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Piltdownboy on horseback 22 Group: Members Posts: 1548 Joined: Sep. 2005 Posted: Oct. 06 2006, 10:41 You're being very provocative here mister!!!!!   -------------- "And now we're going to play Platinum!" Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: Oct. 06 2006, 12:40 Quote (ImAFoolAndImLaughing @ Oct. 06 2006, 08:19) What's "ambient" mean? I don't know if the musical genre label has a precise meaning, but the Mirriam-Webster dictionary defines the word as "existing or present on all sides". Interpreting that in musical terms that would imply something related to an audio environment. That could be an active, imaginative environment generated by the music at its best (but I would think all good music could qualify for that), or, well, musical wallpaper, at its worst. Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: Oct. 06 2006, 16:56 Well, historically, it was Brian Eno who coined the term "Ambient Music", when he started the "Ambient" series. The liner notes to Ambient 1: Music For Airports give a very interesting definition: " Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting. " Ambient is not a broad genre of music. You can't call The Songs Of Distant Earth "ambient", for example; there's too much dynamics in it for it to fit. But ambient isn't specific, either. You don't necessarily need to use synthesizers, for example; you can play ambient music on a piano, or on a harp, or whatever. The point is that ambient music shouldn't demand your attention. It's like a painting: it can stay right there, without anyone looking at it, and it will still be a painting; and if you look at it, you can appreciate it as art. But the initiative should come from the listener, not from the musician. I believe the closest Mike got to doing ambient was with "Woodhenge". -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

moonchildhippy Group: Members Posts: 1807 Joined: Dec. 2004 Posted: Oct. 06 2006, 17:46 Quote (Iksion @ Oct. 06 2006, 08:09) Quote (moonchildhippy @ Oct. 05 2006, 19:03) [quote=Iksion,Oct. 05 2006, 19:06]  I wonder howmany kids have grown upwith a fear of the Dark . can u explain thet word i didnt understudet it... I'm sure all of our parents warned us when we were kids about not talking to strangers or not staying out after dark, otherwise the bogeyman would come and get us, or something.     -------------- I'm going slightly mad, It finally happened, I'm slightly mad , just very slightly mad If you feel a little glum to Hergest Ridge you should come. I'm challenging  taboos surrounding mental health "Part time hippy" I'M SUPPORTING OUR SOLDIERS BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW!! Back to top

Iksion Group: Members Posts: 212 Joined: Sep. 2006 Posted: Oct. 07 2006, 04:25 My parents just told me not to talk to the strangers I thought thet you mean a song fear of the dark thets why ask you to explain -------------- Im crazy old man, Im dressed in red, I drink sky like honey, enough i have said. Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: Oct. 07 2006, 04:53 Quote (Sir Mustapha @ Oct. 06 2006, 21:56) Ambient is not a broad genre of music. You can't call The Songs Of Distant Earth "ambient", for example; there's too much dynamics in it for it to fit. But ambient isn't specific, either. You don't necessarily need to use synthesizers, for example; you can play ambient music on a piano, or on a harp, or whatever. The point is that ambient music shouldn't demand your attention. It's like a painting: it can stay right there, without anyone looking at it, and it will still be a painting; and if you look at it, you can appreciate it as art. But the initiative should come from the listener, not from the musician. I believe the closest Mike got to doing ambient was with "Woodhenge". Thanks for this beautifully lucid description, Sir M. So most 'new age' compositions aim to fit into this category, I presume? - in the sense that the best of them create an 'ambience' which is felt, but not actively attended to. Back to top

