Dan Abrams - Stream

Label: Mille Plateaux

Released: 2001

Style: Experimental, Minimal

"Dan Abrams is probably better known to most of us as Shuttle 358 or more recently Fenton. This album was his first and only record under his own name and his first for the Mille Plateaux label. Although not hugely different from his work under the Shuttle 358 moniker, it certainly has enough to separate the projects like this. ‘Stream’ is darker and more sparse than Abrams other work, and lacks the deep melodic hit of works such as ‘Frame’ and followup ‘Understanding Wildlife’. However, what we lack in melodic sweetness, we gain in bottom end and this album has a bass growl to it unseen in the rest of his catalogue. Great stuff and another re-surfaced Mille Plateaux gem worth grabbing before it disappears for good." - Boomkat

Tracklisting:

1 Hello (0:11)

2 A Shell (5:44)

3 Academic (6:11)

4 Monsters (4:22)

5 The Theory (4:12)

6 Sim Sun (5:31)

7 Bendy (5:22)

8 Duck Beam (5:35)

9 Freezng (5:12)

10 Stream (4:48)

11 Grammar (4:54)

12 Mr Fish (6:19)

Link

Pan Sonic - Aaltopiiri

Label: Blast First

Released: 2001

Style: Abstract, Minimal, Ambient

"Probably my favourite of all the Pan Sonic albums, this showed a slight departure from their previous efforts. Instead of focussing mainly on distorted technoid beats and extreme sounds, Altopiiri interspersed the hypnotic analogue techno mainstays with gorgeous atmospheric compositions reflecting influences from early electronic composers such as Pierre Schaeffer and Todd Dockstader. These tracks were all made without overdubs - live recordings pitched by Vaino and Väisänen in the studio and improvised as they went on. Listening through the tracks it is hard to hear how they managed such an accomplished finish by working in this way. Many artists never reach the heady peaks of tracks like 'Ensi' or 'Toisaalta' in a lifetime of output, and Pan Sonic manage it in one take. An incredible achievement in electronic music and an essential slice of history, this is an album you need in your collection, minimal or otherwise." - Boomkat

Tracklisting:

1 Ensi (0:38)

2 Vaihtovirta (6:38)

3 Toisaalta (0:31)

4 Johdin (5:46)

5 Kuu (1:26)

6 Ããnipãã (3:49)

7 Arvio (1:24)

8 Liuos (6:16)

9 Ulottuvuus (5:58)

10 Hallapyydys (4:42)

11 Reuna-alue (9:30)

12 Valli (6:19)

13 Kone (4:20)

14 Johto 3 (3:48)

15 Murskaus (1:37)

16 Rasite (0:51)

17 Kierto (6:11)

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Andy Stott - Unknown Exception

Label: Modern Love

Released: 2008

Style: Techno, House, IDM, Tech House, Electro, Dub Techno, Minimal

"Andy Stott has developed a unique sound since his debut for the Modern Love label back in 2005. His first demos were heavily influenced by the square-bassline techno variations of Claro Intelecto, a longtime friend, mentor and eventually labelmate and collaborator. His first release, ‘Replace’ featured a mixture of disciplines that took in elements of Detroit Techno and Chicago House which fast captured peoples imagination with intuitive, warm melodies and fathomless bass weight. From that point on Stott continued to shift and adapt his sound to take in ever disparate influences, from the driving techno of Dave Clarke’s ‘Red’ series through to Basic Channel, Dubstep, Garage and the minimalism of classic Sahko. His restless shift from traditional Techno blueprints through to the bottom-heavy signatures of dubstep and the steppers arrangements of garage have also placed him at the forefront of the dubstepXtechno hybrid sounds that have started to dominate the electronic music scene alongside the likes of Martyn, Peverelist and T++. This compilation brings together selected tracks dating back to Andy Stott’s debut back in 2005 and reaching all the way to his most recent material – with none of them ever available on cd until now. Tracks feature here from the ‘Replace’, ‘Ceramics’, ‘Handle With Care’, ‘Hostile’, "Bad Landing’, "Fear Of Heights’, ‘Massacre’ and ‘Nervous’ EP’s and stream through his fascination with deep, almost uncontainable basslines and ever inventive percussive shifts. The man really is a bit of a hero round these parts, and we consider ‘Unknown Exception’ required listening for any of you interested in the bass progressions and deviations where Techno, House, Dub and Garage collide to shift things to the next level." - Label

