More than any other genre, ambient is all about triggering mental images or associations, especially a rather abstract imagery. It’s like the litmus-test of any ambient track. If it fails there, it fails – period. Then, after that, it’s more a question if the soundscape is within your subjective preferences.

Here’s three that qualifies on that test.

Ocero (USA) – Hex

It sounds like an introduction to something, this one. I would not be surprised if this will be the opening track of an upcoming album.

And what an opening. Grande. Elegant. I am taken to a tale of wonders and fascination. A society with their own rules, a culture built on a higher intellectual level than mine. Something to dream about.

Yes, this is a good dream. Could this be… What heaven would have sounded like?

Solar Circle (Netherlands) – Envelop

Sacred. Mysterious. As ancient as space itself. A dark, deep void of undiscovered realities.
These are the associations triggered in me by this piece.

And I particularly love the booming bass on this one. It fills the room with… Solitude.

Speaking of that… Too often I hear ambient tracks with almost nothing going on in the bottom half of the frequency spectrum. And not without exceptions of course – but I think that is almost always a mistake.

HAAV & Inge Weatherhead Breistein (Norway) – Flust Etterklang

We return to more earthly vibes with this next one, from the cold north. With the help of acoustic instruments and field recordings we are taken to a soundscape that holds massive, open fields.

Endless horizons of untouched wilderness. What more can we dream of really, on that fundamental instinct of survival.

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All three are found where all the good stuff is collected: At our Spotify playlist, “Ambient Universe“. That’s where we keep our discoveries for all to enjoy.