ambient

Chuck Johnson Creates Shimmering Ambient Soundscapes

Chuck Johnson Creates Shimmering Ambient Soundscapes

Chuck Johnson’s soundscapes have a widescreen feel with pedal steel guitar, twangy fingerpicking, and well-executed use of synthesizers and meditative drones.

Musical Experimentalist Jessica Ackerley Is Blazing Trails

Musical Experimentalist Jessica Ackerley Is Blazing Trails

Ever-evolving experimental guitarist and composer Jessica Ackerley talks about – among other things – their eclectic and ambitious new solo album.

Chanel Beads’ Bedroom Pop Is Dynamic on Their Debut LP

Chanel Beads’ Bedroom Pop Is Dynamic on Their Debut LP

Chanel Beads’ LP uncovers flashes of revelation—insights that carry bedroom pop to a new level of ambitiousness while staying faithful to its homemade appeal.

SUSS Nail Ambient Country Vibes with ‘Birds & Beasts’

SUSS Nail Ambient Country Vibes with ‘Birds & Beasts’

Ambient country’s SUSS thrive on moody atmospheres and calm amidst the tension. Their music is imbued with the beauty and mystery of the American West.

Leaving Records Are Bigger and Weirder Than Ever Turning 15

Leaving Records Are Bigger and Weirder Than Ever Turning 15

Los Angeles experimental label Leaving Records embrace an “all genre” aesthetic. At 15 years old, their artists are moving the cultural needle in a big way.

Fire-Toolz’s ‘Breeze’ Dares to Imagine Joy Within Chaos

Fire-Toolz’s ‘Breeze’ Dares to Imagine Joy Within Chaos

It’s a rare artist indeed who can turn tools for expressing existential dread toward a grateful appreciation of life, but Fire-Toolz accomplishes this on Breeze.

Talented Vocalists Explore Melancholy Moods with Moby

Talented Vocalists Explore Melancholy Moods with Moby

Moby creates a series of melancholy soundscapes, along with some upbeat tunes, to highlight the collection of talented singers on Always Centered at Night.

Hermanos Gutiérrez Explore the Final Frontier on ‘Sonido Cósmico’

Hermanos Gutiérrez Explore the Final Frontier on ‘Sonido Cósmico’

In Sonido Cósmico, Hermanos Gutiérrez take to the stars, evoking the open spaces of an imagined Wild West and the even greater mystique of the final frontier.

Claire Rousay Shifts from Field Recordings to Quasi-Pop Ballads

Claire Rousay Shifts from Field Recordings to Quasi-Pop Ballads

Sentiment is a deeply melancholic work suffused with a gentle beauty in the emotions Claire Rousay expresses in the lyrics and the ambient delights.

Ambient Matters: The Best Ambient Albums of April 2024

Ambient Matters: The Best Ambient Albums of April 2024

April was a glorious stew for lovers of this music, and you’ll want to make sure to check out our new playlist showcasing this month’s best ambient entries.

Mary Lattimore and Walt McClements Create Order with the ‘Rain on the Road’

Mary Lattimore and Walt McClements Create Order with the ‘Rain on the Road’

Call it experimental or ambient: harpist Mary Lattimore and accordionist Walt McClements sonically ruminate on their repetitive cycle between life and music.

‘Ghosted II’ Continues Enigmatic Project Led by Oren Ambarchi

‘Ghosted II’ Continues Enigmatic Project Led by Oren Ambarchi

Ghosted II is the intensely cerebral successor to 2022’s Ghosted, with Oren Ambarchi’s ensemble plumbing the depths of post-rock and avant-jazz.