Tracklisting:

1 Fear Of Heights (6:20)

2 Bad Landing (6:10)

3 Handle With Care (4:50)

4 Long Drive (5:27)

5 Credit (7:07)

6 Massacre (6:57)

7 See In Me (6:07)

8 Made Your Point (6:04)

9 She’s Gone Wrong (5:31)

10 Fine Metallic Dollar (6:53)

11 Hostile (6:39)

12 Replace (4:43)

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Stephan Mathieu - Radioland

Label: Die Schachtel

Released: 2008

Style: Drone, Minimal, Ambient

"Radioland is Stephan Mathieu's long awaited 5th full length studio work, following his acclaimed The Sad Mac CD from 2004. Exclusively based on real-time processed shortwave radio signals, Radioland takes the listener on a carpet ride across endless, majestic shimmering landscapes. Radioland is a mesmerizing reflection on the bubble of information thats all around us, all the time, by one of the truly unique minds in today's abstract digitalia." - Label

Tracklisting:

1 Raphael (10:04)

2 Gabriel (10:02)

3 Michael (10:08)

4 Promenade (5:06)

5 Auf der Gasse (5:03)

6 Licht und Finsternis zum Auge (8:20)

7 Prolog im Himmel (7:05)

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Gavin Bryars - After The Requiem

Label: ECM Records
Released: 1991
Style: Modern Classical, Minimal

"After the Requiem continued Gavin Bryars' journey away from the more experimental work that made his reputation early in his career toward pieces possessing a more melancholic and romantic quality. In two of the works herein, "The Old Tower of Lobenicht" and "Allegrasco," one can hear echoes of his brilliant composing on the Hommages album. But where the romantic elements were stricter and more crystalline on the prior effort, here there is an expansiveness that sometimes succeeds and at other times verges on kitsch. Guitarist Bill Frisell performs on three of the four compositions, but his creamy, sustained chords tend to sound somewhat bland and occasionally subvert some otherwise very attractive melodic material. The standout track is a saxophone quartet number, "Alaric I or II," featuring the surprising presence of Evan Parker. In fact, Bryars' earliest musical ventures were as a member of the British free improvisation community, so the inclusion of Parker has some historical background. The composition is a very enjoyable melange of minimalist technique and references to Gershwin that manages to cohere into a satisfying whole. Fans of Bryars' more substantial work from the '70s or his improvising skills in groups like Joseph Holbrooke may find After the Requiem a little too sweet for their tastes, while listeners who are looking for something a bit meatier than Arvo Part or Henryk Gorecki may find their appetite satisfied." - Allmusic

Tracklisting:

1 After The Requiem (15:48)
2 The Old Tower Of Löbenicht (16:00)
3 Alaric I Or II (15:15)
4 Allegrasco (19:46)

Link

Information - Biomekano

Label: Rune Grammofon

Released: 2002

Style: Glitch, Dub Techno, Minimal, Ambient

"Third and easily the best album from these veterans of arctic ambient electronica. A beautiful and razorsharp production with plenty of depth and detail, this is an album that should most definitely appeal to Biosphere fans. Information is Per Henrik Svalastog and Jørgen Knudsen." - Label

Tracklisting:

