Phillip Wilkerson and Tange - Ege Denizi

i have to admit, the pedal steel guitar is not one of my favorite instruments- the twangy sound often used in country music can really grate on my nerves. but the instrument can also be very effectively used in ambient and atmospheric music, providing subtle textures or smooth and ghostly leads. Gordon Macmillian's contributions to Ege Denizi are a wonderful example of the masterfully subtle use of steel guitar-- the gliding amorphous melodies and swelling textures are couched in Phillip Wilkerson's luminous pads, soothing atmospherics and occasional rhythmic elements. as noted by the earth mantra staff, an immensely beautiful, delicate and transcendent release.

Carl Sagan's Ghost - Behind Clouds

according to the composer, the album behind clouds is designed to be listened be listened to as one piece, looped over and over with no real beginning or ending. no mater how you listen to it, the music is beautifully detailed yet subtle and understated- ambient sounds for deep thoughts.

AmbiScience

one of my favorite apps for the ipod touch lately has been the AmbiScience series from Tesla Software. these apps play loops of ambient music which can be combined with various brainwave entrainment sounds, including settings for increased alertness, meditation, and deep sleep (i definitely recommend reading up on brainwave entrainment if youre not familiar with it already, its really fascinating). the apps work great as a sleep aid, and a timer is included which will shut down the app after a certain time. even without the entrainment options, the ambient loops are very enjoyable to listen to, well-produced and usually long enough so that the loop is not immediately noticeable. the Pure Sleep and Brain Power editions feature more organic sounds somewhat in the style of Steve Roach or Michael Stearns, and Androids Odyssey naturally has a more electronic, classic sequencer spacemusic feel.
and as an added bonus, An Android's Odyssey is free at the iTunes store for the next few days. definitely recommended for fans of ambient music who own an iPhone or iPod touch!

Offsets - Circular Drift

a new release from the distance recordings netlabel, Circular Drift is composed of soft suspended drones, quiet guitar loops, subtle percussion and processed field recordings which dissolve into gentle breezes of blissful ambient tones. perfect music for a rainy spring morning, a warm afternoon of daydreaming or a lazy evening with the window open, the music seamlessly melding with the sounds of the outdoors.

Planet Boelex & Lisa's Antenna - Little world [remastered]

my favorite release of 2008 has just been tweaked and professionally remastered, giving it an even more lush and refined sound. a perfect excuse to re-visit this stunningly beautiful album of ambient dream pop.
for more information, visit the official press release on the soft phase label page, or planet boelex's myspace blog entry.

Polar Lights - Platforma EP

More stylishly polished music from electronicalabel.ru-- the Platforma EP occupies a pleasant space between minimal tech house, chillout and idm moods. subtle grooves, smooth atmospheres and glittering clicks n cuts. perfect for a warm, relaxed spring afternoon.

Heath Yonaites - Clouds of Six Directions

imagine if some artists from Windham Hill got together and formed an Explosions in the Sky cover band. it probably wouldnt sound much like Clouds of Six Directions, but for this fantastic album, audio and visual artist, multi-instrumentalist, writer, and New Mexico resident Heath Yonaites creates epic, emotional and brilliantly original acoustic instrumental music which defies genre descriptions. soaring and cinematic as the desert vistas of the american west yet delicate, intimate and lyrical.

Bernard Reeb - Lumina magica

on Lumina magica , french artist Bernard Reeb creates a really excellent album of pure ambient electronic spacemusic in the grand european tradition: deep, blissful, expansive and transporting. the album is available for free mp3 download on both the « les Cristaux Liquident » netlabel website and the artists personal site. and if you wish to support the artist, this album (and several others) are also available for purchase as lossless FLAC downloads from musiczeit .

Musikmesse 2009

last weekend, agents from hiddenplace music had the good fortune of visiting Musikmesse 2009 in Frankfurt, Germany- the world's largest trade fair for all things music-related. its quite impossible to see everything in one day, but i was able to shoot some photos and videos during the event, including a bit of @thomasraukamp performing a live set of netaudio minimal techno.

