LISTED// Five Ambient-Instrumental Albums
In this album list I have included five of my favorite ambient/instrumental albums, each of which offer the listener a break from everyday stress, and an opportunity to slow things down (if only for an hour). While these are not the sort of albums that you would want to pull out to liven up a party, when approached within the right context (I hesitate to say "when the mood is right"), they offer the listener an experience that is both truly special and therapeutic. -Tyler
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5. Stars of the Lid: And Their Refinement of the Decline (2007)
And Their Refinement of the Decline is the seventh album from ambient wizards, Stars of the Lid. SOTL have truly mastered of their craft, utilizing soft swells and droning-simplistic compositions played on a variety of instruments to produce one of my all-time favorite ambient albums.
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4. The Dead Texan: The Dead Texan (2004)
The Dead Texan was released by Adam Wiltze of Stars of the Lid. The record features a similar style of drone compositions that have become characteristic of SOTL. That said, the side-project succeeds in establishing its own identity, and avoids coming off solely as Wiltze's b-sides. The record primarily features simplistic acoustic instrumentation, coupled with the occasional faint vocal track, giving the mini compositions a distinctive, organic warmth that are all their own.
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3. Helios: Caesura (2008)
Helios is the moniker of Keith Kenniff, who has been releasing albums under the name since 2004. Caesura uses the same formula that can been seen in Kenniff's work across each of his previous releases; featuring simple drum-machines, playful electronic riffs, and creative acoustic/electric guitar lines to generate a perfectly calming atmosphere.
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2. Ulrich Schnauss: A Strangely Isolated Place (2003)
A Strangely Isolated Place comes from German-born Ulrich Schnauss, who has been releasing electronic music since the mid 1990s. The record feels like it might be what Karl Sagan was playing in the 8-track of his spaceship throughout the Cosmos series (it looks like whoever synced up the song with the opening sequence to "Contact" in the below video agrees). The album is filled with lively, ethereal compositions that gently flow over the listener with incredible ease.
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1. Eluvium: Talk Amongst the Trees (2005)
Talk Amongst the Trees was one of the first albums I acquired in this genre, and has consistently remained one of my favorites. Matthew Cooper (who operates under the Eluvium moniker) successfully blends electronic instruments with effects-layden classical piano and violin; what emerges from the meeting of these two forces is something wonderful.
"New Animals from the Air" softly opens the record, immediately drawing the listener in with a myriad of warm synth textures, which fuse together to generate a gentle wall of sound. The soothing repetition of tones carries the listener slowly through the album, each track serving to perfectly compliment those that came before, and create a smooth transition to the next.The album comes to a close with "One", an extraterrestrial sounding track that sends the listener away with a slow fading. Yet, as the song is pushing you back towards reality, there still remains a strange lingering sensation that it will be waiting for you to come back.