idle is a selection of about 75 hours of low-intensity, high-density music to get played continuously in shuffle mode. Each featured project is represented by one track. For Sounds Central Radio, works from artists with the letters A-C got shuffled twice, relying on the sophisticated AI of Apple’s Music app.
Tag: Brian Eno
Quiet Ambient – In Lilac Heaths (1974-96)
Quiet ambient music may be rooted in cybernetic spirituality or get played in hospitals. It can be cinematic or resemble a landscape; and its production process might utilize huge quantities of graph paper. 61 minutes with Anthony Manning, Henry Kawahara, Joanna Brouk, Laurie Spiegel, and others.
Sleep – Dark Ambient Textures (1982-2020)
Despite their gentle and surreal nature, these tracks weren’t necessarily made with the idea of sleep in mind; their dark ambient textures, however, are inspired by memories, sounds, or discoveries. 51 minutes with Brian Eno, David Toop, Monolake, Thomas Köner, and others.
Obscure Music – Paving the Way for Ambient (1975-78)
With his label Obscure, pop star Brian Eno starts a series with experimental listening music in 1975. The artists involved want to leave their previous approaches towards making music behind, work with new technologies or take inspiration from ancient traditions. 71 minutes with Gavin Bryars, Harold Budd, Max Eastley, Michael Nyman, and others.
Proper Krauts (1971-78)
The stoic, almost machine like drumming of so many West-German tunes from the early seventies becomes the trademark of a new sound – different from British pop or American rock, and in no way related to the country’s horrible nazi past. 45 minutes with Cluster, Faust, Harmonia 76, La Düsseldorf, and others.
Ambient Channel (3): Misty
Paying homage to flying machines and next generation’s minimalism, singing in an invented language that’s both mysterious and familiar, and a special kind of rain. 43-minute mix with pieces by Anna Homler and Steve Moshier, Ennio Morricone, Harold Budd, The Human League, and others – made between 1972 and 2011.