Ambient music fans » Discussions

What got you into ambient?

 
  • It started with video games. As a kid most of what I played was RPG’s—Final Fantasy being the standout, but there were some other, lesser-known titles in that bunch. The music of those games always appealed to me, though darned if I knew what to call it when I was six. The closest that I could find to it was certain classical composers (Erik Satie being one of the nearest to the sound). After I got my first job I started looking for ‘things that sound kinda like the background of a video game, but not necessarily a video game music CD.’

    Thank the gods for independent record stores. And like-minded co-workers. At my first job, once my manager had walked in on my laundry shift (we bring in CD’s to make it less tedious) and noticed that my tastes leaned heavily into trip-hop, he made a few suggestions—Aphex Twin and the Cocteau Twins. It sort of snowballed from there. I don’t think he really expected me to be quite so far into it. And THEN he pointed me here, to Last.FM.

    The rest, as they say…

    Not only do I listen to music, I play instruments and mix on Fruity Loops. I'm better on an actual instrument. =p
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    • Dedran said...
    • User
    • 10 Mar 2011, 09:01
    In order:

    1. Like the above poster, video games. Nobuo Uematsu and Yasunori Mitsuda in particular were big interests when I was younger (FFVII, FFVIII, Chrono Cross), as well as Stewart Copeland's first Spyro the Dragon soundtrack, though the latter was a bit more subconscious and I didn't realize how it affected my playing the game until I decided to sit down and play through it again years later while feeling nostalgic.

    2. Classical music: John Williams (Jurassic Park, ET), Beethoven, Bach, as well as subtle uses of piano and strings in rock and pop songs that I liked when younger; it all seemed very fluid, airy, and kind of "floaty," if you know what I mean. Film scores took it a step further, because they used those effects to accentuate the mood or the action of scenes in films, which provided the "visual" link in my mind necessary to become interested in ambient music.

    3. Radiohead, first with songs like Fitter Happier and Fake Plastic Trees (the subtle but very ambient background keyboards), then later when I was completely surprised by Kid A and Amnesiac (Like Spinning Plates, Kid A's title track, Treefingers, the "hidden track" in Motion Picture Soundtrack).

    4. Radiohead led to a bunch of indie music, which I found boring, for the most part. Eventually, once I got past all the pretentious stuff, I started getting more heavily into classical and then decided to look up "ambient," though I thought of that term as more of a descriptor like "loud" or "fast" than an actual genre name. I immediately discovered Brian Eno this way, and was recommended vidnaObmana and Stars of the Lid shortly thereafter.

    5. That was about six years ago. Since then, everything from Carbon Based Lifeforms to Boards of Canada to more obviously ambient stuff like Robert Rich has become of interest, and I have no problem mixing different kinds of electronic music, so long as it's appropriately atmospheric and full of feeling. I still find new game soundtracks to listen to as well; in fact, I kind of think that more downtempo and ambient fans (especially downtempo fans) should check out game music.

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  • My tiny story:)
    Growing up in Ukraine, i moved to America in 1989, and my first music experience was MC Hammer, Ace Of Base, Vanilla Ice, and some Michael Jackson:) I thought all music was supposed to sound like that. A few years later i heard 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Outkast, NWA, and Jurassic 5:) That was like in 1995 though. A few years later in like 2000, i moved to New Hampshire USA that is, and my older brother was into Electronic music, and i never heard it in my life! He put on some DJ Tiesto Magik Series, and Armin Van Buuren 76 CD, along with Ferry Corsten's Ministry Of Sound collection, and at first i was confused, and didnt know what to make of that kind of music? All i knew is that i did not want to stop listening to it! As tears went on (3 or so) i started to hear about different types of Genres of Electronic music, such as: Psy/Goa, Progressive, House, DNB, Ambient, Hardstyle, Hard Trance, Electro, Minimal, IDM, Dub, and many others! I finally decided to minimize my path to make it simple for me:) I put my energy into the music that speaks to me the most, and it pointed me to Ambient/Psy/Psychill stuff, and i made the best choice in my life:) The very first track i heard that was Ambient was - Aphex Twin - Windowlicker, and i instantly fell in love with it, and started to search for similar music like that:) And i came across Carbon Based Lifeforms, Vibrasphere, shulman, Entheogenic, Solar Fields, Bluetech, Brian Eno, Yagya, Ambientium, Shpongle, Ishq, Ten Madison, Omnimotion, Massive Attack, Boards Of Canada, Thievery Corporation, Tosca, kruder & Dorfmiester, Kaya Project, Gaudi, Liquid Stranger, and BT:)