1 Plot Ratio (Replug) (5:04)

2 Tropical Investigation (Leisure Recycled) (5:08)

3 Every Possible Artificial Condition (2:56)

4 Higher Densities / Maximum Choice (7:07)

5 Stacking Of Different Natures (7:20)

6 Sufficient Sunlight (3:45)

7 A Radical Co-ordination (2:45)

8 This Low-rise City (7:11)

9 Center By Celebrating The Loop (6:01)

10 Biomechanics By Accident (3:08)

Link

Growing - The Soul Of The Rainbow And The Harmony Of Light

Label: Kranky

Released: 2004

Style: Drone, Minimal, Ambient

"Recorded by the band in Olympia, WA from 2003 to early 2004 and mixed with Rex Ritter (Jessamine, Fontanelle and SUNN) at Magnetic Park in Portland, OR in March and April 2004, The Soul of the Rainbow and the Harmony of Light takes Growing's expansive palette, blurring and disguising instrumental points of origin to a point where sheer sound defines itself with authority. Now a duo with Kevin Doria on bass and guitar and Joe Denardo on guitar, Growing have pushed into the manipulation of feedback, hiss and static; wringing out waves of delay from their amps while retaining an earthbound mastery of crushing riffage. These grainy textures contrast with a clean, pulsing lushness that carries traces of bird song and touch on natural environs and the passing of time." - Label

Tracklisting:

1 Onement (18:32)

2 Anaheim II (7:21)

3 Epochal Reminiscence (17:49)

4 Primitive Associations / Great Mass Above (12:35)

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Demdike Stare - Symbiosis

Label: Modern Love

Released: 2009

Style: Dub, Experimental, Minimal, Ambient

"Demdike Stare is a long-in-the-making hookup between two shady characters operating at the fringes of Manchester’s fragmented music scene: Miles Whittaker and Sean Canty. Miles has been a longtime affiliate of Modern Love as one half of Pendle Coven and under his own MLZ alias, while Canty is one of the city’s most recognisable vinyl collectors, carrying an obsession with everything from obscure Nordic Doom records to Anatolyan funk albums, fuelled by his dayjob helping out at the Finders Keepers label. The project is named after Pendle’s most famous witch: Elizabeth Southerns, aka Demdike. The tracks on ‘Symbiosis’ are drawn from elements of Turkish, Indian, Iranian, African and West Indian film soundtracks alongside Norwegian drone records, classic House templates, punctured dub, modified techno and the arctic noise perfected by Mika Vainio. Original sources and dense analogue experiments weave around eachother with little care for convention or stylistic expectation, instead throwing the pair’s extensive musical knowledge into a set of tracks that, quite brilliantly, defy categorisation. The album opens with ‘Suspicious Drone’, a dense 6 minute opening that chugs along like a malfunctioning mechanical beast, honing in on Lancashire’s dark industrial landscapes before moving onto more exotic, balmy territory. ‘Haxan Dub’ (named after the film narrated by william burroughs about witchcraft) deploys fragmented dub echoes infused with displaced horns and African signatures, taking its time with one of the jerkiest rhythms you’ll have the pleasure of hearing, before ‘Jannisary’ tangles in and out of an Iranian hook and a squashed Congolese rhythm that creates an asymmetric, geniusly constructed dancefloor killer. By the time the album comes to a close with ‘Ghostly Hardware’ an hour later, the cycle is complete with a return to icy tundras and chugging machinations steeped in the traditions of Scandinavian machine music and pure analogue frequencies, expertly handled by those masterful technicians over at Berlin’s Dubplates & Mastering." - Boomkat

Tracklisting:

1 Suspicious Drone (6:34)

2 Haxan Dub (5:14)

3 Regressor (5:04)

4 All Hallows Eve (3:54)

5 Jannisary (6:09)

6 Haxan (6:18)

7 Extwistle Hall (3:25)

8 Trapped Dervish (1:12)

9 Nothing But The Night (6:10)

10 Conjoined (4:07)

11 Ghostly Hardware (6:35)

Link

Solo Andata - Fyris Swan

Label: Hefty Records

Released: 2006

Style: Free Improvisation, Experimental, Minimal

"A very welcome contribution to Hefty's catalogue from this Australian duo, Fyris Swan is a distinctly cinematic affair. The pair conjure the most delicate and wistful of acoustic-electronic landscapes. At times there's only the most spartan of sonic elements at work and the whole album seems to be held together by the slightest of gestures and the lightest of touches, but all this understatement makes for an incredibly atmospheric, memorable album. 'Coastal Road Thoughts' is an especially blissful drift through gentle drones, incidental chimes and buried voices, whilst 'A Ballet Of Hands' is reminiscent in feel to the unearthly haze of Arve Henriksen's Chiaroscuro album. Recommended." - Boomkat

Tracklisting:

