Month two of a new decade* and I'm sticking to the rivers and the lakes that I'm used to.
Why try something new when I can post about Aphex Twin and Simon Reynolds? The latter was all up in my feed again this week with a piece for Resident Advisor. 2010-19: Back To The Garden: The Return Of Ambient And New Age is a thorough recap of the scene. With Reynolds though, it's where this music sits in our culture, what it says about where we are and where we might be going, that really chimes.
"Whether the impetus is entirely personal or a semi-conscious response to the runaway train of geopolitical instability, many people involved in ambient and New Age see the music as something close to self-medication."
And while the New Age stuff isn't really my bag (with the exception of Beverly Glenn-Copeland), that's not the case with ambient. Which leads me on to something I've been meaning to post about properly for a while, Aphex Twin - Sleep Mix (by naked flames).
This mix helped me so much in 2019. Whether it was helping me cope successfully in hospital around Frank's birth or helping me cope unsuccessfully in my previous job, it delivered breathing space, goosebumps, and time to think. It's mainly made up of tracks from Selected Ambient Works II with a little bit of Drukqs sprinkled in.
I'm not sure how I came across it but it was definitely on YouTube. It's since been hit with a YouTube copyright strike. Probably didn't help to have a free download link underneath it. However, it looks like other Sleep Mixes by naked flames are still up, so give them a go too.
Another top thing about that Simon Reynolds article is that I'm now aware of a compilation called Kankyō Ongaku: Japanese Ambient, Environmental & New Age Music 1980–1990. I've never heard of a release with a more perfect title.
*Jog on if you're one of those bores who's all "well actually 2021 is the start of a new decade as there was no blah blah blah" - no. Not interested.
