Dark ambient

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dark ambient
Ambient music Industrial music Stylistic origins Harsh noise Musique concrte Drone

Cultural origins

1980s and 1990s, Europe and United States

Typical instruments

Electronic musical instruments, field recordings

Mainstream popularity

Low

Derivative forms

Post-rock

Fusion genres

Ambient noise - Illbient - Black ambient - Funeral doom metal - Drone metal

Other topics

List of dark ambient artists - List of electronic music genres - Dark psytrance

Dark ambient is a subgenre of ambient music that features foreboding, ominous, or discordant overtones. Dark ambient has its roots in the 1970s, with the introduction of newer, smaller, and more affordable effects units, synthesizer and sampling technology. Dark ambient is an unusually diverse genre, related to ambient music and noise, yet generally free from derivatives and connections to other genres or styles.

Contents

1 Origins and development 2 1990s 3 Characteristics 4 Related styles o 4.1 Ambient noise 5 See also 6 External links 7 References

Origins and development

Dark ambient evolved partially based on several of Brian Eno's early solo albums (Another Green World -> In Dark Trees, Music For Films) and collaboration that had a distinctly dark or discordant edge, notably "An Index of Metals" (from Evening Star, 1975), a collaboration with Robert Fripp that incorporated harsh guitar feedback, the ambient pieces on the second half of David Bowie's Low (1977) and "Heroes", Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics (1980), a collaboration with Jon Hassell, and particularly the fourth installment of his ambient series, On Land (1982),[1] which had many deeply spatial elements, often utilizing field recordings to foreboding effect. An important early precursor of the genre was Tangerine Dream's early double-album Zeit, which was unlike most of their subsequent albums in abandoning any notion of rhythm or definable melody in favor of "darkly" sinuous, occasionally disturbing sonics. Ambient industrial projects like Lustmord,[2]Coil, Nocturnal Emissions, Zoviet France,[3] and Lilith evolved out of industrial music during the 1980s, and were some of the earliest artists to create consistently "dark" ambient music. These artists make use of industrial principles such as noise and shock tactics, but wield these elements with more subtlety.[3][4][dead link] Additionally, ambient industrial often has strong occultist tendencies, with a particular leaning toward magick, as expounded by Aleister Crowley, and chaos magic, often giving the music a ritualistic flavor.[3] (In fact, a sub-genre dubbed "Ritual Ambient" has evolved in recent years, exemplified by work of such groups as Herbst9 and Desiderii Marginis, amongst others.) Ambient industrial is one of several directions that post-industrial music took on after the breakup of Throbbing Gristle in 1981.[3] The last material that TG recorded in the studio, In the Shadow of the Sun and Journey Through a Body, was ambient, and pointed in the direction that several of TG's offshoots (notably Coil and CTI) would take.[5] Among the many artists who produce ambient industrial are Cloud Shepherd, Coil, Controlled Bleeding, CTI, Deutsch Nepal, Hafler Trio, Lustmord, Nocturnal Emissions, PGR, Thomas Kner, Zoviet France,[3] Cabaret Voltaire, SPK, Lab Report, Akira Yamaoka, early Techno Animal, Robin Rimbaud and Final. Many of these artists are eclectic in their output, with much of it falling outside of ambient industrial.[3] Ambient industrial often consists of evolving dissonant harmonies of drones and resonances, low frequency rumbles and machine noises, sometimes supplemented by gongs, percussive rhythms, bullroarers, distorted voices and other found sounds, often processed to the point where the original sample cannot be recognized.[3] Entire works may be based on

radio telescope recordings (Arecibo Trans-Plutonian Transmissions), the babbling of newborn babies (Nocturnal Emissions Mouths of Babes), or sounds recorded through contact microphones on telegraph wires (e.g. Alan Lamb's Primal Image).[3]

1990s
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, an ethereal wave trend emerged within the dark wave movement, that tended toward moody atmospheric pieces rather than jangly minor-key rock. Ethereal wave was mainly associated with the Projekt record label, with bands like Black Tape for a Blue Girl composing moody ambient soundscapes. By the mid-1990s, a large number of artists were working in ambient industrial, ambient noise, ethereal wave, illbient, isolationism, and other emerging "dark ambient" styles. Among these artists were Endura, Autopsia, Vidna Obmana, Daniel Menche, Deca, Lull, Muslimgauze, Raison d'etre, Hwyl Nofio, Hieronymus Bosch, and Velvet Cacoon.