1 Her Face Soft As Sleep (5:17)

2 Old City Crowd (7:36)

3 The Echo's Left Behind (5:48)

4 A Ballet Of Hands (5:57)

5 Among The Olive Trees (5:55)

6 Beneath This Stone Wall (5:16)

7 Coastal Road Thoughts (6:54)

8 Dawn Chorus (7:08)

9 Together Apart (5:31)

10 Midnight (6:50)

Link

Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians

Label: ECM Records
Released: 1978
Style: Post-Modern, Minimal

"How is it possible to write a 'review' of this record? It seems futile as Reich's influence, especially from this record, sent shockwaves across the music scene and seeped into genres far and wide. Without Reich would post rock sound the same? Would New York's experimental rock scene have developed so fully? Would experimental music have flourished so importantly in the 80s and 90s? Reich's influence is still felt today, with younger producers falling upon 'Music for 18 Musicians' and being shocked all over again; Ryan Teague, Max Richter, Colleen, Murcof, Soundhack, Cliff Martinez these artists have all been touched by Reich's epic vision. What is quite magnificent too is that the record hasn't dated at all, it is truly timeless, maybe due to the fact that it was so ahead of its time on release. Maybe 'Music for 18 Musicians' should be better classified as out of time, because it doesn't really feel like it should sit anywhere in particular in music history, unlike many classical pieces it is futile to place it in a period or culture. If you have yet to hear this stunning work then I suggest you remedy that pretty quickly with this amazing reissue, seminal in the very real sense." - Boomkat

Tracklisting:

1 Pulses (5:26)
2 Section I (3:58)
3 Section II (5:13)
4 Section IIIA (3:55)
5 Section IIIB (3:46)
6 Section IV (6:37)
7 Section V (6:49)
8 Section VI (4:54)
9 Section VII (4:19)
10 Section VIII (3:35)
11 Section IX (5:24)
12 Section X (1:51)
13 Section XI (5:44)
14 Pulses (6:11)

Link

Ashra - New Age Of Earth

Label: Virgin
Released: 1977
Style: Leftfield, Krautrock, Experimental, Minimal, Ambient

"The first album for Virgin was New Age of Earth, an album that since became a classic. Although it is credited under the group name Ashra, New Age of Earth is actually performed by Manuel Göttsching alone. Relying more on synthesizers than his usual guitar, Göttsching created four richly-textured compositions that are both intriguing and stimulating. [...] It is no doubt that New Age of Earth is Manuel Göttsching and Ashra's finest album. [...] In all honesty, no music collection should be without Ashra's New Age of Earth." - D. Kaufmann, "Beyond the Horizon"

Tracklisting:

1 Sunrain (7:26)
2 Ocean Of Tenderness (12:36)
3 Deep Distance (5:46)
4 Nightdust (21:52)

Link

Harold Budd - Avalon Sutra

Label: Samadhisound
Released: 2004
Style: Modern Classical, Ambient

"On Avalon Sutra, Budd’s valedictory release, he has created brief, snapshot like compositions, made all the more fragile and impermanent by his glistening piano work, Avalon Sutra has a bittersweet, autumnal quality – the composer’s trademark “loveliness” deepened and perturbed by the brevity of these pieces. If “ambient” music characteristically works to sustain a mood of intimacy, warmth, meditative ecstasy, such moods, which are certainly present in Budd’s work, are never allowed to last too long on Avalon Sutra. There’s a cumulative sadness and beauty to the way that these mood pieces linger briefly, stop and transform into something new. Budd’s gorgeous, angular string arrangements amplify this feeling." - Label

Tracklsting:

1 Arabesque 3 (2:40)
2 It's Steeper Near The Roses (For David Sylvian) (1:02)
3 L'Enfant Perdu (2:14)
4 Chrysalis Nu (To Barney's Memory) (1:59)
5 Three Faces West (Billy Al Bengston's) (2:49)
6 Arabesque 2 (3:02)
7 Little Heart (7:40)
8 How Vacantly You Stare At Me (4:01)
9 A Walk In The Park With Nancy (In Memory) (5:55)
10 Rue Casimir Delavigne (For Daniel Lentz) (5:28)
11 Arabesque 1 (1:56)
12 Porcelain Ginger (2:01)
13 Faraon (1:23)
14 As Long As I Can Hold My Breath (3:47)

The second disc isn't necessary. As Boomkat would say, "Essential Purchase."

