Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It is often "peaceful" sounding and lacks composition, beat, and/or structured melody. It uses textural layers of sound that can reward both passive and active listening and encourage a sense of calm or contemplation. The genre is said to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual", or "unobtrusive" quality. Nature soundscapes may be included, and the sounds of acoustic instruments such as the piano, strings and flute may be emulated through a synthesizer.
Warp Records is a British independent record label founded in Sheffield in 1989 by record store employees Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell and record producer Robert Gordon. It is currently based in London.
...I Care Because You Do is the third studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James under the alias of Aphex Twin. It was released on 24 April 1995 through Warp Records and contains material recorded between 1990 and 1994. It marked James's return to a beat-driven sound following the mostly ambient album Selected Ambient Works Volume II (1994), and combines abrasive rhythms with symphonic and ambient elements. The cover artwork is a self-portrait of James.
Ambient techno is a subgenre of techno that incorporates the atmospheric textures of ambient music with the rhythmic elements and production of techno. It was pioneered by 1990s electronic artists such as Aphex Twin, Carl Craig, The Orb, The Future Sound of London, the Black Dog, Pete Namlook and Biosphere.
Saint Etienne are an English band from Greater London, formed in 1990. The band consists of Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. Commonly associated with the indie dance scene of the 1990s, their music blends club culture with 1960s pop and other disparate influences.
Selected Ambient Works Volume II is the second studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James under the alias of Aphex Twin. It was released on 7 March 1994 through Warp Records. Its title follows James's debut Selected Ambient Works 85–92. Unlike that record, most of the tracks are purely ambient music, without the earlier volume's ambient techno beats. James said the music was inspired through lucid dreaming, and likened it to "standing in a power station on acid."
Kieran Miles David Hebden, known as Four Tet, is an English electronic musician. He came to prominence as a member of the post-rock band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist with charting and critically acclaimed albums such as Rounds (2003), Everything Ecstatic (2005) and There Is Love in You (2010). In addition to his twelve studio albums as Four Tet, Hebden's work includes a number of improvisational works with jazz drummer Steve Reid and collaborations with Burial and Thom Yorke.
Kompakt is a Cologne-based electronic music independent record label and vinyl/CD distributor, owned by Wolfgang Voigt, Michael Mayer and Jürgen Paape. They specialize in microhouse and minimal techno, and are known for their Total compilation series.
The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential 1991 debut album The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld pioneered the UK's nascent ambient house movement, while its UK chart-topping follow-up U.F.Orb represented the group's commercial peak.
Ginger is the debut studio album by Dutch electronic music producer Speedy J. Released via a joint deal between Plus 8 and Warp in September 1993, the album was the sixth release in Warp's Artificial Intelligence series, which focused on "electronic listening music" by different artists. It peaked at number 68 on the UK Albums Chart and remains Speedy J's most successful album there.
Quique is the debut album by British music group Seefeel. It was released through Too Pure in October 1993. A predominantly instrumental record which utilises elements of both rock and electronic music, it blends styles including techno, dream pop, ambient, and dub. Guitarist Mark Clifford worked continually on tracks while other members either completed them or provided component ideas.
E2-E4, released in 1984, is a solo recording by German musician and Ash Ra Tempel founder Manuel Göttsching. The album consists of one minimalistic, hour-long electronic track that Göttsching recorded in one take using a sequencer, with improvised keyboards, metallic percussion, and guitar playing.
Eurotechno refers to the musical soundtrack by English group Stakker for their 1989 experimental short film of the same name. The original film was an avant-garde experiment and features rapidly shifting colourful computer graphics, reflecting the influence of rave culture. Although the visuals of the film were primarily the work of Stakker members Marek Pytel, Mark McClean and Colin Scott, the musical soundtrack was largely the work of Brian Dougans, later of The Future Sound of London. The 25-minute soundtrack was recorded using a Roland TB-303, and reflects the fast-shifting momentum of the film by incorporating fragmented elements of acid house, Chicago house and Detroit techno that shift after their brief appearances, thus contributing to an intricately layered style.
Blake Baxter is an American techno musician, associated with the first wave of Detroit techno. AllMusic called him "perhaps the most underrated figure" of the early Detroit techno scene.
Richard David James, known professionally as Aphex Twin, is a British musician, composer and DJ active in electronic music since 1988. His idiosyncratic work has drawn on many styles, including techno, ambient, acid, and jungle, and he has been described as a pioneering figure in the intelligent dance music (IDM) genre. Journalists from publications including Mixmag, The New York Times, NME, Fact,Clash and The Guardian have called James one of the most influential and important artists in contemporary electronic music.
Robert Solheim is an electronic music composer from Norway. His styles are techno and deep/tech-house, downtempo and electronica with a strong emphasis on Nordic sound. Influenced by all kinds of electronic music, he has developed his characteristic style from his first ambient and ambient-techno releases in the 1990s, through down tempo and deep/tech-house and techno for clubs and home entertainment.
Selected Ambient Works 85–92 is the debut studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James under the alias of Aphex Twin. It was released on 9 November 1992 through Apollo Records, a subsidiary of the Belgian label R&S Records. The album consists of ambient techno James recorded on cassette as early as 1985, when he was 13–14 years old. It received acclaim and entered the Dance Albums Chart at No. 6 in December 1992.
1983–1988 is a 2016 compilation album by the Egyptian Lover. The compilation was compiled by Peanut Butter Wolf and released by Stones Throw Records. The album contains unreleased tracks by the Egyptian Lover and has music recorded between 1984 and 1994. The album received positive reviews from AllMusic and Pitchfork.
Narkopop is the fifth studio album by Wolfgang Voigt's Gas project, the first album under the moniker in 17 years and his first on Kompakt. The album was released on 21 April 2017.
Dream Dolphin is the performance name of Japanese model and producer of new-age music and acid trance Noriko Kodera (岡本法子).
