Hey folks, here is one of my favorite ambient albums of all time:
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Brian Eno’ “Thursday Afternoon”
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Eno’s “Music for Airports” and Steve Reich’s “Music for 18 Musicians” were standard dinner music fare at home (Boston’s Piano Factory artist live-work building) when my daughters were growing up.
Happy Holidays everyone!
Without straying too far from the Eno thread; this is on constant rotation for me:
This one is a little more in the computer music zone, but I find it very relaxing to listen to:
A classic and a favorite, reissued on vinyl not too long ago by Light In the Attic records.
Barely known outside of his home country during his lifetime, the late Japanese ambient music pioneer Hiroshi Yoshimura has seen his global stature rise steadily in the past few years. The 2017 reissue of his lauded debut, Music For Nine Post Cards, along with a slow building cult internet following has helped ignite a renaissance in his acclaimed body of work, much of which has never been released outside of Japan. Known for his sound design and environmental music, Yoshimura worked on a number of commissions following the 1982 release of Music For Nine Post Cards, including works for museums, galleries, public spaces, TV shows, video art, fashion shows, and even a cosmetics company.
Originally released in 1986, GREEN is one of Hiroshi Yoshimura’s most well-loved recordings and a favorite of the artist himself. Recorded over the winter of 1985-86 at Yoshimura’s home studio, the compositions unfold at an unhurried pace, a stark contrast to the busy city life of Tokyo. As Yoshimura explained in the original liner notes, the album title in the context of this body of work is not meant to be seen as a color, but is rather used to convey “the comfortable scenery of the natural cycle known as GREEN”—which perfectly encapsulates the soothing and warm sounds contained on the album, although it was created utilizing Yamaha FM synthesizers, known for their crisp digital tones.
Love this. Working really well with the windows open and the Ybor City roosters and streetcar sounds.
Interesting to learn that only the US release had the birds and waves mixed in. I wonder if Yoshimura ever had any regrets about mixing them in, instead of just letting the ambient music stand on its own.
When I released Reed Flute Solos (ha! Solo not Solu!) in 1998 I mixed in some wave sounds from a favorite place on the Maine coast, Pemmaquid Point because I didn’t think the tracks could stand on their own without being tied together with it. I may do a 25 anniversary release on vinyl next year––without the waves!
