/r/ambientmusic
A subreddit for fans of ambient music as a genre. Ambient music emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm.
Ambient Music Overview
Here is a loosely organized overview of ambient music featuring some notable artists and releases. Huge thanks to this sub's ambient community and the book Ambient Century by Mark Prendergast which were extremely helpful putting this together.
Composers
- Erik Satie - Gnossiennes (1893) - Trois Gymnopédies (1888)
- Claude Debussy - Images Pour Orchestre: II Ibéria b. Les Parfums de la Nuit (1905-8) - Nocturnes I Nuages (1892-9)
- Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor: IV Adagietto (1901-2)
- Maurice Ravel - Pavane pour une infante défunte (1899) - Ma Mère l’oye - Pavane de la belle au bois dormant (1908-10)
- Frederick Delius - On hearing the first cuckoo in Spring (1912) - Irmelin Prelude (1890-2)
- Charles Ives - The Unanswered Question (1908)
- Charles Griffes - The Kairn of Koridwen (1916)
- Albert Ketelbey - Sanctuary of the Heart (1924)
- Fats Waller - Water Boy, The Lonesome Road, from At The Organ (1926-39)
- Olivier Messiaen - Turangalila Symphony: VI Jardin du sommeil d’amour (1946-8)
- John Cage - Dream (1948), In A Landscape (1948), Nocturne, (1947)
- Ravi Shankar - The Sounds of India (1957)
- Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (1959), Bitches Brew (1970), In A Silent Way (1969)
- György Ligeti - 2001 Space Odyssey Soundtrack (selected tracks) (1968)
- Morton Subotnick - Silver Apples of the Moon (1967), The Wild Bull (1968)
- Alice Coltrane - World Galaxy (1972) - Illuminations (1974)
- Wendy Carlos - Clockwork Orange ost (1971), The Shining ost (1980), Tron ost (1982)
- Morton Feldman - Triadic Memories (1981)
- Toru Takemitsu - Rain Spell (1982)
- Kaija Saariaho - Maa I. Journey (1991)
Tape & Recording Manipulation / Musique Concrète / Early Electronic
- Otto Luening & Vladimir Ussachevsky - Low Speed (1952)
- Karlheinz Stockhausen - Studie I (1953), Kontakte (1958-60), Telemusik (1966)
- Raymond Scott - Soothing Sounds for Baby (1962)
- Pierre Schaeffer - Volumes from Musique Experimentale 1 (1962)
- Daphne Oram - Pulse Persephone (1965)
- Pierre Henry - Le Voyage (1968)
- Mort Garson - Plantasia (1976)
Minimalism
- La Monte Young - The Well-Tuned Piano (1964)
- Terry Reilly - In C, Rainbow In Curved Air (1969)
- Steve Reich - Drumming (1971), Music for 18 Musicians (1976)
- Keith Jarrett - The Köln Concert (1975)
- Brian Eno - Ambient 1 Music for Airports (1978), Discreet Music (1975),
- Arvo Pärt - Spiegel im Spiegel (1978)
- Jon Hassell - Possible Musics: Fourth World Vol. 1 (1980)
- Philip Glass - Glassworks (1981)
- Harold Budd - The Pearl (1984)
- Pauline Oliveros - Deep Listening (1989)
- John Taverner - The Last Sleep of the Virgin (1991)
- John Adams - Hoodoo Zephyr (1993)
- David Toop - Screen Ceremonies (1995)
New Age
- Iasos - Inter-Dimensional Music (1975)
- KITARO - Silk Road series (1980)
- Laraaji - Ambient 3 Day of Radiance (1980)
- Michael Hedges - Aerial Boundaries (1984)
- Suzanne Ciani - Velocity of Love (1985)
- William Ackerman - Conferring With The Moon (1986)
- Andreas Vollendender - Down to the Moon (1986)
Rock/Prog/Metal
- David Bowie - Low (1977)
- The Grateful Dead - Dark Star (1969) - The Other One (1971)
- Pink Floyd - Echoes (1971) - On The Run (1973)
- Popol Vuh - In Den Garten Pharaos (1971) - Aguirre (1975) - Nosferatu (1978)
- Neu! - Im Glück (1972)
- Ash Ra Tempel - Schwingungen (1972)
- Tangerine Dream - Zeit (1972) - Phaedra (1974)
- Can - Future Days (1973)
- Robert Fripp - No Pussyfooting (1973) - Evening Star (1975) - Soundscapes Live Series (1994)
- Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells (1973) - Incantations (1978)
- Harmonia - Deluxe (1975)
- Manuel Göttsching - Inventions for Electric Guitar (1975)
- Cluster - Cluster & Eno (1977)
- Steve Hillage - Rainbow Dome Musick (1979)
- Hans Joachim Roedelius - Wie das Wispern des Windes (1986) - Selbstportrait I, II & III (1979-80)
- David Sylvian - Gone To Earth (disc 2) (1986), Approaching Silence (1999)
- Bill Nelson - Chance Encounters In The Garden of Lights (1987)
- Holger Czukay & David Sylvain - Plight & Premonition (1988) - Flux & Mutability (1989)
- Peter Gabriel - Passion (1989)
- Spacemen 3 - Dreamweapon (1990)
