eno/Daniel Lanois). He now has a prolific carreer and many solo albums in the same minimalist piano style.

Brian Eno - Ambient 1: Music for Airports (1978)

I discovered ambient music two years ago, during a very rough winter in which I needed time to think. I was in a difficult part of my life, being a new father, and needed to question a lot of things I was taking for granted in my life. No music is better when it's snowing outside than this slow, meditative music to take the time to relax. And I started listening to ambient with the most logical album to start with, Music for Airports by Brian Eno.

It didn't take a lot of time before I bought dozens of ambient music albums. And I'm now really addicted to this kind of music.

Brian Eno composed this album while he was waiting for his plane at the Köln-Bonn airport. The idea was to create background music that was discreet and relaxing to alleviate the tense atmosphere of a typical airport. Le first track (1/1) is by far the best of this album. It's a simple melody at the piano reminding of the early experiments of american minimalist composers (See John Cage — In a Landscape). I think the other tracks on this album are also interesting but the synth sound feels a little outdated.

This album was the first to use the word "ambient" to describe music. So it's a very good introduction to the genre. It's also the first of 4 albums by Eno and friends (Ambient 1: Music for Airports, Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror, Ambient 3: Day of Radiance et Ambient 4: On Land).

I'm often listening to Music for Airports at the end of the day, to relax, and my 3 years old daughter is now asking me to "put the green CD" before sleep. Yes, this albums may sound new-agey at times. But it is also a classic of the genre. If you like this album I strongly recommend you have a look at Music for Airports by the New York musical ensemble Bang on a Can. It's a remake of the 1978 album that dosen't sound as outdated.