An Introduction to Ambient

This is a list of good essentials (imo) and starters into different styles of Ambient music. Some I may have made up or may not be in the right categories. I do what I can.

You will like this if your name is Andee.

Minimal:
Minimal ambient music is the roots of ambient music and many consider Brian Eno to be the father of ambient music. It's a definitely a good starting place. Minimal is relaxing and contemplative - book reading music, perhaps, sleep is good too.

Artists include:
- Brian Eno
- Stars Of The Lid
- The Dead Texan

Download sample pack: here

Neo-Classical:
It's exactly what it sounds like - New classical music. Usually piano-centric; very atmospheric and nostalgic. I enjoy Neo-classical the most on rainy afternoons or early in the morning.

Artists include:
- Ludovico Einaudi
- Johann Johannsson
- Worrytrain

Download sample pack: here

Ambient Acoustic:
Warm acoustic guitars sets a good mood for anything. Road-trips through the desert, formal dinners, sitting by a fire in a snowy log cabin, or just relaxing on the grass.

Artists include:
- Sumner McKane
- Kaki King
- James Blackshaw

Download sample pack: here

Ambient Lo-Fi:
Often giving off a creepy vibe, but wonderful once you get to know it. Ancient rituals, old dusty houses, and crackling, worn-out recording equipment.

Artists include:
- Natural Snow Buildings
- Pocahaunted
- Grouper

Download sample pack: here

Ambient Post-Rock:
If you're unfamiliar with post-rock, it's a usually-instrumental style of music for using rock instruments in a very non-rock kind of way. Songs are usually long, don't follow a normal rule of verse-chorus usage, and end up being pretty epic. Translate that to ambient music and it's quite something to behold.

Artists include:
- The American Dollar
- Hammock
- Jesu

Download sample pack: here

Ambient Electronic:
Electronic beats and stylings that usually end up sounding pretty romantic. For lonely nights staring out the window, heartaches; For distant city lights; For holding hands, and making out.

Artists include:
- port-royal
- Lights Out Asia
- The Album Leaf

Download sample pack: here

Minimal Techno:
Pretty self-explanatory, but very hard to imagine if you've never heard it before. Music for relaxing with friends, music for late-night drives, music for cleaning your room. If you're not a fan of "techno" and related genres, it's still worth checking out - It's not very similar.

Artists include:
- Evan Marc & Steve Hillage
- The Field
- Loscil

Download sample pack: here

Space Music:
Exactly what it sounds like. Music for dreaming of being in space, for stargazing, for falling asleep. So infinitely pleasant if you're in love with space.

Artists include:
- Jonn Serrie
- Steve Roach
- Seetyca

Download sample pack: N/A

Drone:
Drone, light drone, and dark drone are all really the same thing, but with different moods. Drone is a very good word to describe it, because that's what it is - Long, droning tones, wavering wavelengths, and big soundscapes. It may sound boring, but once you start, you cannot stop. I like to think it adds an extra layer of silence. You'll see what I mean.

Artists include:
- Aidan Baker
- Windy & Carl
- Eluvium

Download sample pack: N/A

Light Drone:
Drone with a lighter, innocent flavor. Usually the stuff you want to fall asleep to. Sometimes good romantic dinner music, or late-night snugglings and smoochies as well.

Artists include:
- Slow Dancing Society
- Northern
- Stephen Philips

Download sample pack: N/A

Dark Drone:
Drone with a sinister, evil flavor. Stuff to creep yourself out, to make you feel like a villian, or to just satisfy your craving for something... dark. Not for little girls.

Artists include:
- Lustmord
- Vrodhgr
- Rosetta (B-Sides)

Download sample pack: N/A

Drone Metal:
Distortion off the charts, dense walls of sound, slow brooding drums, drowning out vocals, thoughts, and melting your skin off. Nothing has ever been so brutally lovely.

Artists include:
- Nadja
- The Angelic Process

Download sample pack: N/A

Doom Metal:
Candles go out, eyes cry blood, livestock dies, hoods are donned, stormclouds hide the sun, a swarm of locusts descends, the wind howls. Prepare for the darkest hour.

Artists include:
- Sunn O)))
- The Mt. Fuji Doomjazz Corporation
- Omega Massif

Download sample pack: N/A

How Not To Live In The Forest

I'm not sure if I can go the rest of my life not living on the Olympic Peninsula. I long for it even now.

It's Good To Be Single

It suddenly dawned on me.

Doing what you want, when you want! Spending your spare money on fun things! Not having to worry if your breath stinks!

