Ambient house
Encyclopedia
Ambient house, a music genre that first emerged in the late 1980s, is a sub-genre of house music
, combining elements of acid house
and ambient music
. Tracks in the ambient house genre typically feature four-on-the-floor beat patterns, synthesisers (sometimes known as synth pads), and vocal samples integrated in a style classed as atmospheric("atmospheric style").
ran the Acid house
night at Heaven
, and Dr. Alex Paterson
ran a chill-out counterpart in the White Room. There, Paterson (soon to be front man in The Orb) spun Brian Eno
, Pink Floyd
, and 10CC
songs at low volume and accompanied them with multiscreen video projections. Around the same time, in the East End of London
, so-called Spacetime parties were held at Cable Street
. These parties, organized by Jonah Sharp, were designed to encourage conversation rather than dance, and featured Mixmaster Morris
.
The ambient house movement began in the late 1980s largely due to the demand for post-rave
"come-down" music. It was founded mainly by The Orb
members Alex Paterson
and Jimmy Cauty
. They drew from various influences, particularly Yellow Magic Orchestra
(active since the late 1970s), an electronic music
group frequently cited as a pioneer of ambient house music, in addition to influences from Steve Reich
, Brian Eno
, reggae music
, and 1970s psychedelic rock
, including Pink Floyd
. Inspired by the house music played by DJs such as Larry "Mr. Fingers" Heard
, Paterson and Cauty began DJ-ing and composing experimental music. The Orb established the genre in 1989 as DJs during night-club events called The Land of Oz, based at the night-club Heaven
. After a recording session with John Peel
later that year, The Orb released the twenty-minute "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld
", which featured "bright, translucent sounds" and "tinkl[ing]" keyboards, as well as heavily sampling Minnie Riperton
's "Lovin' You
". Out of Paterson and Cauty's sessions at Trancentral studio, came Cauty and Bill Drummond
's KLF
album Chill Out
(which featured no credit to Paterson). As one of the first ambient house albums, The Grove Dictionary of Music describes it as "a 1980s pop culture version of musique concrète
". After splitting from The Orb, Cauty finished work on his own album Space, and Paterson's Orb went on to create the single "Little Fluffy Clouds
" – both important works of ambient house. In 1991, The Orb released the album The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld
, featuring both of their previous singles. Combining Moog synthesizer
s with religious chorales and audio clips of the Apollo 11
rocket launch, The Orb popularized the "spacy" sound of ambient house.
The musicians of The KLF stopped their musical production in 1992, whilst in the same year The Orb released the single "Blue Room
"which was to become their most successful, reaching eighth place in the UK singles chart
. At forty minutes, it was the longest single to reach the UK charts. An edited form of it appeared on The Orb album U.F.Orb
later that year. U.F.Orb brought in dub
influences into ambient-house. In the years after the release of their live album, Live 93, The Orb largely stopped their ambient-house music production, instead concentrating on producing more "metallic" music.
Ambient house was taken up in large part by artists such as Juno Reactor
, Pete Namlook
, Aphex Twin
and Tetsu Inoue
.
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
, combining elements of acid house
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
and ambient music
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
. Tracks in the ambient house genre typically feature four-on-the-floor beat patterns, synthesisers (sometimes known as synth pads), and vocal samples integrated in a style classed as atmospheric("atmospheric style").
Birth of ambient house
In 1989, Paul OakenfoldPaul Oakenfold
Paul Mark Oakenfold is a British record producer and a trance DJ.-Early Career: 1979–84:Paul Oakenfold's career was set to be a chef, after having hopes of becoming part of a band. He describes his early life as a "bedroom deejay" in a podcasted interview with Vancouver's 24 Hours, stating he grew...
ran the Acid house
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
night at Heaven
Heaven (nightclub)
Heaven is a Superclub in London, England which appeals predominantly to the gay market. It is located underneath Charing Cross railway station in Central London, just off Trafalgar Square.-Early history:...