- Earth - Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Versions (1993)
- Boris - Flood (2000)
- Sunn o))) - Monoliths & Dimensions (2009)
Synthesizer Music
- Tonto’s Expanding Head Band - Zero Time (1971)
- Klaus Schulze - Timewind (1975) - Mirage (1977) - Dark Side of the Moog series
- Beaver & Krause - In A Wild Sanctuary (1975)
- Kraftwerk - Autobahn (1974) - Radio-Activity (1975)
- Tim Blake - Radio Gnome Invisible Trilogy w/ Gong (1973-4) - Crystal Machine (1977) - Magick (1991)
- Jean-Michel Jarre - Oxygène (1976) - Equinoxe (1978) - Waiting For Cousteau (1990)
- Vangelis - Blade Runner Soundtrack (1982) - Soil Festivities (1984)
- Ryuichi Sakamoto - Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (1983) - Esperanto (1985) - Cendre w/ Fennesz (2007) - Async (2017) -
- Robert Rich - Trances & Drones (1983) - Bestiary (2001) - Somnium (2001) - Filaments (2015)
- Steve Roach - Structures In Silence (1984) - Dreamtime Return (1988) - Soma w/ Robert Rich (1992)
- Haruomi Hosono - Paradise View (1985) - The Endless Talking (1985) - Medicine Compilation (1993)
- Hiroshi Yoshimura - Green (1986)
Electronic
- Art of Noise - The Ambient Collection (1990)
- The KLF - Chill Out (1990)
- The Orb - Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld (1991) - U.F.Orb (1992) - Orbus Terrarum (1995)
- Pete Namlook - Silence (1992) - 2350 Broadway w/ Tetsu Inoue (1993) - Air (1994)
- The Irresistible Force - Flying High (1992) - Dreamfish 1 & 2 w/ Pete Namlook (1993-5) - Global Chillage (1994)
- Thomas Köner - permafrost (1993)
- Global Communication - 76:14 (1994)
- Future Sound of London - Lifeforms (1994)
- Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2 (1994)
- Bill Laswell as Axiom Ambient - Lost In The Translation (1994)
- Woob - 1194 (1994)
- Tetsu Inoue - Ambient Otaku (1994)
- Biosphere - Substrata (1997)
- Boards of Canada - Music Has The Right To Children (1998)
- Susumu Yokota - Sakura (1999)
- William Orbit - Pieces In A Modern Style (2000)
21st Century Indie ambient & Modern favorites
- Sigur Ros - Von (1997) - Ágaetis byrjun (1999) - () (2002) - Takk… (2005)
- Gas - Pop (2000)
- Raison D’Etre - The Empty Hollow Unfolds (2000)
- Fennesz - Endless Summer (2001)
- Keith Fullerton Whitman - Playthroughs (2002)
- William Basinski - The Disintegration Loops I-IV (2002-3)
- Tycho - Past Is Prologue (2004) - Dive (2011) - Awake (2014)
- Carbon Based Lifeforms - World of Sleepers (2006) - Interloper (2010)
- Stars of the Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline (2007)
- Alio Die - Aura Seminalis (2008)
- Loscil - Endless Falls (2010)
- A Winged Victory for the Sullen - Self Titled (2011)
- Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972 (2011)
- Grouper - A.I.A Alien Observer (2011)
- C418 - Minecraft Volume Alpha (2011)
- Olafur Arnalds - Living Room Songs (2011) - Re:member (2018)
- Hammock - Departure Songs (2012)
- Nils Frahm - Spaces (2013)
- State Azure - So Long Eternity (2013)
- Phobium - Oort Cloud (2013)
- Kassel Jaeger - Toxic Cosmopolitanism (2014)
- Max Richter - Sleep (2015)
- Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - Ears (2016)
- Ian William Craig - Centres (2016)
- Huerco S - For Those Who Have Never (And Also Those Who Have) (2016)
- The Caretaker - Everywhere at the End of Time (2016)
- Carmen Villain - Infinite Avenue (2017)
- Sarah Davachi - Let Night Come On Bells End The Day (2018)
- Skee Mask - Compro (2018)
- Anna Roxanne - Because of A Flower (2020)
- Flora Yin-Wong - Holy Palm (2020)
- Mary Lattimore - Silver Ladders (2020)
- Ulla - tumbling Towards A Wall (2020)
- KMRU - Peel (2020)
- Music for Space travel - The Space Cadet (2021)
- Hilyard - Division Cycle (2021)
- Siavash Amini - A Trail of Laughters (2021)
- Nala Sinephro - Space 1.8 (2021)
r/ambientmusic's Top 10 ambient albums of 2022
r/ambientmusic Top 10 ambient albums of 2023
- 12 by Ryuchi Sakamoto
- Atlas by Laurel Halo
- Colours of Air by Loscil // Lawrence English
- Crépuscule I & II by Tujiko Noriko
- Forgotten Melodies by The Space Cadet
- Headlands by Fog Net
- Mycelium Music by Matthewdavid
- New Blue Sun by André 3000
- The Notional Pastures of Imaginary - Softwoods by Imaginary Softwoods
- Signs by Purelink
/r/ambientmusic
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18:57 UTC
Shelved album now releasing after almost 10 years...