Characteristics
Generally the music tends to evoke a feeling of solitude, melancholy, confinement, and isolation. However, while the theme in the music tends to be "dark" in nature, some artists create more organic soundscapes. Examples of such productions are those of Ophoi, Alio Die, Mathias Grassow, Tau Ceti, and Klaus Wiese. The Symphonies of the Planets series, a collection of works by NASA and Brain/Mind Research in which planetary electromagnetic waves are captured by the Voyager unmanned space probes and converted into audible sound, can also be considered an organic manifestation of dark ambient.[6]

Related styles
Ambient noise
Main article: Noise (music) It has been said that noise music is a 'relative' or 'sister' genre to dark ambient, or viceversa. Noise is considered unpleasant and dark, as is dark ambient. Some noise artists create almost ambient soundscapes, such as Aube, MOZ, Daniel Menche, Iszoloscope, and some Merzbow.[3] Some, for example Iszoloscope, also compose ambient on the side, such as his Les Gorges Des Limbes album. While the two genres cannot really compare sound wise, many labels, such as Ant-Zen, release both ambient and noise, as well as combinations of both, taking both genres further.

See also
Industrial music portal

List of dark ambient artists List of electronic music genres

External links

Dark Ambient Encyclopedia

References
1. ^ "Dark Ambient Music". Synthtopia.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. http://web.archive.org/web/20110720082957/http://www.synthtopia.com/Articles/Elect ronicMusicStylesDark.html. Retrieved March 19, 2010. 2. ^ Stosuy, Brandon (October 31, 2008). "Show No Mercy". Pitchfork. http://pitchfork.com/features/show-no-mercy/7544-show-no-mercy/. Retrieved October 31, 2008. 3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Werner, Peter. "Epsilon: Ambient Industrial". Music Hyperreal. http://music.hyperreal.org/epsilon/info/werner_notes.html. Retrieved December 11, 2011. 4. ^ "Headbanger's Blog". MTV. Viacom. http://headbangersblog.mtv.com/2008/11/20/brutal-truth-drummer-blends-ambientindustrial-experimental-film-for-new-project-peacemaker. Retrieved 4 October 2012. 5. ^ Lucan, Lord (July 26, 2000). "Throbbing Gristle - In The Shadow Of The Sun". Julian Cope Presents Head Heritage. http://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/review/146. Retrieved March 15, 2009. 6. ^ Lamb, Robert. "Symphonies of the Planets: Music from the Hearts of Space?" HowStuffWorks. September 15, 2009.

v t e

Industrial

Post-industrial developments

Dark ambient Death industrial Electronic body music Martial industrial Neofolk Power electronics Electro-industrial Futurepop Grebo Grindcore Breakcore Industrial hip hop Industrial metal Industrial rock Japanoise Neue Deutsche Hrte New Beat

Fusion genres / derivatives

Power noise Witch house Drone metal Ambient Breakbeat Drum and bass Dubstep Electro Eurodance Hardcore Hi-NRG House Industrial Techno Trance Trip hop UK garage

Other electronic music genres

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dark_ambient&oldid=522493105" Categories:

Dark ambient Electronic music genres

Hidden categories:

Articles that may contain original research from March 2009 All articles that may contain original research All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from October 2012

Source Material: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_ambient More Info: http://www.last.fm/tag/dark%20ambient