Saine - Clockwork

finnish producer Saine makes some of the most chilled out instrumental hiphop and downtempo music you can imagine. he already put out several tracks on the recently re-opened Tokyo Dawn, and this year he released his second full-length commercial album. as a promo for the new LP, he also put out the excelent Clockwork EP for free download.
stylistically, the ep is similar to his earlier work on TD but now the music has become even more refined and polished. hushed atmospheres, resonant jazz samples and restrained turntable beats make up a supremely classy mood. appropriate purchase links & samples for the full-length albums can be found on his website.

The Circular Ruins - Retrospective 2009

on an earlier post, i featured an album by Anthony Paul Kerby, aka Nunc Sans. he also produces music under the name The Circular Ruins, and he recently released a free retrospective of tracks from several of his albums under that name. the music is deep hypnotic ambient spacemusic with subdued rhythmic elements. although compiled from albums spanning over several years, the compilation maintains a strong artistic vision and aesthetic. it should be noted that one track features offthesky, a favorite artist of hiddenplace music who will no doubt be well known by many of my readers. in all, this retrospective serves as an excellent introduction to the artist, as well as a thoroughly enjoyable album in its own right.

Tracing Arcs - Fin

put out on the excellent Dusted Wax Kingdom netlabel, Fin by Tracing Arcs is quiet, atmospheric and subtle-- a smoky voice and smooth, flowing jazz textures. a fresh, original sound and top-quality production. in short, simply one of the best triphop albums i've heard in a long time.

via Free Albums Galore

hiddenplace music mix 5: macrocosm

Download mp3 (160kbps, 63MB)

a mix of a few of my favorite deep, spacious ambient tracks from 2008. warm synth waves by Altus, icy winter environments from Shiftless, spaced-out piano by Ben Woods, stunning vocal-based headphone candy by Tertium Auris, spectral desert ambience by Rudy Adrian...

playlist:
(00:22) Altus - Subspherical [Macro]
(03:39) Altus - Wood Grain [Macro]
(06:50) Shiftless - Icicles [ap3002]
(09:10) Coax - Quiet Minds reprise [ap3002]
(11:22) El Zoológico - Nada [pj002]
(12:58) Ben Woods - Realms of Detachment [OWL-33]
(19:12) Tertium Auris - Vox Auris I - III [DHS0040]
(38:21) The Dandelion Council - The Face of the Mountain [ah028]
(39:52) Rudy Adrian - Desert Realms
(47:34) Tone Ghost Ether - Gamelan Moon Landing [earman051]
...

Inna Breeze - Stairway to Heaven

i'm always quite pleased to discover a netaudio release that stands out from the usual electronica and experimental music. the ironically named russian netlabel top40 has already set a precedent of releasing live performances of works by modern classical composers such as Steve Reich and George Crumb. yet even among such distinctive releases, Stairway to Heaven stands out as the first symphony in their catalogue (and most likely the first new symphony to be released on a netlabel).
this amazing work, performed live by a full orchestra with organ, is a melodic and lyrical symphonic tone poem stylistically rooted in the program music of the romantic era, the americana jazz influences of the early 20th century and even modern film scores. brilliantly composed, performed and recorded, Stairway to Heaven is a must-hear for fans of classical music and film soundtracks (btw- the piece certainly has nothing musically to do with the Led Zepplin song of the same name! in the words of the composer, "In my youth I, of course, heard the beautiful Led Zeppelin's song of the same name. But «Stairway to Heaven» is dedicated not to this song nor my youth. I'm implying the different, almost literal meaning to this words nowadays: it's an ascension. The ascension of a whole life. We are all moving «there», one way or another...")

ambienteer

i recently discovered a very interesting ambient music project through a few of my followers on twitter. english producer ambienteer (@ambienteer) creates electronic sound studies every day and posts them on his blog as a sort of sound diary. the style ranges from deep spacious soundscapes to glitchy processed microsound. collections are also posted every 10 days for easy downloading.