My 56th project, 'speechless' (LP) will officially see physical / limited digital release this Sunday, 2.2.2025. This is a culmination of works from the last 10 years up to the last few days, literally. 30+ tracks. Taking an extra day to finalize things to avoid stressing myself out due to the length.
Remaining copies: https://www.sela.ws / https://www.sela.ws/product/sela57
18:33 UTC
Dropped a (non ai slop) ambient mix today!
Check it out. Contains some demos of slowdive, some buried ambient tracks and some new stuff from Hatakeyama. Let me know what you think of the tracks!
17:35 UTC
"Changes" - Steve Hunt, Tim Miller
17:11 UTC
Lawrence English's new album is exactly what you need
Just released today, with an impressive list of collaborators: Amby Downs, Chris Abrahams, Chuck Johnson, Claire Rousay. Dean Hurley, Jim O’Rourke, JW Paton, Madeleine Cocolas, Norman Westberg, Stephen Vitiello, Vanessa Tomlinson
https://secretambient.club/even-the-horizon-knows-its-bounds-lawrence-english-2025/
15:56 UTC
Motivational ambient music
I am looking for a certain kind of ambient or electronic music like the following:
Nympalidae by Lorenzo Montana (https://n5md.bandcamp.com/album/vion)
Muns de Etrah by Alio Die, Lorenzo Montana (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOYpFQyGSdU)
15 Sekonda - Aphex Twin (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eFORPBy3qsQ)
13:58 UTC
Heart of Noise Cambridge
If you are around Cambridge, UK, I would definitely recommend (mostly) monthly event Heart of Noise Cambridge. I have been at both sides of this event series and there is always a great selection of artists and event provides many opportunities for discovery. It's not always 100 percent ambient acts but still there is a very good amount from ambient and related genres. Often it is difficult to find these type of events going too far but today will be the 8th and looks like this one will be around for a while.
13:08 UTC
new music - hermit
how you’re doing? i’d like to share my new music. I’m an indie artist from BR creating music that empowers ‘subtlety’ as a creative force of manifestation in a world full of chaos and competitive energy. I thrive to make you pay attention to the beauty in simplicity and details. hope you can relax and enjoy!! follow me: @flechakabal
12:48 UTC
Tranquilion - The Story of Us [Soukzen]
11:56 UTC
Warmth - Revenant (new album)
Found this artist thanks to this sub, new album dropped today and am loving it!
10:51 UTC
The Sonic Fog and the Perceptual Anomaly
The Sonic Fog and the Perceptual Anomaly
In contemporary digital society, sound is treated as pure information – transformed into data, segments, and signals that are easily decipherable, codifiable, and classifiable.
From this perspective, sound, entangled in the cage of its superstructures (music), becomes transparent, reduced to its function as a “signal” – a direct impulse that can be read, understood, and fed into analytic infrastructures for seamless consumption by the listener.
In the performances of the Neon Foxes Theatre, this fundamental principle is subverted, presenting sound as a kind of barrier – an opaque field that resists algorithmic analysis, a perceptual anomaly within a ritual of sensory insubordination.
Sound does not seek to be embraced by the listener or interpreted by an algorithm. On the contrary, it stands as an obstacle – something that confuses, that unsettles the frameworks of comprehension.
The stratification of sound follows no melody, adheres to no rhythmic pattern, but layers frequencies that seem to amplify one another, generating a sonic fog where only zones of high or low density move and shift.
