Masterpieces of ambient music. Recommended popular tracks.

Sembahyang PagiJalan Jalan

Jalan Jalan – Sembahyang Pagi

This is a duo formed by composer-arranger Hironobu Urata and singer-songwriter Kyoko Kimura.

Jalan Jalan is an Indonesian term meaning “a stroll,” and their music is relaxing ambient music suitable for a leisurely walk.

Satz: EbeneKlaus Schulze

Klaus Schulze – Irrlicht – 1. Satz “Ebene” (1972)

Klaus Schulze is a German composer who, in addition to ambient music, created works that are said to have laid the foundations for later techno, electronica, and trance.

This piece is the first track on his solo debut album.

Micerino Alap / Micerino TemaAlejandro Franov

Alejandro Franov – Micerino Alap & Micerino Tema

I’m Alejandro Franov, a musician from Argentina on the opposite side of the world from Japan.

I’m one of the musicians associated with the Argentine “onkyo-ha” (experimental/ambient) scene, including Juana Molina, and I’ve been attracting attention among some music fans here in Japan.

Rainbow CanyonIasos

Iasos – Rainbow Canyon

A track from Iasos’s 1975 debut album, by an artist often regarded as a progenitor of New Age music.

Since boyhood he had heard in his mind music with the resonance of paradise—sounds no one had ever performed before—and he set out to capture them in recordings.

The result is this album.

Switch ItTwo Lone Swordsmen

Two Lone Swordsmen ~ Switch It

Two Lone Swordsmen are a British electronic duo.

This track from their first album can’t be called purely ambient, but it blends elements of house, breakbeats, dub, post-punk, and ambient, dissolving the boundaries between them.

The Tamburas of Pandit Pran NathLa Monte Young / Marian Zazeela

Pandit Pran Nath, Terry Riley, Marian Zazeela & La Monte Young – Ragas Of The Night (1977)

This is a 1982 work by La Monte Young, a seminal figure in drone music, and his partner Marian Zazeela, created using two Indian traditional instruments, the tanpura.

Incorporating the traditional Indian melodic system, raga, it is dedicated to their raga teacher, Pandit Pran Nath.

Automatic WritingRobert Ashley

Robert Ashley ‎– Automatic Writing (full album)

Robert Ashley, an American contemporary composer and electronic musician.

This work—often called a highly controversial piece—documents and cuts up pillow talk between him and his girlfriend in their bedroom, even incorporating the background BGM, then assembles it through timing-collage and electronic modulation.