, and Dr. Alex Paterson
Alex Paterson
Alex Paterson is an English musician and co-founder of the ambient group The Orb, in which he has worked since its inception....
ran a chill-out counterpart in the White Room. There, Paterson (soon to be front man in The Orb) spun Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, and 10CC
10cc
10cc are an English art rock band who achieved their greatest commercial success in the 1970s. The band initially consisted of four musicians -- Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, and Lol Creme -- who had written and recorded together for some three years, before assuming the "10cc" name...
songs at low volume and accompanied them with multiscreen video projections. Around the same time, in the East End of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, so-called Spacetime parties were held at Cable Street
Cable Street
Cable Street is a mile-long road in the East End of London, with several historic landmarks nearby, made famous by "the Battle of Cable Street" of 1936.-Location:Cable Street runs between the edge of The City and Limehouse:...
. These parties, organized by Jonah Sharp, were designed to encourage conversation rather than dance, and featured Mixmaster Morris
Mixmaster Morris
Mixmaster Morris is an English ambient DJ and underground musician. Relating specifically to ambient music, Morris stated "It's exactly what you need if you have a busy and stressful life".-Life and career:...
.
The ambient house movement began in the late 1980s largely due to the demand for post-rave
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
"come-down" music. It was founded mainly by The Orb
The Orb
Throughout 1989, the Orb, along with Martin Glover, developed the musical genre of ambient house through the use of a diverse array of samples and recordings. The culmination of its musical work came toward the end of the year when the group recorded a session for John Peel on BBC Radio 1...
members Alex Paterson
Alex Paterson
Alex Paterson is an English musician and co-founder of the ambient group The Orb, in which he has worked since its inception....
and Jimmy Cauty
Jimmy Cauty
James Francis Cauty is a British artist and musician born in Liverpool, England, in 1956...
. They drew from various influences, particularly Yellow Magic Orchestra
Yellow Magic Orchestra
Sakamoto first worked with Hosono as a member of his live band in 1976, while Takahashi recruited Sakamoto to produce his debut solo recording in 1977 following the split of the Sadistic Mika Band...
(active since the late 1970s), an electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
group frequently cited as a pioneer of ambient house music, in addition to influences from Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
, Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
, reggae music
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, and 1970s psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
, including Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
. Inspired by the house music played by DJs such as Larry "Mr. Fingers" Heard
Larry Heard
Larry Heard is a Memphis, Tennessee-based musician widely known for the Chicago-based house music he produced during the mid-1980s and continues to produce today. He was leader of the influential group Fingers Inc. and has recorded solo under various names, most notably Mr...
, Paterson and Cauty began DJ-ing and composing experimental music. The Orb established the genre in 1989 as DJs during night-club events called The Land of Oz, based at the night-club Heaven
Heaven (nightclub)
Heaven is a Superclub in London, England which appeals predominantly to the gay market. It is located underneath Charing Cross railway station in Central London, just off Trafalgar Square.-Early history:...
. After a recording session with John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
later that year, The Orb released the twenty-minute "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld
A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From the Centre of the Ultraworld
"A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld" is a single by the ambient house group The Orb. It was originally released in October 1989 and made the UK Singles Chart in 1990, peaking at #78. The 'Peel Session' version was also voted into #10 place in John...
", which featured "bright, translucent sounds" and "tinkl[ing]" keyboards, as well as heavily sampling Minnie Riperton
Minnie Riperton
Minnie Julia Riperton was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You". She was married to songwriter and music producer Richard Rudolph from 1972 until her death in the summer of 1979. They had two children - music engineer Marc Rudolph and actress/comedienne Maya...
's "Lovin' You
Lovin' You
-Film:*Loving You, an Elvis Presley movie and soundtrack album*Loving You , a melodramatic love story film produced and distributed by Regal Films-Music:...
". Out of Paterson and Cauty's sessions at Trancentral studio, came Cauty and Bill Drummond
Bill Drummond
William Ernest Drummond is a Scottish artist, musician, writer and record producer. He was the co-founder of late 1980s avant-garde pop group The KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with which he burned a million pounds in 1994...
's KLF
The KLF
The KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
album Chill Out
Chill out
Chill out may mean:*Chill out music, a laid-back style of music*Chill Out, an album by KLF*Chill Out *Chill Out, an album by John Lee Hooker...
