The first post I did on this blog was about the album Ambient 1: Music for Airports by Brian Eno. So I decided to continue in this direction and give my readers an overview of the four albums of the Ambient Series:
• Brian Eno — Ambient 1: Music for Airports (1978)
• Brian Eno/Harold Budd — Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror (1980)
• Laraaji — Ambient 3: Day of Radiance (1980)
• Brian Eno — Ambient 4: On Land (1982)
In 1978, Brian Eno discovered the music of the pianist Harold Budd while working with him on the production of the album The Pavillon of Dreams. The music of Budd is mostly improvised atmospheric piano pieces. Not surprisingly, Brian Eno found some similarities with the piano improvisation of Budd and his album Music for Airports.
Both musicians started collaborating together in the creation of this album, which is mostly improvised by the pianist (with some sound effects and manipulations by Eno). The most obvious difference between the first Ambient album and the second is the sound. While Ambient 1 has a synth sound that is more pronounced, Ambient 2 has a more acoustic piano sound (that ages better in my opinion). The album is relaxing to listen to and it is ideal music for meditation or relaxation.
This is the album that started Harold Budd's carreer and many collaborations with Brian Eno (The Pearl — Harold Budd/Brian Eno/Daniel Lanois). He now has a prolific carreer and many solo albums in the same minimalist piano style.
These albums are amongst my favorites. Thirty years ago, when I first heard them, they had a profound effect on my life. They still do.
ReplyDeleteSame here, I started listening to this music at a time I was in deep questioning about my life. I guess I needed this kind of calm, meditative music at the time.
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, I started listening to them at a time when I was taking a lot of hallucinogens!
DeleteI guess I'm always questioning my life...
Thats another way of putting things in perspective!
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