    "If your a good friend, than tell your friends what they NEED TO HEAR, instead of telling them what they want to hear"
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    • [Deleted user] said...
    • User
    • 8 Jul 2011, 11:34
    Computer game soundtracks like Fallout/Quake1 had a big impression on me, and after i stumbled upon Robert Rich, Lustmord and Steve Roach in my search for similar music, there was no turning back :]

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  • The beautiful sounds. The first ambient record I listened to was "Around The World In A Tea Daze" by shpongle.
    It converted me from a metalhead to an electronica fan almost instantly!

    We are the music makers.
    And we are the dreamers of dreams.
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  • Bowie /Eno.

    In the late seventies I was really in to Bowie and was always intrigued by the instrumental ambient sounds on the b sides of HEROES and LOW this made me search out more Eno and I discovered MUSIC FOR AIRPORTS and THE PLATEAUX OF MIRROR which blew me away and from there it just grew and grew, also in 1979 Steve Hillage did an album called RAINBOW DOME MUSICK which increased my interest. The 1980's found me getting in to Cocteau Twins and more Harold Budd and Eno again. The 1990's came and I was totally in to the sounds of Orbital, some of the Orb's stuff, Aphex Twin, Autechre but I still returned to classic Eno like THURSDAY AFTERNOON and the Cocteau Twins / Harold Budd colaboration THE MOON AND THE MELODIES.
    Now my tastes are still mainly Ambient I still listen to Eno, Budd and other pioneers of the sound but I'm also in to new stuff like Celer, Ian Hawgood, Bvdub, Stars Of The Lid and Jason Corder.
    So really it's thanks to Bowie for inviting Eno to work with him.

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    • [Deleted user] said...
    • User
    • 3 Sep 2011, 06:46

    Radio

    In my early teens I was turned on to "ambient" music by a little radio program broadcast from Philadelphia, PA called Star's End. Also, if I am remembering correctly, a Canadian radio show called Brave New Waves. Star's End is still around. Brave New Waves is not.

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  • Deep thinking

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  • Soma Space Station was where I first started hearing this kind of music. My tastes have diversified a little from what they play but I still tune in there at least once a day.

    Global Communication still stand as possibly my favorite act, as is the case with a lot of people. Their sound moves from one emotion to another so seemlessly and its amazing to be able to sit and listen and imagine fear and pleasure and longing all from the same song.

    just my little bit

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  • In 2007 at 18 years old, I was happening to play Halo 3 when one of the game's main menu songs caught my interest: "Never Forget" by Martin O'Donnell & Michael Salvatori. Its peaceful, soothing quality greatly appealed to me, and became my definite precursor to falling in love with ambient music later on. At 19, while happening to browse through some of Enya's music, her song "Boadicea" was a calm to my consciousness and re-awakened my dormant fascination of such aural serenity. Finally, at age 20, I discovered Last.fm, and having kept in mind my interest in this (relaxing) type of music, I already somehow intuitively "knew" of there being a genre called "Ambient" as my mind had associated it with the word "atmospheric". So I looked it up in search and sure enough - there was this so-called genre. From that point is when I ultimately, vigorously dug for ambient to my liking, until I'd say I finally hit some of the gold with discovering two basic ambient artists - Stars of the Lid and Tim Hecker. Since then, a handful of artists associated with the genre have grown on me, most notably Hammock and Hecq.

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  • I was listening to some ambient music occasionally, especially when I was at home. I was trying to combine it in my playlists with other kinds of music like reggae, dub, downtempo, chillout etc cause ambient music is really close to all these hearings.
    However the main reason I listen to it more often (like everyday) nowadays is because of my girl. I started using some online radio stations and that's how I found out about new ambient/downtempo music artists. Then my girl introduced me to lastfm and I found a lot of similar artists to the ones I liked. That's it, I got into it and now I'm literally listen to it every day.
    So enjoy ambient music.
    Peace :)

    managing the impossible
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  • atrium carceri was my first experience.i liked his atmospheric,creepy sound.then i discovered for myself ulver.now ambient is one of my favourites genres :3

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  • The GTA IV radio station called 'The Journey' got me into ambient back in 2008.
    Started to listen more intense day by day and now i'm stuck in the wonderful world of ambient. :)

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