i've been listening to ambient tunes a lot lately because it's the only kind of music i can enjoy without being distracted from my work. in fact i find that it helps me concentrate.
so i thought that i'd try making some ambient music as well. it may be a good way to get out of the creative hiatus i've been in for a very long time now. i'm mostly interested in making thick, warm, repeating yet evolving chunks of sound, harmonic but tonally blurry.
any tips? places on the web to check out? cool vsts? techniques?
 Athens, Greece
About me
my name is stefanos, i am a calm person in general, i study theoretical physics, i like it when people share their own music and i get pleasure by doing that with my music, i am a somewhat active member of the netlabel scene, i run a weblabel called memoryformat, although i like a lot the modern idm-ish and breakbeat music i always end up listening to my beloved oldschool hiphop albums (late 70s to mid 90s), you can contact me here: eskei.one[at]gmail[dot]com.
My Gear
hardware: e-mu e5000 ultra, ensoniq asr10, korg poly-61, novation super bass station, a bent aiwa walkman, yamaha rm1x, rme fireface, terratec phase x24, samson resolv80a, lenovo thinkpad t500, korg microkontrol, faderfox dj-2, ultrasone proline 750, akg k81 dj, technics sl1210 mkII, tascam xs-3, lots of records
software: ubuntustudio 9.10, cockos reaper, free vsts (luxonix lfx, rgc audio triangle synth etc.) +Most Recent Blogs
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Electronic Music other: making ambient music
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Written January 27 2009 , Tags: ambient, drone
Comments
i agree with fnortnr and seanh. i thelps to have something in mind before starting a project. maybe not so much a grand concept but at least a definite feeling to convey.
here's my goal for making my ambient music. i want it to come close to this feeling. just something simple. a quiet break. a break from a dull job. out back behind the building. sitting on the loading docks. a glass of water from the fountain. watching the sun go down on a warm spring evening. listening to the hum of industrial air conditioners. time enough to breathe and relax your face. in other words, i'm going to rip off tim hecker. i suggest you do the same. or maybe fennesz.
 i am pretty sure i will never make ambient music again.. i mean i want to, and i might just quickly finish up this last bit i've been working on.. but seriously, there's no use anymore.
Recent blogs: "NON" SONOIO Remix Album
For me, if I'm thinking chord structure, I've already failed. Chords and/or recognizable instruments inevitably lead me to melody and hooks and other motifs. That's just my nature, so any kind of ambient is a struggle for me.
The funny thing is that 90% of my listening is ambient and minimal. I am in awe of it, but my insides are all Tchaikovsky. Sometimes when my lazy self starts with an ambient project and a bit of piano creeps in, the result is ... Neue Age. (pause) Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!! Good luck, delete. You've inspired me to boot up Live after work. implexgrace said: "i am pretty sure i will never make ambient music again.. i mean i want to, and i might just quickly finish up this last bit i've been working on.. but seriously, there's no use anymore." I'm curious as to your reasoning behind there being no use anymore?
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as mentioned...
space, space and more space. breath, tonal colour, texture, soundscape.. re route, impose irregularities, randomness.. whatever. LOL! Hey, nice VL-Tone.
freqscan said: " implexgrace said: "i am pretty sure i will never make ambient music again.. i mean i want to, and i might just quickly finish up this last bit i've been working on.. but seriously, there's no use anymore." I'm curious as to your reasoning behind there being no use anymore?" when i started doing it, ambient drone noise music or whateveryouwanttocallit was still relatively new, unless you want to go and talk about the pioneers of electronic music and some of the crazy experiments they did. fennesz was one of the first people i ever heard make that kind of sound. and my good friend zeljko mcmullen (who nobody has even heard of, mostly, regardless of how much more talented he is than tim hecker). and because of this i decided to start making my own and i had a lot of fun coming up with ways to make new textures and so forth. now, it just seems kind of like just rip-offs of rip-offs and that shit is weak and soulless. i'm probably going to finish these 3 concept EPs, one final LP and i'm done with this shit. maybe i'll start writing neo-grunge music. or some kind of new form of dance music. who knows.. music is different now, life is different now. william basinski makes better ambient music than anyone you know and that's a fact.
Recent blogs: "NON" SONOIO Remix Album
ie since its now mainstream, its time to find some eclectic so I can be a cool, sensitive artist again?
lol @ drone being a conversation about popularity and innovation.