Within this fog, the Foxes “sculpt” sonic matter, shaping sound into something that no longer serves as a vehicle for communication but becomes an almost tactile sensory experience.
The sonic fog envelops both the Foxes and the audience, immersing them in an unfathomable space where shared disorientation forges intimacy through invisibility.
09:48 UTC
Sonicfactory - Kinetic Canvas (new album)
09:06 UTC
Chillin Tonight
Although it isn’t an original pressing, I’m beyond thrilled to finally own this record. Snagged this off eBay a couple weeks ago for a great price ($50 total) and after an excruciating week of it being in USPS purgatory it finally showed up and I couldn’t be happier. What are your thoughts on this album?
01:54 UTC
I slowed the Stormwind city theme by 300% and it sounded pretty beautiful (especially past 30 sec)
00:34 UTC
Yes, you should get into r/modular
I often make patches and just bask in them while I do stuff around the house.
23:58 UTC
Anybody recognize this album cover? (One more try, two different color versions since I'm unsure on the colors)
23:47 UTC
SENHEL — levitate in dream
22:57 UTC
Jon Hopkins - Immunity (Asleep Version)
22:06 UTC
Would you know any similar tracks? iorie - It will all be ok
21:24 UTC
Angel R
Angel R • Mossed Capable Of Being Observant
21:09 UTC
The Fun Years’ 2008 album Baby, It’s Cold Inside remastered and being released on vinyl for first time by Keplar.
The Fun Years, comprised of multi-instrumentalists Ben Recht and Isaac Sparks, have been making music together since the turn of the century, producing intriguing interrogations of ambient, drone, post-rock, and turntablism. Originally released in 2008 on the now-defunct Barge Recordings, Baby It’s Cold Inside is perhaps the high watermark of their discography. Equally concerned with microtonal nuance and harmonic intensity, it is both a product of its time and something well past it. The chief protagonist is surely the turntable, deployed to create woolly, evocative loops from unidentifiable source material that recall, at times, the work of Philip Jeck or Jan Jelinek—churning, roiling, hissing, atrophied textures further articulated with nuanced processing and buoyed by baritone guitar drones and anti-riffing.
The title of opener "My Lowville" feels like a wink to the famed slowcore duo, with spare post-rock motifs hovering in a dusty ether, slowly consumed by distorted washes of rich, harmonic sound. One of the most satisfying aspects of the album is that despite the recumbent nature of most of their sound design choices and compositional proclivities, Recht and Sparks are loath to sit still. "Auto Show of the Dead" is a serpentine piano/guitar exploration full of subtle detail, preceding the immaculately titled "Fucking Milwaukee’s Been Hesher Forever," in which the tactile delights of clicks_+_cuts are liberated from the laboratory and allowed to slum it in the world of tape gunk and '90s plate reverb. Later, "Re: We’re Again Buried Under" presents an inky black ambience that feels truly expansive and almost overwhelming, and closer “The Surge is Working” tears apart an anthemic shoegaze dirge at the seams, leaving only billowing filtered noise and negative space in its wake.
Presented here with a brilliant remaster by LUPO, Baby It’s Cold Inside should be considered alongside records like Belong’s October Language and Polmo Polpo’s Like Hearts Swelling—an arresting early aughts ambient marvel that warrants ongoing investigation.
18:36 UTC
David Blonski with Synchestra - Timeless Flight (1983)
18:24 UTC
Anybody recognize this album cover?
I got this album recommended to me online almost a decade ago and I still can't find it after trying multiple times in the past 6 years or so. It's an ambient album or something very ambient adjacent.
The middle part of the image was a bunch of metal bars overlapping in kind of an arc shape, not sure if it was an art sculpture (probably was) or like playground equipment. This middle picture was like a "portrait" shaped photo with a thick border on the sides. I'm not sure if the border was actually yellow but I think it may have been.
16:04 UTC
What are your favorite underwater/aquatic sounding ambient or Downtempo albums?
Looking for bubbly, shimmery, trickly, floaty music…
I love these:
Fathoms by Tipper
Waiting for Cousteau by Jean Michel Jarre
Through The Abyss by The Space Cadet
The Pearl by Eno & Budd
Ears by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
Heads up, i’m aware of Water Music, but not a big Basinski fan, looking for stuff that’s more soundscape/textured.
14:49 UTC
Aethereal Dream - 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦?
11:25 UTC
Melancholic & depressing ambient?
As stated, thx
10:34 UTC
What are your favorite ambient tracks from soundtracks?
Mine is Skyrim Atmospheres
And also I really like (Nier Automata spoilers in song name) >!<
23:23 UTC