(which featured no credit to Paterson). As one of the first ambient house albums, The Grove Dictionary of Music describes it as "a 1980s pop culture version of musique concrète
Musique concrète
Musique concrète is a form of electroacoustic music that utilises acousmatic sound as a compositional resource. The compositional material is not restricted to the inclusion of sounds derived from musical instruments or voices, nor to elements traditionally thought of as "musical"...
". After splitting from The Orb, Cauty finished work on his own album Space, and Paterson's Orb went on to create the single "Little Fluffy Clouds
Little Fluffy Clouds
"Little Fluffy Clouds" is a single released by the English ambient house group The Orb. It was originally released in July 1990 on the record label Big Life and peaked at #87 on the UK Singles Chart. The Orb also included it on their 1991 double album The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld...
" – both important works of ambient house. In 1991, The Orb released the album The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld
The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld
The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld is the seminal 1991 ambient house-concept debut album by the electronic music collective The Orb. The album's framework is of a two-hour psychedelic trip through music genres and studio electronics, produced to "push the threshold" of live stage performance...
, featuring both of their previous singles. Combining Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
s with religious chorales and audio clips of the Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
rocket launch, The Orb popularized the "spacy" sound of ambient house.
The musicians of The KLF stopped their musical production in 1992, whilst in the same year The Orb released the single "Blue Room
Blue Room (The Orb)
- CD: Logic / 74321 10702-2 :# "Blue Room [radio 7]" # "Blue Room" # "Blue Room [excerpt 605]" # "Towers of Dub [mad professor remix]" - CD: Mercury / CDP 804 :# "Blue Room [edit]"...
"which was to become their most successful, reaching eighth place in the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. At forty minutes, it was the longest single to reach the UK charts. An edited form of it appeared on The Orb album U.F.Orb
U.F.Orb
-Disc 1:# "O.O.B.E." – 12:51# "U.F.Orb" – 6:08# "Blue Room" – 17:34# "Towers of Dub" – 15:00# "Close Encounters" – 10:27# "Majestic" – 11:06# "Sticky End" – 0:49-Disc 2:# "Blue Room " - 3:09# "Blue Room " - 7:37...
later that year. U.F.Orb brought in dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
influences into ambient-house. In the years after the release of their live album, Live 93, The Orb largely stopped their ambient-house music production, instead concentrating on producing more "metallic" music.
Ambient house was taken up in large part by artists such as Juno Reactor
Juno Reactor
Juno Reactor is a musical and performing act known for the cinematic fusion of electronic, orchestral, and global music. Central to the project is Ben Watkins and his collaborations with a constantly changing ensemble of musicians from across the world, including percussionist Mabi Thobejane from...
, Pete Namlook
Pete Namlook
Pete Namlook is an ambient and electronic-music producer and composer. In 1992, he founded the German record label FAX +49-69/450464, which he oversees...
, Aphex Twin
Aphex Twin
Richard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...
and Tetsu Inoue
Tetsu Inoue
Tetsu Inoue is a producer of electronic music. His style could be described as ambient with a heavy minimalist influence. He has lived in Japan, San Francisco, and New York, and has collaborated with musicians such as Pete Namlook, Bill Laswell, Andrew Deutsch, Jonah Sharp, and Taylor Deupree.His...
.
Major ambient house artists
- 808 State808 State808 State are a British electronic music outfit, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and their common state of mind...
- Aphex TwinAphex TwinRichard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...
- BiosphereBiosphere (musician)Biosphere is the main recording name of Geir Jenssen , a Norwegian musician who has released a notable catalogue of ambient electronic music. He is well known for his "ambient techno" and "arctic ambient" styles, his use of music loops, and peculiar samples from sci-fi sources. His track "Novelty...
- Boards of CanadaBoards of CanadaBoards of Canada are a Scottish electronic music duo consisting of brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin...
- Global CommunicationGlobal CommunicationGlobal Communication is an electronic music act, composed of Tom Middleton and Mark Pritchard. Their debut LP, 76:14 is one of the most acclaimed albums from the ambient music genre and from 1990s electronic music in general....
- Juno ReactorJuno ReactorJuno Reactor is a musical and performing act known for the cinematic fusion of electronic, orchestral, and global music. Central to the project is Ben Watkins and his collaborations with a constantly changing ensemble of musicians from across the world, including percussionist Mabi Thobejane from...
