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Welcome to the twenty-fifth episode of my ambient music podcast, The Quiet Sounds. Since 2005, with frustrating irregularity, I’ve posted sprawling collections of the relaxing, lulling, bizarre, unexpected, experimental, soft, womb-like, quiet sounds of ambient music with the hope that it will make a difficult genre more user-friendly while exposing the work of new and classic artists to a wider audience.

In this episode, I focus on some more recent records to catch my fancy, as well as some forthcoming ambient and electronic works via the always interesting Kranky label. There is a small amount of commentary included on the cast, but I have also written some extended words below regarding each of the tracks to provide further information and thoughts.

Thank you very much for listening and I hope you enjoy The Quiet Sounds!

Tracklist:
1. “Major Spillage” (edit) by White Rainbow from New Clouds (Kranky) (start time: 1:17)
This is an edited track from the forthcoming album by Portland artist Adam Forkner, recording as White Rainbow. His first for Kranky, Prism of Eternal Now was a trance guitar epic, worthy of Ashra’s Manuel Göttsching. The follow-up is a more spaced out affair, with extended passages of pillowy synth and Steve Hillage guitar.

2. “Seagull’s Flight” by Ducktails from Landscapes (Olde English Spelling Bee) (8:03)
New Jersey native Matthew Mondanile records as Ducktails, making Durutti-Column-in-the-sack-with-Terry-Riley soundscapes that will appeal to fans of Animal Collective as much as it will elder ambient heads. New LP Landscapes is his most developed and diverse set so far, and likely one of my favorite records of 2009.

3. “Cloudbank” by Julianna Barwick from Florine (Julianna Barwick Productions) (19:07)
I had the pleasure of seeing Barwick in concert a few weeks ago as part of the Wordless Music Series here in New York City. Her live-looped vocal harmonies are cunningly constructed, and it was interesting to see her take risks with her voice in the hope that unusual tones might somehow take flight. Her EP Florine is a good taster of what she’s capable of, but it will be a pleasure to continue to monitor her development.

4. “False Horizon” by Grouper from split 7″ w/City Center (self-released—please note I referred to this as released by Soft Abuse in the ‘cast, which is incorrect info!) (23:18)
Liz Harris has made something of a splash in the last two years, bursting out of obscurity with a very fine record on Type called Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill. The hype is 100 percent justified to my ears, as her completely bombed, benzo-bucolic sound is likely to inspire a whole generation of home recording artists of the future. This track is culled from a split seven-inch with fellow Type artist City Center, and perfectly exemplifies her melancholic dream-pop soundscapes.

5. “Paragon Point” by Tim Hecker from An Imaginary Country (Kranky) (27:18)
Hecker’s latest is yet another monumental slab of noisy ambient blissout. I had the pleasure of hearing this record in concert before it was released last year and he pretty much blew out the back of the room. The best part: Overhearing twenty-year-old avant-classical student composer-douche at a restaurant before the show stating to his friend that (and I paraphrase), “Today’s audiences just accept whatever’s fed to them—they just don’t have the knowledge to understand truly good music.” And later seeing the same student composer-douche with his hands over his ears and a sublime look of total discomfort on his face as Hecker wrecked the place in the dark.

6. “Diotima” by Emeralds from Emeralds (Wagon/Gneiss Things) (31:42)
Here’s a track from the latest by Cleveland trio Emeralds, who are shaping up to be the next Monsters of Electronic Music. While much of their stuff appeared initially on cassette, the last few have been on both CD and LP and showcase a band unafraid to channel Tangerine Dream of the early seventies while also indulging a noisier side Froese and Co. would never have imagined. And it works.

7. “Seaside” by Ethernet from 144 Pulsations of Light (Kranky) (45:39)
Ethernet is new artist Tim Gray’s first foray into the world of ambient electronic music for Kranky and it’s a crisp and clean affair, sure to appeal to fans of both techno and more traditional synth ambient. While I would have liked a little more grit here and there, it’s a very pleasant and engaging listen, if a little similar in tone along the length of the album. Fans of Loscil will really dig this, and I did too.

8. “Wind Blown Guitar” (edit) by David Tagg from Wind Blown Guitar (Second Sun Recordings) (50:45)
David Tagg’s prolific output can make it a little hard to decide which releases to buy (good luck collecting his associate Brian Grainger’s material, while you’re at it). His recent work on 3″ CDR has been without a doubt some of the best guitar-drift ambient ever recorded. While I felt as though it would be unfair to include an entire track from one of those fine releases, I have taken an edit from his latest CDR on Second Sun called Wind Blown Guitar. It sounds exactly how you’d think from a title like that, and gets nicely noisy and intense toward the end. A fine record, in lush packaging, as always from Tagg.

9. “A Darker Light” by Steve Roach from Dynamic Stillness (Projekt) (58:23)
Steve Roach is arguably the most well-known ambient musician beyond Brian Eno and his monumental work of the last thirty years proves he’s nowhere near stopping. While it can be difficult to choose from his many releases, you can always expect a deep, affecting, well-produced collection of ambient no matter what you pick. Because he’s released no fewer than six(!) full length albums in the last year, I decided to select a track from his recent mammoth set of deep ambient pieces called Dynamic Stillness. While it is not his most intense work (by nature), I felt it fit the more introspective tone of the Tagg piece and makes a relaxing closer. Enjoy!