1. Brian Eno – Lux 1 – Lux (2012)
Eno is the king of Ambient Music. He didn’t invent it, but he had perhaps the most profound effect on it, particularly with Ambient 1: Music For Airports, which is where this playlist derives its name. Like that seminal record, Lux has been used in certain airport terminals; it’s ethereal atmospheres having a subconsciously soothing effect on the stress inducing madness one might experience in such a place. Here, Eno’s minimalist looping pianos are accompanied by a swath of synths, strings and Moog Guitar. It crawls along like a cloud cover, shifting unnoticed unless you are watching. Lux, like all of Eno’s Ambient music is as great for deep listening as it is background music. This should be playing in every grocery store right now.
2. Greg Haines – 183 Times – Digressions (2012)
Greg Haines is a British composer currently based in Italy whose early work dealt with creating atmospheres from manipulating string loops and electronic instrumentation. On Digressions, he built upon that concept, sculpting rich soundscapes adorned with lush string arrangements. A heavily reverberated piano creates the base for “183 Times,” its decay lingering just enough to usher in the orchestral backing. All the while the track builds beneath violinist Iden Reinhart’s beautifully sorrowful lines. “183 Times” slowly evolves over its run time, gaining in strength and volume before breaking and flowing back into itself.
3. Sunn O))) & Ulver – Eternal Return – Terrestrials (2014)
Ulver are a Norwegian band that started in the Black Metal realm, but like others, grew out of the constructs of the mostly constricting sub-genre. As they progressed, the band moved in a more experimental and ambient direction, creating songs that were more based in dark sonic textures. Sunn O))) are the infamous, cloak-wearing duo known for their high volume and low speed take on Drone Doom. I have always found that Sunn O))) seem to be at their most interesting when they are collaborating with artists that have their own separate identity, such as their work with Boris, Scott Walker and here with Ulver. Terrestrials gets everything great out of each group, with three tracks of sprawling experiments. “Eternal Return,” the albums closing track morphs from its otherworldly atmospheric beginning to a Blade Runner-esque futuristic synth climax without a hiccup. This collaboration is one of the few that is actually greater than the sum of its parts.
4. Will Oldham – Sapele – Seafarers Music (2004)
Here we find the man behind the indie folk groups Palace and Bonnie “Prince” Billy exploring a direction different from his usual style. Seafarers Music is a collection of songs used in a documentary film, each track coinciding with a particular human subject. The pieces are completely instrumental and consist solely of layering guitar tracks. “Sapele” is constructed around a repeating theme that becomes a hypnotic mantra as the song develops. Multiple layers of acoustic, electric and bass guitars creep in, creating a wide palate of tone color. Each addition gives the piece a greater sonic depth as it keeps building until it’s eventual fadeout.
5. Angelo Badalamenti – Diane And Camilla – Mulholland Drive Soundtrack (2001)
Badalamenti is one of the great film score composers, known particularly for his work with David Lynch. His music helped to create the vibe of Twin Peaks, the quaint oddball town with a dark underbelly at the center of Lynch’s television drama of the same name. But his score to Mulholland Drive is perhaps his greatest work. Again beside Lynch, Badalamenti’s rich string arrangements aid in the mysterious dark nature of the movie. In a Hollywood setting that is as ugly as it is beautiful, the soundtrack drives a melancholic mood on the viewer. The scene that contains “Diane And Camilla” is one of my favorites. Badalamenti’s hauntingly serene music accompanies the main characters on a walk up a deep garden staircase. Is it an omen of hope or of devastation? No spoilers here.
6. Peter Broderick – Retreat – Retreat/Release (2007)
We heard from Peter Broderick on the first installment of this playlist series with his song “With The Notes On Fire,” a dense arrangement of guitars, strings and percussion. But Broderick’s discography is really a bit of everything, and his 7” Retreat/Release is more of a focus on the ambient side of things. Consisting of some of his earliest released work, both songs are piano and string based compositions that flow softly along, doused in reverb. The “Retreat” side sounds like an accompaniment to an emotional film scene as it rides along, cresting into a deep crescendo. As it begins to peel back, Broderick’s hushed singing joins the piano as it dims into nothing.
7. Clouwbeck – Andelevesarewe – A Moraine (2008)
Clouwbeck is one of the many monikers used by British minimalist musician Richard Skelton. Skelton began using his music as a therapeutic release following the death of his wife in 2004 and it carries with it a profound sense of feeling. A Moraine is a single piece, divided into three sections that utilize manipulated string sounds to create tonal textures as they swirl into each other. The pieces seemingly don’t cater to one end of the emotional spectrum; rather they weave their way around, invoking more imagery than emotion.
8. Sigur Ros – Untitled #5 – ( ) (2002)
Speaking of imagery, I have always gotten a very distinct visual listening to this song. Sigur Ros, the Icelandic post-rock group might be a little off being on this playlist, but the track known simply as “Untitled #5” fits in sound and mood. ( ) is perhaps the groups most appreciated work, but it’s this piece in particular that resonates with me. The combination of the slow-moving percussion - here relegated to the background - the droning organ and the pulsing e-bowed guitar conjure images in my head of a family, sheltered in an underground bunker, living out the last days worth of supplies while they prepare to enter a world that may be drastically different from the one they left. As the distortion hits and the drummer starts pounding the crash cymbals, the family begin to open the door, the faintest rays of light strike their faces and then…..That’s where the song ends.
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