Peter Gabriel - Passion (1989)

This is a really lovely album that I found in a torrent of the "25 Most Influential Ambient Albums," which was chock full of good stuff, some of which I already have. (So far, Passion is the only one I've gotten to, but keep a look out for the other 202352.) It's got a lot of really interesting textures and moods, and it's altogether a very thorough chill-out.



Download.

Two Eluvium cuts.

These are really beautiful, piano-heavy delicacies from a guy who's opening for Explosions In The Sky when they do their three US dates in celebration of their ten-year anniversary. I'll be seeing them (and this man) in LA at the end of June. :D



An Accidental Memory in the Case of Death (2004)


When I Live By the Garden and the Sea (2006)

Stars of the Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline (2007)

This electronic, spaced-out duo makes music that sounds the way the cosmos looks; I can't put their sound into a more apt description. I've gotten a lot of reading and thinking done to this brain massage of a record.



Disc One
Disc Two

Air - The Virgin Suicides Original Motion Picture Score (2000)

I loved both the book & movie, The Virgin Suicides, so I had to give this score a shot. Luckily, it's swell; if you aren't familiar with Air, they're a French electronic duo who puts out these ambient, quasi-atmospheric and always-lovely soundscapes. Apparently Sophia Coppola was such a fan of theirs that she personally asked them to this for her film. My favourite track on this release is #6; it's actually a lot like a hurricane. There will likely be more of their work posted in the future.



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Amiina - Kurr (2007)

This group is an Icelandic string quartet, often appropriately likened to Sigur Rós. (From what I understand, they tour together, and I think they may have even been present when I saw Sigur Rós at Bonnaroo this past June.) The music is very pretty, like glass ornaments that sparkle and catch the last slice of daylight before dusk sets in all the way. I'm not stretching for poetic description here either; it actually does sound just like that. There are some faint vocals that function more as another instrumental layer than as direct human involvement, but for the most part this is just really impeccable, beautiful stringing.



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Air France - No Way Down (2008)

This brief but beautiful release is absolutely worth having. Inducing a pleasant, nostalgic haze, it's half-ambient, half-upbeat electronic that is both dance-able and sweet. I highly recommend this.



Download.