Danbient and the Aaronosphere

First of all who is that Andorian on the cover?

Ambient music is not generally something I seek out, but it can have its place. My biggest problem is that I don't find most of it that interesting. So much of it is loops that could be easily created by anyone with the right software. In fact, I created a bit of what might pass as ambient as a music bed for the intro, transitions, and menus for my resume DVD using Apple's "Soundtrack” software that ships with “Final Cut Pro.” If I had "Garage Band" it would be even easier. Maybe I'll e-mail a sample to everyone.

If I want some background music, I am more likely to put in some classical/baroque music, or some modal jazz. For me these genres have many layers of listenability. They can act as background, and yet can be incredibly emotive, and complex. Kind of Blue (Miles Davis) is likely the pinnacle of modal jazz (and possibly recorded music). It is an incredibly versatile recording for me. Mozart's Eine Kleine Nacht Musik was composed as ambient music. “A Little Night Music.” Most chamber music was in fact meant to be played in the background.

So, I tend to choose music I see as even more versatile than most of what is called “Ambient.” But, I'm no music snob, and I refuse to dismiss Outsider Art (which I believe loop based music can be to an extent). It is still art, and this is still music. Is it good music? Let's see.

(One additional note concerning Dan's introductory comments, if I am not mistaken (and I am pretty sure I am not) dub really isn't a form of electronica. It is more akin to reggae, with the artist being the DJ spinning records, and rapping over them. Does that sound right, or are there two types of dub?)

1. "Witch Doctor," Small Axe:
Blah. This one does absolutely nothing for me. I find this one slow, plodding, and boring. I actually find the bass line annoying. I'm pretty sure this was all loops, except for the spoken bits, and it simply doesn't hold my interest. This is one I will be skipping over if it comes up in party shuffle.

2. "Café Coca," De-Phazz:
An improvement. It sounds like mostly loops, possibly sampled. Overall it is decent background, and starts to rise to a higher level. Just as I am about to become bored with it all the trombone solo comes in. It is a tasty solo that fits with the piece well, but nothing terribly interesting. I wonder if it is sampled, or was new to this piece. This is one that could be added to a party mix, nice enough, without overpowering the conversation. Good background, but it doesn't blow my brains out.

3. "High Roller," The Crystal Method:
This is the one group that I have heard of, and I have heard a couple of their songs, but I couldn't tell you which ones. I find the repeated "this transmission is coming to you" at the beginning a bit annoying, but musically this one progresses nicely. Elements come in at the right times to keep it interesting. I too love the guitar at 2:30. Dan's right about the space thing, "We can see the Earth now..." But musically, I can also envision a very stylized video shot in time-lapse driving down the Las Vegas strip, and walking down Freemont Street in downtown at night. With one minute left, they're leaving Las Vegas, and heading into the quiet lonely desert. This one is a keeper

4. "Le Soleil est Près de Moi," Air:
I think I have to disagree with Dan on the bass here. I think it is a sampled bass, the attacks are too uniform to be live. This one keeps it interesting. It doesn't rely heavily on loops, and there are more melodic elements, and a more interesting harmonic structure than some of the other selections. I really like this one, it is relaxing, and works well on many levels, which we have established is necessary.

5. "Kaye," 7-Hurtz:
This one is ok. Good background, and could be added to the "party mix." Not much in here rises above pleasant background for me though.

6. "Sea of Tranquility," John Stanford:
Another good background piece. Some nice dynamics to keep it from getting boring, but not much in the way of harmonic variance. The repeated keyboard (which one, right?) part grows a little thin for me. Also could be added to the party, but not much jumps out at me.

7. "Wilderness," Bluetech:
The melodic nature of this one tells me that there is more to this one than just pre-recorded loops. I could stare off into nothingness and zone to this one. There are enough changes here to keep it from becoming tiresome, but more ignorable that interesting. A good background piece, but not much more for me.

8. "Devotion No. 1," Loop Guru:
I really dig this one. There is a great deal of interesting things going on, and new elements coming in at regular intervals. This is a wonderful meditative groove that, as Dan mentioned, makes sense given their name. I don't own much Indian music, well none really, except Ravi's bit at the beginning of “Concert for Bangladesh,” which I love. I have cued this one up a few times at work when I need a quick calm. I usually have some CD that I can use for this (When you work with morons...), but Loop Guru has taken over due to my repeated listenings getting ready to write these comments. This song seems shorter than it's 8:02 run time.

9. "Numero Deux," The Dining Rooms:
I am not completely convinced that it is a real bass. Well, actually I do think it is at the beginning, but not for the reasons Dan does. The squeaks could be samples in and of themselves. Many syths have entire banks of string noise effects like these. But I do think it is live at the beginning, because the attacks aren't quite uniform. Later I think it goes to a loop, and the squeaks seem to disappear. But what do I think of the song? It's ok, but this is another that doesn't hold my interest beyond pure background music. One thing that I have tried with each of these while listening on my iPod is to scroll ahead 15-13 seconds at a time, and see if there is much of a change. This one is the most uniform throughout. Still, it is pleasant enough, and I wouldn't pass it by in the Party Shuffle.

10. "Rapture at Sea," Eastern Sun & John Kelley:
Yet another selection that has nice elements, and makes a wonderful backdrop. It builds nicely in the beginning, but then kind of reaches a plateau, and doesn’t seem to develop further. Nice for a party mix, but again, this is one that doesn’t rise above the background for me. Entrancing, but not compelling.

Wrap it up:
Well, overall I enjoyed this collection. The only selection I disliked was Witch Doctor. While I found most of these pieces to be pleasant, and ignorable (not a bad thing in this genre it has been established), only a couple rose to the level of interesting for me. As I mentioned over and over in the individual comments, most of these will not be passed up when they appear in iTunes Party Shuffle, and quite a few will be making their way into the iPod party mix and will be heard on poker nights in the garage.

BS: It comes down to a tie. I tried to decide between one and the other, but just couldn’t. “Le Soleil est Près de Moi,” and “Devotion No. 1”
SIWHI: “So What” Miles Davis