October Ambience
What I mostly listened to in October, ranked by numbers of plays (per Plexamp) and with a short blurb if a review is not available.
- Idles / Rob Simonsen - Caught Stealing OST, Honestly, I am surprised that I listened to this OST as much as I did. Don't get me wrong, it is a decent release and I am rather pleased that a band like the Idles was asked to do a soundtrack but at the same time, its lacking a certain ooomf (that's the technical term). As a FYI: there are only 3 Idles tracks and the rest is the Idles performing music composed by Rob Simonsen. Recommended if you are into the Idles and/or a completest. Otherwise, your mileage may vary
- Adam Wiltize - Eleven Fugues for Sodium Penthothal. Similar to his work with Stars of the Lid/Winged Victory For the Sullen but with more teeth. Not sure how I slept on this. Essential.
- Mouldycliff, Potter, Mouldycliff (MPM) - Canopies and Cathedrals. MPM's experimental ambient flies under the radar but they deserve more attention. Essential.
- Laurie Spiegel - Unseen Worlds. I am completely enthralled with Laurie Spiegel's Expanding Universe release and so when I came across this, I had to purchase. This is a darker and more atmospheric affair that only the brilliance of Laurie Spiegel could produce. Recommend
- Ulver - Liminal Animals. What can be said about a band like Ulver? In their current incarnation, they are producing avant pop but in the past they have been a black metal band, an ambient band, a krautrock bad etc. If you get Ulver, this is well worth your time. If you don't or don't know Ulver, still give this one a shot. Recommended.
- Kieran Hebden - 41 Longfield Street Late '80s. It is ambient, it is country, it is electronic and sometimes it is experimental. Both artists are at the top of their game. Essential
- Klaus Schulze - Deus Arrakis. Klaus Schulze was a Dune enthusiast and this is one of his imaginary soundtracks to Dune. Enough said. Essential
- MPM - Imaginary Conversations. As stated above, MPM's experimental ambient flies under the radar but they deserve more attention. Essential.
- A winged victory for the sullen - Invisible cities/ Le Città Invisibili. This is a soundtrack that AWVFTS was commissioned to produce and is a bit livelier that past AWVFTS releases. As a side note, the CD of this was incredibly hard to hunt down (no problem for the LP). Recommended.
- Peter Baumann - Nightfall. This is the great Peter Baumann originally of Tangerine Dream. However, do not expect those kinds of stylings. Instead this is an exploration sound and sequences. Recommend.
Photograph by Daniel De Los Santos, Fremont CA