Link

Manuel Göttsching - E2-E4

Label: Inteam GmbH
Released: 1984
Style: Minimal, Ambient, House

"E2-E4, one of the few records Göttsching released under his own name, has earned its place as one of the most important, influential electronic records ever released. It's also the earliest album to set the tone for electronic dance music; simply put, it just sounds like the mainstream house produced during the next two decades. Similar to previous Ashra albums like New Age Of Earth and Blackouts, it does so with a short list of instruments -- just the nominal drum machine and a pulsing guitar line in the background plus some light synthesizer work. What sets it apart from music that came before is a steadfast refusal to follow the popular notions of development in melody and harmony. Instead, E2-E4 continues working through similar territory for close to an hour with an application to trance-state electronics missing from most of the music that preceded it. Though the various components repeat themselves incessantly, it's how they interact and build that determines the sound -- and that's the essence of most electronic dance music, that complex interplay between several repetitive elements." - Allmusic

Tracklisting:

1 Ruhige Nervosität (13:00)
2 Gemäßigter Aufbruch (10:00)
3 ...Und Mittelspiel (7:00)
4 Ansatz (1:00)
5 Damen-Eleganza (5:00)
6 Ehrenvoller Kampf (3:00)
7 Hoheit Weicht (Nicht Ohne Schwung...) (9:00)
8 ...Und Souveränität (3:00)
9 Remis (3:00)

Link

Ashra - Blackouts

Label: Polydor
Released: 1977
Style: Leftfield, Krautrock, Minimal, Experimental

"Blackouts is a classic CD from Ashra. (As an aside, it is included in the Ambient Three Pack box set along with Aqua by Edgar Froese and Blackdance by Klaus Schulze. While those are all excellent CDs, they are not, by any stretch of any imagination, ambient.) This disc features Manuel Göttsching at his best. His guitar work just glides around dynamic Berlin school sequences. The electric guitar riffs give this album rock & roll overtones. So, classic is the word for this set. It is a classic Berlin school/rock & roll hybrid. The gentle moments are smooth, and the dense moments are heavy. It is a great mix of the two styles." - Allmusic

Tracklisting:

1 77 Slightly Delayed (6:42)
2 Midnight On Mars (6:50)
3 Don't Trust The Kids (3:30)
4 Blackouts (4:18)
5 Shuttle Cock (8:25)
6 Lotus Parts I-IV (16:58)

Link

Pillowdiver - Sleeping Pills

Label: 12k
Released: 2009
Style: Abstract, Minimal, Ambient

"Sleeping Pills is the debut release from Germany’s Pillowdiver, whose concepts of simplification and minimalism led him to self-imposed limitations for the creation of this work. Utilizing primarily a Fender Jazzmaster, with a small amount of synthesizer and field recording, Pillowdiver took advantage of very lo-fi and modest mediums such as 4-track cassette and various guitar stomp boxes.

Appropriate to its title, Sleeping Pills is a dark and dreamy album of often-melancholic, post-rock influenced ambience. Most tracks rely on a bed of one or two simple loops over which guitar melodies, incidental sounds and harmonies are overlaid, enveloping the listener in a sleepy din of tape distortions and warm noise.

Sometimes about dreaming, sometimes about escaping, Pillowdiver’s focused approach is a unique voice among artists who tread the fine line between experimentalism and indie rock." - Label

Tracklisting:

1 Twenty-Nine (4:58)
2 Two (5:30)
3 Fifteen (5:29)
4 Nineteen (4:45)
5 Eleven (4:50)
6 Seventeen (6:38)
7 Seven (6:00)
8 One (3:43)
9 Twenty-Seven (5:28)

Link

Labradford - Labradford

Label: Kranky
Released: 1996
Style: Minimal, Ambient

"Though still wafting in a saline bath of 4AD-esque ambiance, Labradford have solidified into a more coherent whole by their third album. Labradford mixes the spare, whispered vocals of their previous LP, A Stable Reference, with smart bits of percussion and a warm, clean fusion of guitars, analog synths, a violin or two, and loads of effects units. The group have trimmed the noodly fat that cluttered previous efforts in assembling their best, most listenable release to date." - Allmusic