moonchildhippy Group: Members Posts: 1807 Joined: Dec. 2004 Posted: Oct. 07 2006, 09:00 Quote (Iksion @ Oct. 07 2006, 09:25) My parents just told me not to talk to the strangers I thought thet you mean a song fear of the dark thets why ask you to explain Well "Fear Of The Dark" couldalso be an album/song by Iron Maiden. Quote Alan D   Posted on Oct. 07 2006, 09:53 Quote (Sir Mustapha @ Oct. 06 2006, 21:56) Ambient is not a broad genre of music. You can't call The Songs Of Distant Earth "ambient", for example; there's too much dynamics in it for it to fit. But ambient isn't specific, either. You don't necessarily need to use synthesizers, for example; you can play ambient music on a piano, or on a harp, or whatever. The point is that ambient music shouldn't demand your attention. It's like a painting: it can stay right there, without anyone looking at it, and it will still be a painting; and if you look at it, you can appreciate it as art. But the initiative should come from the listener, not from the musician. I believe the closest Mike got to doing ambient was with "Woodhenge". Thanks for this beautifully lucid description, Sir M. So most 'new age' compositions aim to fit into this category, I presume? - in the sense that the best of them create an 'ambience' which is felt, but not actively attended to. Thanks for the enlightenment Sir M, i've never been entirely sure what "Ambient" music is. I don't think Mike's music could really be  described as ambient,except for the exception of Tres Lunas . I think there's something with Mike's music that grabs you by the balls,metaphorically speaking , if I may be so crude,it just demands your attention     . At work there's one of these "Chill Out" compilations and it has a version of the opening part of Tubular Bells, NOOOOOOOOO!!!!! so terrible makes me want me want to cry. I feel like going home getting my CD of Tubular Bells, to show how Tubular Bells SHOULD be done    . -------------- I'm going slightly mad, It finally happened, I'm slightly mad , just very slightly mad If you feel a little glum to Hergest Ridge you should come. I'm challenging  taboos surrounding mental health "Part time hippy" I'M SUPPORTING OUR SOLDIERS BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW!! Back to top

Deadcalm Group: Awaiting Authorisation Posts: 752 Joined: Nov. 2004 Posted: Oct. 07 2006, 10:05 Ambient Music ... mm  Non Offensive  .. Low Risk Material.. Can be found for £2-99 a CD in many Outlets of Wilkinsons among the racks of Pan Pipe reissues.... Lets hope MO has the Attitude to release something Risky and Cutting edge next time around... Hes got the Talent ..Maybe something a bit Heavier to show he still knows how to Rock as well..   Back to top

Piltdownboy on horseback 22 Group: Members Posts: 1548 Joined: Sep. 2005 Posted: Oct. 07 2006, 10:43 Quote (Deadcalm @ Oct. 07 2006, 10:05) Maybe something a bit Heavier to show he still knows how to Rock as well..   Sounds like a plan!!!!!     -------------- "And now we're going to play Platinum!" Back to top

Iksion Group: Members Posts: 212 Joined: Sep. 2006 Posted: Oct. 07 2006, 10:51 Hm...thoes Mike ever played a violin?! -------------- Im crazy old man, Im dressed in red, I drink sky like honey, enough i have said. Back to top

Piltdownboy on horseback 22 Group: Members Posts: 1548 Joined: Sep. 2005 Posted: Oct. 07 2006, 11:06 Quote (Iksion @ Oct. 07 2006, 10:51) Hm...thoes Mike ever played a violin?! No. he don't like to play it. He said in interviews that he tried it but that he didn't like it. the sound of it he doesn't like. But he does like them I think as part of an orchestra. But not practising the violin alone   I have to agree with this opinion -------------- "And now we're going to play Platinum!" Back to top

Iksion Group: Members Posts: 212 Joined: Sep. 2006 Posted: Oct. 07 2006, 11:09 Same...I just love sound of the violin Thets why i love Apocalyptica )) -------------- Im crazy old man, Im dressed in red, I drink sky like honey, enough i have said. Back to top

Iksion Group: Members Posts: 212 Joined: Sep. 2006 Posted: Oct. 07 2006, 11:10 Shame*...I just love sound of the violin Thets why i love Apocalyptica )) -------------- Im crazy old man, Im dressed in red, I drink sky like honey, enough i have said. Back to top

