musical journey pt8

Way past the halfway point, we come to a near standstill. We shift back a few gears and try to lose ourselves in otherworldly atmospheres, entering the field of stretched-out ambient. There's a little of everything, offering a good selection of dark, noizy, melodic and soundscape-based ambient music. From there on, we carefully start adding some rhythm and evenly portions of distortion, bringing us on the edge of disted IDM and similar music.

For reference, here are links to the previous parts of the list: 01-10, 11-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70

1. 071. Idle Sunder - Aether II

   check the Idle Sunder album
   

   Eerie pads and icy atmosphere are stretched out over short and subtle soundscapes. If you're making a film and you have spaceships flying around, this should be your prime choice. My personal fav ambient act, hands down.

2. 072. Wilt - The Shadow Out Of Time

   check the Wilt album
   

   Wilt is and artist taking a darker path down the ambient road, adding noizy samples and a good few pounds of distortion, but without ever losing out on the melodic side of things.

3. 073. Binray - Mondieuilpleut

   check the Binray album
   

   Great experimental ambient track creating atmospheres with found sounds and soundscapes. Not your easiest definition of "music", but surely a great ensemble of sounds and noises.

4. 074. Ab Ovo - Les Filles du Vent

   check the Ab Ovo album
   

   Ab Ovo brings soft and woolly sounds, warming the winterly atmosphere in the background. Superb melodic ambient with a slight hint of distortion and plenty of attention to the feel and color of the sound.

5. 075. Fennesz - A Year in a Minute

   check the Fennesz album
   

   Not a big Fennesz fan myself (this is also an atypically energetic and melodic Fennesz track) but nonetheless an awesome piece of music, weaving a blanket of warm melodies, carrying you away to a less hectic world.

6. 076. Spark - My Human Objective

   check the Spark album
   

   Once described as white noize, mixing heavy melodies in rigid rhythms with noizy and harsh samples while retaining a certain sense of calm. If people know similar artists, I hold myself recommended. Superb track.

7. 077. End - Global Media Engine

   check the End album
   

   Early End track, floating somewhere between the realms of ambient and IDM. The overall feel is soft and comforting, but the rhythms are actually quite dense and nervous. Good stuff.

8. 078. Autechre - Milk DX

   check the Autechre album
   

   Can't have a list of 100 electronic tracks without Autechre among them. An often overlooked track, but one of their best, displaying an uncanny talent of whipping up magnificent melodies wrapped in a perfect buildup.

9. 079. Myrakaru - Varina

   check the Myrakaru album
   

   Sweet and melodic IDM, backed by slightly glitchy and distorted tapestry. Myrakaru is a rather obscure project from Estland, but it shouldn't be by all music. Beautiful music which deserves an audience.

10. 080. Lan Formatique - Lagomorph Insomnia

    check the Lan Formatique album
    

    The final entry in the quieter IDM section, sporting nice melodies, warm vocal samples and a sweet layer of soft distortion. Grizzly bedtime music in its most purest form.