Selected Ambient Works

Resonance, a modern masterpiece of soothing ambient soundscapes, was originally released by global elecronica legend Adham Shaikh’s on Sonic Turtle, his own indie label, in 2010.
Most tracks were at first conceived on piano - as Shaikh watched footage for which his music had been commissioned - and then fleshed out with myriad electronic effects to create the spacious sound he wanted to achieve. Through his extensive experience in scoring music to pictures, he noticed similarities between creating subtle, passive atmospheres supportive of the images, and the very essence of ambient music - a genre he had explored in his early recordings during the 1990s, preceding his metamorphosis into a global groove DJ…

‘Gaia: Selected Ambient & Downtempo Works (1996-2003)’ is a new in-depth compilation of works by Japanese musician Dream Dolphin. Co-compiled by long-time friend of the label Eiji Taniguchi, it draws from a vast discography of music oscillating between IDM, Pop and Ambient. First appearing on Eiji’s compilation ’Heisei No Oto - Japanese Left-field Pop From The CD Age (1989-1996)’, this selection of rediscoveries, further shines a light on the singular musician known as Dream Dolphin and her place in Japan’s rich electronic music legacy.

The first volume of ‘Selected Percussive Tracks…’ begins to collect some of the myriad material Paw Grabowski aka øjeRum has created over the last 25 years. Known primarily as a collage artists and practitioner of some of the most lauded and admired ambient music being created today. With ‘Selected Percussive Tracks…’ the velveteen warmth often associated with Paw’s music is still there but as was seen on his first Opal release ‘Through The Archway Of Mouths’ minimal, rhythmic features start to become the force of momentum in a music which often feels endless and gaussian. The six pieces on Vol. I date back to 1998 to 2001 and confirm the long standing aesthetics with which øjeRum has stuck to for the following 20+ years.

Like so much of Moby's earliest work, this isn't so much an album as a compilation via his original label, Instinct. Ambient influences in techno were all the rage in 1993 in terms of press and coverage (though jungle would swiftly eclipse both it and the progressive house genre), so it's no surprise Instinct wanted some of that action, right down to the says-it-all title. Motivations aside, Ambient is an enjoyable collection of experiments; if Aphex Twin's monumental Selected Ambient Works releases eclipse it in terms of both quality and sheer inventiveness, Moby's own efforts in the field are often quite pleasing. Those familiar with such later efforts as "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters" and "The Rain Falls and rhe Sky Shudders" can find their partial roots here, though the compositions are generally more formal and less-immediately noteworthy than what came next.