Some favorite longer ambient pieces from 2021 are featured here, plus my favorite record of the year, The Quiet Drift by Hollie Keniff.
A special feature for the back half of this edition is the full length of Bloom by Ian Hawgood and Stijn Huwels. This hour-long piece is predominantly made up from hydrophone recordings of local tide pools in Sussex, processed through a synth module on-site. Enjoy with headphones and a comfy chair, sometimes less is more in a media-frenzied world.
Playlist
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The Hungover by Kyle Bobby Dunn on Bring Me The Head of Kyle Bobby Dunn (Diggers Factory) Aptly titled favorite from ambient guitar hero Dunn.
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Featured Monomom by alva noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto on Monomom (NOTON) New New single from one of my favorite duos! Nothing on NOTON's website about a new release but assuming one is in the works.
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Eventual Needs by Celer on Malaria (Celer) Tropical diseases in a world war never sounded so damned beautiful.
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Mir by Taylor Deupree on Mur (Dauw) Lo-fi peace of mind - Deupree also has a great new collaborative two-tracker with longtime collaborator Marcus Fischer through Dauw records (label out of Ghent).
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Quell by Hollie Kenniff on The Quiet Drift (Western Vinyl) Not among the longer pieces I enjoyed this year but this was one of my favorite records from 2021 so can't help but share!
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Take Me By The Hand by 36 + Awakened Souls on The Other Side of Darkness (Past Inside The Present) -
Opalescent by The Green Kingdom on Empyrean (Dronarivm) Pure listening pleasure from Michael Cottone
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Featured Bloom by Ian Hawgood + Stijn Hüwels on Bloom (Home Normal) One hour of pure audio fascination. This is a hydrophone recording of tide pools in Sussex, UK. You're listening to water and whatever's in it, processed live on the shore.