Ambient Not Not Ambient
Lo-fi glitchy dance imprint Audio Dregs‘ recent double negatively-titled, Ambient Not Not Ambient is an excellent compilation of contemporary artists take on sound art. The comp, curated by Portland’s ERock and Strategy’s Paul Dickow (and mastered by Kranky and Carpark’s Greg Davis), is an outsider’s take on ambient music done by a solid contingent of seventeen genre-bending bands. Glancing over the tracklist reveals an impressive list of names: Yellow Swans, White Rainbow, WZT Hearts, Grouper, Lucky Dragons, Valet, Ratatat’s EVax and more paint a cohesive, unified soundscape from beginning to end.
Seventeen tracks of “ambient” music may sound like a monontonous onslaught of background music to the occasional reader and could easily be discarded. However, on Ambient the label successfully brings together acts from different ends of the spectrum, while sequencing the hazy and beatless affair flawlessly. Each track bubbles up diverse characteristics and elements, causing the listener to continuously re-focus on the sounds. It’s not music for ignoring, it’s music for listening…intently.
Ambient is out now on Audio Dregs. Pick up a copy over at Darla and check out Lucky Dragons contribution to the ten year project below.
[MP3]: Lucky Dragons ”Sayles Street Ok Ok”
Ambient Not Not Ambient, Audio Dregs; 2008