lets break this down a little. first, ImplexGrace, I love your work. It floors me. Hopefully you write it for yourself and that you get gratification from it on those terms. second, due to the exposure of the internet and mass media outlets like lastfm, everything sounds like a rip off... again, one can only hope we look inside for what drives us to attain any type of prowess at ANYTHING. third, I resent the notion of "use" with art. isnt the whole point to enable each individual to find use in something asthetic? fourth, sometimes a rip-off is someone trying to learn something. Sometimes it is just a rip-off. fifth, Tuvan throat singing, Balanesian chant, gregorian monks, Heart Sutra and other sutras link sixth, why dont we all just fucking do what we feel has some use... or sit back and listen. critics make very conflicted artists. in remembrance of John Updike who died yesterday at age 76, i heard this in an interview today on NPR: "I like to believe that when in the midst of creating words and a world of accurate fantasy, the mind tends to mercifully suppress those feelings [of critique] that might otherwise intervene" -paraphrase (John Updike) much respect to everyone on a journey of their own, even if it may be viewed as contrived or otherwise derived from so-called innovators. I dont mean to insult, only to place perspective back into the conversation. ha lol @ the idea of writing drone music to please others (ie. the 7 people that come to my shows)
i make music because i want to and i really don't give a fuck what anyone else thinks, i don't have to defend anything. but you know, sometimes it's time to move on. you know when i stopped being interested in IDM? when there was too god damn much of it. rarity adds a lot of percieved value. were it not for this, there would be no such thing as "collectors items." also, ambient music, for me, was always more about the thinking behind the aesthetic and not strictly the aesthetic. genesis p orridge is a shining example of this. if you don't know who that is, you better learn yourself something. also, for people trying to learn stuff and ripping off. i can sympathize but i wish to god i never showed anyone my old crap. what a fucking waste of time. but it was for learning so now here i am with those ideas "realized" (if you can really call it that) of course art has a use, if you derive any enjoyment from it, it has a use. some music has, literally, saved my life. that's pretty useful from some perspective. (not necessarily mine) and my frustration mostly comes from the fact that it's like "oh i can't think of anything else to do... I'LL JUST MAKE AMBIENT MUSIC!" being inspired is great and all, but this kind of statement just destroys me and makes me want to just give up and listen to burial forever and not even bother making music because i already found the one thing i feel is worth listening to (this is obviously exaggerated) living passionately seems like a dead thing. people making music out of boredom is going to make boring music. people who make music out of inspiration is going to make inspired music. etc etc. and hey, i could be wrong about all of this shit and i don't know fuckall about anything.
Recent blogs: "NON" SONOIO Remix Album
and delete, that last bit wasn't supposed to be a dig at you, it just pains me that the only reason you want to make a kind of music is because you like the aesthetic. man, there is SO MUCH MORE depth that could be had... mind bending, life changing, glowing hot fire at the center of all existence type depth..
that's what i want to hear. some serious depth. if i wanted to listen to surface level musics i'd go to target and pop on one of those rainforest cds. also, whale songs haha
Recent blogs: "NON" SONOIO Remix Album
meh... i didnt mean to insult you implex. I think you are freaking amazing.
i just think that if someone comes to an EM forum looking for advice, implying that rip offs are everywhere is probably a good way to quell any inspiration that may be lying around. as for living passionately, well... i suppose that is a choice we make every day, every second. so it may tend to shift or seem to Trend through the ebb and flow of social intercourse. I also understand how music can save a life. "Realise" my first EP is a collection of vigils built around child memories written in order to keep my sanity intact through a year of disparate starvation and bad luck. I really really really understand that. like... really... as for, people being bored and making boring music: welcome to most people who are hobbyists. Don't let it effect you. You dont have to even listen to it if you have written it off already. That what I do anyway. I dunno... I feel like you are quite frustrated with the whole idea of living in a saturated culture of exposure. I truly understand what you mean when you talk about the perspective of a collector, if nothing is unique, then why collect? well... I suppose we have depended greatly on cult evolution to dictate value in these terms. I personally believe that cult culture is dead. And I am pretty sure the internets has killed it. I think what you are trying to describe(Please correct me if Im totally off here) is that the notion of creating a scene that remains isolated and therefore grows into a local culture and gains unique value has fallen off the face of the earth. I fear that you are very correct here... And it distresses me too man... again... im not trying to argue, but I would be lying if I said I was not alarmed by your tone. I feel you and was absolutely not insulted in the slightest, just so that's clear. Discussion is really important for obvious reasons. As such, it's important for you to know that the last postings weren't aimed directly at anyone, per se. They weren't even mean to be attacks. Merely an attempt at full, heartfelt honesty regarding a topic that I love so much, and yet often times have such colossal issues with. the reason why we are all here, on this website: music.
Being a hobbyist is one thing. I can totally get down with casual music making and while its not often the most interesting or inspiring, I definitely see that some people just enjoy twiddling and crafting. I suppose it could be considered a fault of mine, I take music, art and life so very seriously. We only have one, why not take it seriously? And by serious I don't mean not have fun. Anyone who really knows me, or has been around me in a party situation, knows that I too take that pretty seriously (read: I can be a huge lush, I smoke a copious amount of grass, and have had many altered-state experiences based on external chemical intake.) Naturally, this affects my music, art, design, attitude, etc. etc. etc. It's all a very alive connected organism that I partake in 100% of the time. Even when I am "out of it".. I mean, we are always somewhere... here and now, wherever that may be. Was I trying to quell inspiration? No, not really. If anything I would hope to ignite REAL inspiration. The kind of inspiration that starts and grows, like the cultures that you have mentioned. Cult-like following of one's own inspirational yearnings. And following the art and culture and anything else that gives it life. Because if you don't have life in the things you make and spend time on (even hobbies) then what is the point? Every day we make choices, and every day we can get into something that really creates something new, not just for oneself, but for a lot of people. But it's not going into it thinking "oh I'm going to make something that will change lives!", contrary it is going into it thinking "I don't really know if anyone but me will ever experience this, but make it real as anything else." I'm ranting, it's non-sensicle with some kind of vague point (like my music) but I mean every word I put down, even if I have to redefine it later because what I say is not cohesive enough. The moment you find a way to make something work, something new emerges and make it seem like it works a bit less than it used to, so adaptation then needs to occur and yeah, it doesn't really ever stop unless you say stop.
Recent blogs: "NON" SONOIO Remix Album
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