Piltdownboy on horseback 22 Group: Members Posts: 1548 Joined: Sep. 2005 Posted: Oct. 07 2006, 11:14 Oh, that's gothic music with orchestral instruments isn't it??   never been my kind of music, but I think I heard of it -------------- "And now we're going to play Platinum!" Back to top

Iksion Group: Members Posts: 212 Joined: Sep. 2006 Posted: Oct. 07 2006, 12:13 Yea...i just love gothic musi :> -------------- Im crazy old man, Im dressed in red, I drink sky like honey, enough i have said. Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: Oct. 07 2006, 12:26 Quote (Deadcalm @ Oct. 07 2006, 15:05) Ambient Music ... mm  Non Offensive  .. Low Risk Material.. Can be found for £2-99 a CD in many Outlets of Wilkinsons among the racks of Pan Pipe reissues.... I think that's too dismissive and too restrictive. What you're describing there is mostly bad ambient music, whose only purpose is to fill the silence with mind-numbing blandness. But some ambient music can be wonderfully positive in its effects, and can create very effective imaginative mindscapes. I'm thinking for instance, of people like Diane Arkenstone who, at her best, creates some exquisite ambient music. Medwyn Goodall is a very uneven artist, but a few of his pieces create a very ethereal ambience - a positive environment, not a merely neutral one. I've also been known to use some of Vaughan Williams's stuff as ambient music (though I'm sure there are people who would shout at me for saying that, and I don't mean to imply that it was ever intended as ambient music! ). Back to top

Iksion Group: Members Posts: 212 Joined: Sep. 2006 Posted: Oct. 08 2006, 03:25 Quote (Alan D @ Oct. 07 2006, 12:26) What you're describing there is mostly bad ambient music, whose only purpose is to fill the silence with mind-numbing blandness. Yup,i totaly agree with you D. -------------- Im crazy old man, Im dressed in red, I drink sky like honey, enough i have said. Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: Oct. 08 2006, 11:35 Quote So most 'new age' compositions aim to fit into this category, I presume? - in the sense that the best of them create an 'ambience' which is felt, but not actively attended to. I believe the line between "New Age" and "Ambient" is very, very thin, and it's not very useful to go on long-winded "Is this Ambient? Is this New Age?" discussions over a certain piece of music. The main difference is between what was originally devised as Ambient music (mainly experimental stuff) and the styles the movement triggered. For example, there's an album called "Apolo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks", recorded by Brian Eno, Roger Eno and Daniel Lanois, which is a soundtrack for the movie For All Mankind, and some tracks on the album are quite surprisingly dynamic and melodic ("Silver Morning" is a country inspired guitar instrumental, after all). Around tha time, though, Eno released "Thursday Afternoon", a one hour long Ambient piece which is a single synth chord with a few piano lines happening over them. Both are Ambient records, but not very much alike. So, it's mainly up to the musician to decide whether he's doing "New Age" or "Ambient", since the distinction is very small. And for the listener, if the music is achieving the desired effect, I don't think it matters much whether it's defined as Ambient or New Age. I agree that those genres might have sparked a surge of subpar, mediocre material with mainly commercial intent, but there's quite a lot of excellent Ambient and New Age releases. If I can recommend anything, "Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror" is a brilliant, relaxing and evocative record, with a lot of sweet piano playing by Harold Budd. I haven't heard "The Pearl" yet, but it seems to be more or less of a "sequel" to it. -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

Iksion Group: Members Posts: 212 Joined: Sep. 2006 Posted: Oct. 08 2006, 14:30 Mustapha...you realy didnt need to wrote all of thet.:) -------------- Im crazy old man, Im dressed in red, I drink sky like honey, enough i have said. Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: Oct. 08 2006, 14:51 Quote (Iksion @ Oct. 08 2006, 19:30) Mustapha...you realy didnt need to wrote all of thet.:) Well, none of us needs to write anything at all. But, for the record, I found Sir M's post both interesting and informative (as is often the case), and I thank him for it. Back to top

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