Tracklisting:

1 Phantom Channel Crossing (4:43)
2 Midrange (6:29)
3 Pico (5:46)
4 The Cipher (3:12)
5 Lake Speed (6:47)
6 Scenic Recovery (4:52)
7 Battered (7:57)

Link

Markus Guentner - In Moll

Label: Kompakt
Released: 2001
Style: Dub Techno, Minimal, Ambient

"Squelches and whirrs nestle in rolling hills of fuzzy dreamy drones as clicks and pops struggle for air beneath a downy blanket of suffocatingly gorgeous billowy clouds of synth wash. Sound good? It does.

In creating "In Moll," Markus Guentner has done more than his part to fill the void created by Voigt's unusual absence, with a disc that captures much of the feel we liked so much about the Gas records, a sort of dreamy melancholy that manages to be both wistful and hopeful, lonely and warm. Jeff thinks it has a real "change of seasons" vibe, that harkens, again, to Gas. And while the Gas comparison is surely accurate (if you haven't caught our drift already, let's state: fans of Gas should pick this up without a second thought!), Guenter does add his own flair to Voigt's signature sound though, creating a more varied and more dynamic soundscape than Voigt's pastoral hum and thump." - Aquarius Records

Tracklisting:

1 Untitled (8:42)
2 Untitled (6:44)
3 Untitled (10:00)
4 Untitled (6:40)
5 Untitled (6:07)
6 Untitled (6:53)
7 Untitled (16:08)

Link

Emanuele Errante - Humus

Label: Somnia
Released: 2008
Style: Minimal, Ambient

"“humus” unfolds slowly through a symphony of organic minimalism, evolving and growing over a course of 11 tracks. classical flourishes adorn warm and inviting textural sketches, and subtle electronic manipulation pervades a humid ambient environment. reich inspired microcosmic rhythms unfold and undulate beneath wide pastel landscapes." - Label

Tracklisting:

1 Fecunda (6:31)
2 Lucus (8:55)
3 Ros (3:56)
4 Humi (9:59)
5 Radio Hopes (6:40)
6 Leaves (1:45)
7 Aquatic (7:48)
8 Primo Tema (3:23)
9 Ant's Trail (4:29)
10 Magic Wood (5:32)
11 Ultimo Tema (3:14)

Link

Evan Bartholomew - Secret Entries Into Darkness

Label: Somnia
Released: 2008
Style: Minimal, Ambient

"evan bartholomew brings another example of sonic storytelling to somnia, moving from atmospheric float into pulsing minimal electroid rhythms.fractaline analog grooves and micro beat construction establish a hypnotic base for a composed layer of ambient exploration to unfold. presenting a balance of analog moduler synth elements and complex dsp processing, 'secret entries into darkness' further's somnia's approach to cinematic modern music." - Label

Tracklisting:

1 Secret Entries Into Darkness (9:53)
2 Cracks In The Fabric Of The Known (6:32)
3 Soft Spots In The Tyranny Of Matter (11:10)
4 Where Forgotten Days Slumber (9:11)
5 And Ancient Hurts Dwell (8:34)
6 Light Reflecting Black In Shadow (6:54)
7 Freedom Found In Surrender (3:23)

Link

Snd - Tenderlove

Label: Mille Plateaux
Released: 2002
Style: Abstract, IDM, Minimal

"Now with Tender Love, SND move in a far more melodic context than ever before. The results are striking but all the same familiar. The sensibilities of funk find it's way into syncopated rhythms, breakbeats and jittered doses of r'n'b percussives mingle with a unique assortment of tones and ambience. Could this be taken as new sources of lounge music in 21st Century living? You be the judge, with Tender Love SND reach a new level of pushing the notions of contemporary listening." - Label

Tracklisting:

1 1
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7 8
8 9
9 10
10 11
11 12
12 13
13 14
14 16
15 17

(Note: My upload is technically tagged wrong)

Link