Video games, longboarding, and peeing with the door open; Good times await!

\o/

Good Things

...take a lot of work.

Sometimes the work'sn't worth it.

Tonight, my hair's soft...

[俳句]

(Social Oddities) Pt. 1 of ?

The Social Oddity of Not Being Able To Say No:

In our culture it has kind of become impossible to oppose anyone by saying no to requests or by asking someone to change what they're doing if you're aiming to be polite. It practically defeats the purpose of asking someone a yes or no question in some cases, but would be altogether more rude if you didn't give them the option at all in some more cases. All of this can be avoided if you're someone who doesn't care if you're rude or not.

Example 1:
You're in class and whoever is speaking asks if the crowd minds if they talk and extra 5 minutes into your lunch time. Since it would be rude for anyone to say "No, I'd really like to get to lunch on time," the speaker only hears the random one or two people who yell "Yeah, go ahead!"

Example 2:
You've made plans to hang out with a friend later and are going to his place to watch a movie and play some games. When a second friend asks if he or she can come as well, you would be rude to deny them, but you tell them it's not up to you because it's not at your house, so you proceed to call your first friend and ask if your second friend can come with you. Naturally, since the host really doesn't have any solid excuse not to let your second friend come, he would be obliged to say yes, even if he didn't really like the second friend or would rather just have you over.

Example 3:
You're in a car with some friends, not good friends, but people you're comfortable around. Someone puts on some music that you don't really like. It's not that it's bad music or that it's particularly obnoxious, it's just really mediocre (See The Killers). You can't just ask them to turn it off because you don't like it without sounding rude.

Why Hardcore Techno Is Good For Me

The secret to a good, long run is Hardcore Techno (&/or Gabber). Some time ago I may have decided that it was Drum and Bass, but that is no longer so. Drum and Bass is good, but it often makes you run at a pace that wears you out quickly and the pace often switched from too slow to too fast too often. This is not so with Hardcore Techno - I've just been running the past couple days to a compilation called Masters of Hardcore: Chapter XXVI and it just keeps me going and keeps me pumped like nothing I've ever run to before. I can close my eyes and get lost in the music and don't really feel tired until I stop - it's like it compels me to dance but instead I put that energy into running. The only thing keeping me from going longer is my feet get numb because I don't have running shoes.

I've decided I'd like to produce some myself, and also start a netlabel for it. It would be called Granite Breaker Records (GBR -> Gabber ;D) and it would slay. We will see how this pans out. Must acquire Reason... I'm not sure if Ableton is the right tool for this.

--- Unrelated notes ---

Anyway... I'm on track for finishing my assigned Bible reading this year, so that's something. In order to finish on time I must read about 12 chapters a day, which takes me about 45 minutes depending on what book I'm in. It's kind of burdensome, but it's getting me into the Bible every day, which can only lead to good. My roommate Jon is also determined to finish, but he's so far behind he has to read 28 chapters a day - I've been really impressed though, the past three days he's been keeping up and making it a priority.

I also found out a few weeks ago that I'm on the Ecola Festival Team this summer. That means I get to spend my summer doing something I hate - Listen to Christian music. I can bear it though, because it enables me to a) Take a road trip b) See the Eastern side of the U.S. c) Promote Ecola d) Hang out with the other cool people on the team, and e) Not get a job. I'm looking forward to this so much!

Lots of exciting interaction with ladies in my near future. My good friend (and ideal older sister) Rachel is coming to visit tomorrow which I am STOKED about. She's like me but in older girl form and more fun to be around. Then on Easter weekend I get to go visit my friend Maddie (who I interact with mostly by sending/receiving mix CDs to/from - we haven't actually talked in person that much...) and see Noah Gundersen, the best folk artist from this side of America. I'm not usually this lady-oriented, it's scary.

The Far Cry 2 map editor is the best thing since the Tribes 2 map editor.

That is all, hopefully some more serious or insightful things sooner/later.

3rd Term Is Upon Us

No updates for a long time... well. Been busy and stuff.

First order of business, just got back from Mexico, we went down there this spring break to help out with construction on Baja Bible School, which is going to be super awesome when it starts this fall. If I wasn't already two-years deep in Bible School I'd sign up right away. I would write a ton about my experience but it's late and I need to get up early tomorrow.

Second, third term of Ecola is starting as of today and for that, I am stoked. I'm really ready to be done with this place - it's good, but it's time to leave the greenhouse. Less than seven weeks to go!

I guess this isn't much of an update, I'll try to get on that this week sometime.