Video: Múm - We Have A Map Of The Piano
Posted on | July 9, 2007 | No Comments
Ambient Music Links, July 8th
Posted on | July 8, 2007 | No Comments
- Rant Magazine » Articles » Efterklang
Interview with Efterklang.
There’s more where this came from at del.icio.us/ambientmusicblog.
Video: Múm, Green Grass Of Tunnel
Posted on | July 7, 2007 | No Comments
Iceland Airwaves
Posted on | July 6, 2007 | No Comments
The annual Icelandic music festival Iceland Airwaves is happening again this year, from October 17th through the 21st, in, where else, Reykjavík. Not sure exactly what the lineup is this year, but in years past they’ve had a number of Ambient Music Blog favorites perform.
And if you’re interested in going, a nice way to go would be for free. To celebrate the DVD release of Screaming Masterpiece, Milan records is giving away a trip for two to the festival.
Soundtracks, Part 4: Asche & Spencer, Monster’s Ball
Posted on | July 5, 2007 | No Comments
Part 4 of the soundtrack series is the soundtrack for Monster’s Ball, composed by Asche & Spencer. There’s a two things that make this record interesting. The first is, of course, the music. The tracks are quiet, but striking. A consistent theme, figuratively and literally, stretches across the work, but each “song” has it’s own melody, its own contribution to the whole. It’s a great listen for a quiet summer afternoon, as a thunderstorm approaches and you’re considering where you might have left your flashlight.
The second interesting thing is that this record was recorded buy what amounts to an advertising agency. Asche & Spencer is a Minneapolis based agency that composes music for number of different mediums, from film to television commercials to software. Their approach is collaborative, and despite what their name seems to say, there’s way more than 2 people working on the music. In face, Mark Asche, the Asche of Asche & Spencer, is no longer part of the company. It’s a really interesting way of working, and somehow they find a way of avoiding compromise until there’s no point of view in a collaborative environment. These guys aren’t just making cute ad jingles, they’re producing first-rate art. Really nice stuff, highly recommended.
This interview and short video give nice insight into how Asche & Spencer works.
Related
Soundtracks, Part 1: Michael Brook, An Inconvenient Truth
Soundtracks, Part 2: Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson & Sigur Ros, Angels of the Universe
Soundtracks, Part 3: Cliff Martinez, Solaris
Ambient Music Blog: Video: Making the Music for “Monster’s Ball”
Having a Ball! - An Interview with Composer Thad Spencer of Asche &
Spencer
Video: Jóhann Jóhannsson @ Iceland Airwaves
Posted on | July 5, 2007 | No Comments
You Who Pretend To Sleep, Joy Wants Eternity
Posted on | July 4, 2007 | 1 Comment
I first mentioned Seattle post-rock band Joy Wants Eternity a few weeks back. Since then, I’ve acquired their second release, You Who Pretend To Sleep, and I quite like it. There’s some standard post-rock type instrumental rocking going on here, but in addition there’s some quieter, spacier tracks that really add some nice texture and keep the record from feeling like too much of a one trick pony. As in: loud rocking, quiet rocking, repeat until there’s no space left on the CD.
If you like Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, and all the rest, you’ll definitely like this. If I had a car and drove, this is the kind of record I’d listen to on the highway late at night.
Related
Official Joy Wants Eternity Site
Joy Wants Eternity MySpace Profile
Ambient Music Blog: must you smash your ears before you learn to listen with your eyes, Joy Wants Eternity
Interview: Brian Eno on 77 Million Paintings, Full Transcript
Posted on | July 3, 2007 | 2 Comments
Photo courtesy of Scott Beale / Laughing Squid
I’ve posted about Brian Eno’s “77 Million Paintings” a few times before. The work was recently on view at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center, and Wired did an interview with Eno where he discusses the piece. It’s an interesting read, and gives a bit of insight into Eno’s approach to his work.
Related
Wired: Interview: Brian Eno on 77 Million Paintings, Full Transcript
77 Million Paintings wrap up
77 Million Paintings
Kurr, Amiina
Posted on | July 3, 2007 | No Comments
I finally got my hands on the new Amiina record Kurr via eMusic, and I have to say I really like it. There are a few holdout tracks from previous EP’s Seoul and AnimaminA, but on the whole the songs on this full-length record are more refined, a bit more pop-ish, some even with nice melodic hooks and bridges.
I hate to say it, but some of the tracks sound like they’re destined for Volkswagen commercials. If you’re into strange, but not to strange, Icelandic music like me, this is definitely a record to get. And if you’re a bit put off by some of the weirdness of their previous work, this Amiina release is certainly more accessible.
Related
Amiina MySpace Profile
Official Amiina Site
Amiina Wikipedia Entry
Piano Solos, Vol. 2, Dustin O’Halloran
Posted on | July 2, 2007 | No Comments
I had mentioned Dustin O’Halloran’s Prelude 2 a few weeks ago, and that record reminded me that I hadn’t yet picked up O’Halloran’s Piano Solos, Vol. 2. It’s not available via eMusic, so I added it to an Amazon order and it arrived this past week. I’ve been listening to it quite a bit. I don’t have much to say about it, but if you like piano music, or O’Halloran’s work specifically, this record does not disappoint.
If you’re not familiar with O’Halloran, his first record Piano Solos is a great place to start. You can also stream a number of tracks from his official Web site.
Related
Ambient Music Blog: Prelude 2, Dustin O’Halloran
Official Dustin O’Halloran Site
Dustin O’Halloran MySpace Profile
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Categories
- About (6)
- Ambient Music (151)
- Design (1)
- Downloads (17)
- DVD (3)
- Experience Design (1)
- Gear (3)
- Interviews (1)
- Links (67)
- Live Shows (19)
- New Media Art (4)
- New Releases (26)
- News (4)
- Opinion (1)
- Photos (1)
- Podcasts (1)
- Recommended (69)
- Soundtracks (2)
- Streaming Music (5)
- Video (31)
Archives
- August 2008 (41)
- June 2008 (5)
- May 2008 (7)
- April 2008 (10)
- March 2008 (1)
- February 2008 (5)
- January 2008 (15)
- December 2007 (3)
- November 2007 (1)
- October 2007 (16)
- September 2007 (9)
- August 2007 (11)
- July 2007 (21)
- June 2007 (37)
- May 2007 (25)
- April 2007 (8)
- March 2007 (2)
- February 2007 (4)
- January 2007 (5)
Related
Resources
Top Weekly Records
About
Links, discussion, commentary, and reviews of Ambient music.
Updated almost daily with links to records on eMusic.com and Amazon.com MP3 Downloads.
If you're an artist interested in submitting your work, please read our submissions policy.
Subscribe to our feed
If you're new here, subscribing to our feed is the best way to get the latest from Ambient Music Blog fresh and direct daily to your feed reader.
You Might Consider
We only promote products or services that we use, like the ones you see below and throughout the site.