- Tetsu InoueTetsu InoueTetsu Inoue is a producer of electronic music. His style could be described as ambient with a heavy minimalist influence. He has lived in Japan, San Francisco, and New York, and has collaborated with musicians such as Pete Namlook, Bill Laswell, Andrew Deutsch, Jonah Sharp, and Taylor Deupree.His...
- The KLFThe KLFThe KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
- The OrbThe OrbThroughout 1989, the Orb, along with Martin Glover, developed the musical genre of ambient house through the use of a diverse array of samples and recordings. The culmination of its musical work came toward the end of the year when the group recorded a session for John Peel on BBC Radio 1...
- System 7System 7 (band)System 7 are a British ambient dance band. Due to the existence of another band called System Seven, they were initially marketed as 777 in North America...
- Yellow Magic OrchestraYellow Magic OrchestraSakamoto first worked with Hosono as a member of his live band in 1976, while Takahashi recruited Sakamoto to produce his debut solo recording in 1977 following the split of the Sadistic Mika Band...
Key albums
- The OrbThe OrbThroughout 1989, the Orb, along with Martin Glover, developed the musical genre of ambient house through the use of a diverse array of samples and recordings. The culmination of its musical work came toward the end of the year when the group recorded a session for John Peel on BBC Radio 1...
- "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the UltraworldA Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From the Centre of the Ultraworld"A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld" is a single by the ambient house group The Orb. It was originally released in October 1989 and made the UK Singles Chart in 1990, peaking at #78. The 'Peel Session' version was also voted into #10 place in John...
" (1989/1990) - Jimmy CautyJimmy CautyJames Francis Cauty is a British artist and musician born in Liverpool, England, in 1956...
- Space (1990) - The KLFThe KLFThe KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
- Chill OutChill outChill out may mean:*Chill out music, a laid-back style of music*Chill Out, an album by KLF*Chill Out *Chill Out, an album by John Lee Hooker...
(1990) - BiosphereBiosphere (musician)Biosphere is the main recording name of Geir Jenssen , a Norwegian musician who has released a notable catalogue of ambient electronic music. He is well known for his "ambient techno" and "arctic ambient" styles, his use of music loops, and peculiar samples from sci-fi sources. His track "Novelty...
- MicrogravityMicrogravity (album)Microgravity is the debut album by Biosphere, released in 1992.-Track listing:# "Microgravity" – 5:12# "Baby Satellite" – 5:04# "Tranquillizer" – 8:18# "The Fairy Tale" – 4:53# "Cloudwalker II" – 5:26# "Chromosphere" – 3:28...
(1991) - The OrbThe OrbThroughout 1989, the Orb, along with Martin Glover, developed the musical genre of ambient house through the use of a diverse array of samples and recordings. The culmination of its musical work came toward the end of the year when the group recorded a session for John Peel on BBC Radio 1...
- Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld (1991) - The OrbThe OrbThroughout 1989, the Orb, along with Martin Glover, developed the musical genre of ambient house through the use of a diverse array of samples and recordings. The culmination of its musical work came toward the end of the year when the group recorded a session for John Peel on BBC Radio 1...
- U.F.OrbU.F.Orb-Disc 1:# "O.O.B.E." – 12:51# "U.F.Orb" – 6:08# "Blue Room" – 17:34# "Towers of Dub" – 15:00# "Close Encounters" – 10:27# "Majestic" – 11:06# "Sticky End" – 0:49-Disc 2:# "Blue Room " - 3:09# "Blue Room " - 7:37...
(1992) - The Irresistible Force - Flying High (1992)
- Pete NamlookPete NamlookPete Namlook is an ambient and electronic-music producer and composer. In 1992, he founded the German record label FAX +49-69/450464, which he oversees...
- Air (1993) - Tetsu InoueTetsu InoueTetsu Inoue is a producer of electronic music. His style could be described as ambient with a heavy minimalist influence. He has lived in Japan, San Francisco, and New York, and has collaborated with musicians such as Pete Namlook, Bill Laswell, Andrew Deutsch, Jonah Sharp, and Taylor Deupree.His...
- Ambiant OtakuAmbiant OtakuAmbiant Otaku is the first solo album released by Japanese ambient artist Tetsu Inoue.- Track listing :...
(1994)