Ambient Universe #100

Wow, we can now celebrate Ambient Universe post number one hundred! That’s quite a lot of ambient tracks presented. And I’ve made an extra wide selection of tracks to celebrate the first hundred. Here’s FIVE great new releases that any ambient fan should enjoy.

Slites (USA) – Die-75

For me personally, I hugely favour the abstract, futuristic and slightly dark ambient productions.
And while this one is not particularly dark it does hold a futuristic vibe and a lonely, wide, open space.

There is a lot of movement in this canvas, but it sounds lifeless. Deserted. Undiscovered?
It triggers mental images of crystals from the beginning of time, shimmering in a alien landscape.

And if there’s one theme I love in my ambient, it’s space exploration. As we indeed continue in the next track:

Domy Castellano (Italy) – Kuiper belt

We are entering darker and an even more empty void with this next one, from Italy. Deep space exploration has always been a mental topic for me when it comes to ambient. It is what our playlist is based on. And this track is spot on for such scenarios.

An endless depth. That is what this track offers.

Neon.Deflector (Germany) – Pulsar

With the next track I introduce you to more drama. An incredibly cinematic composition from Germany. We immediately sense a track that wants to tell a story.

And indeed this is what the artist describes as his ambition:
I’ve had the desire to write an ambient / spacedrone song for a long time. I love this genre and want to expand my musical palette with it. I had a blast writing it and felt that i could just paint a “sounding story” with it.

Indeed you can, and indeed you did.

Zeta Io (USA) – Believe in Ghosts

This one offers something different. Gone are the soft pads, in comes a rather jagged drone that swirls around nervously in the stereo field.

And that provides an energy of its own. A sense of alertness, something to pay attention to.

But what? And why? We can only wonder. But I sense a backyard in an urban cyberpunk universe, as we seek cover from the acidic rain. Voices in the distance. Characters approaching, of whose intentions we can never know.

Yes, all is not good in this world. But we still like it here.

And ignore the drone for a moment – it’s all the things that goes on in the background that is the real star of this track. A soundscape worth exploring.

Lavandou (Netherlands) – Below The Surface

I’ll round off this lovely session on a rather melodic(!) note. It’s not often I add ambient that features a piano to our column, or indeed any melodic layers to speak of at all.
But I hope you’ll agree with me that this is more than “just another quiet piano piece”.

First off, the rustic sound of the piano itself makes this one stand out. Add to this the very subdued, low-ley performance and how the piano so perfectly blends with the surroundings, and we have a track worth hearing.

A gorgeous way to end this celebration. Ambient Universe number one hundred. I hope you’ll stay with us for the next hundred too!


All five are added to our excellent Spotify playlist, “Ambient Universe“, where we collect only the finest new ambient releases as we discover them. Weekly updated, this might be the only ambient playlist you need.