Tim Hecker — Black Refraction (2013)

Tim Hecker
Black Refraction
Album: Virgins (2013)

Ben Frost — After Death, Nothing Is (2013)

Tomonari Nozaki — Soleil II (2013)

Arctic Ambient list — 6 albums

After discovering the classic "arctic ambient" Substrata album by Biosphere (I talked about it here), I was hooked and started looking for something similar. I was surprised to find out there is a lot of arctic theme ambient music. It seems the polar landscape is a never-ending source of inspiration for ambient musicians. There is even a label called Glacial Movements Records specialised in arctic ambient music.

1. Thomas Köner — Permafrost (1993): Köner is a german multimedia artist making installations with sound and projections. All of his albums are based on the arctic themes featuring deep bass sound, drones sounding like the wind and low rumbles. Better to listen to this album with good headphones. [Video below]

2. Higher Intelligence Agency & Biosphere — Polar Sequences (1996): This album is more related to minimal electronic music. The sounds are crystalline and "icy". A lot of sampling is used. The most impressive track being what seems to be the sound of a melting glacier in the song Meltwater. [Video below]

3. Tim Hecker — Haunt Me, Haunt Me Do It Again (2001): Hecker is the expert of distortion, static noises and reverb. The atmosphere of this album is cold, with titles like Music for Tundra, Arctic Loner's Rock, Boreal Kiss.

4. Northaunt — Barren Land (2004): This is the dark ambient equivalent of Substrata. Features a lot of field recordings of wind, creaking snow but the whole atmosphere of the album is very menacing.

5. SleepResearch_Facility — Deep Frieze (2007): Another dark ambient album from the Cold Spring label. Each track of Deep Frieze is named after Antarctic co-ordinates. The music is very minimal with some discreet synth over recordings that sound like the wind. Sounds very cold.

6. Irezumi — Endurance (2008): This is one of my favorite in the genre. The album was made by a young techno/house artist but could really be described as dark ambient. This a concept album based on the tragic Endurance expedition in the Arctic. This album is like a soundtrack to a movie. The use of the synth is splendid and does not fall in the traps of the typical dark ambient albums. The theme is morbid, but the music is splendid and often contemplative. [Video below]

Deathprod — Dead People's Things (2004)

Deathprod is the musical dark ambient project of Helge Sten. His music is often oppressive and scary. He also plays for the jazz group Supersilent (that features famous jazz trumpetist Arve Henriksen). Sten also works as a producer (with ambient group Biosphere). Here is my favorite Deathprod song.


Deathprod
Dead People's Things [edit]
Album: Morals and Dogma (2004)
Photo: Darren Nisbett
[photograph taken inside the Chernobyl Zone of Alienation)

Tim Hecker — Chimeras (2006)

Tim Hecker
Chimeras
Album: Harmony in Ultraviolet (2006)
Picture: Landmass by Karezoid Michal Karcz

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).