Ambient Techno
Techno that is made for listening at home as much as dancing, with soft textures and slow beats.
History
Ambient techno appeared around 1990 s1. It mixes the electronic sounds of techno with the calm, slow style of ambient music s1. The beat may be soft, slow or missing completely s1. Aphex Twin's 'Xtal' (1992) is one of the widely known tracks, with a gentle beat and warm synthesizer chords s1. Global Communication's '14:31' (1994) is a long, quiet piece often named as a high point of the style s1. Orbital's 'Belfast' (1991) is another well-loved example s1. British labels such as Warp and R&S released much of this music s2. Ambient techno was often listened to at home as well as in clubs s1. It later fed into the wider ambient and electronic listening scene s2. The style was also called intelligent techno at the time, a name used by the label Warp for its listening series s2. Many of the records were made for headphones as much as for dance floors s1.
Sound
- Soft or slow beats, sometimes none
- Warm, floating synthesizer chords
- Long, slowly changing pieces
- A calm, spacious and dreamy mood
- Detailed, quiet sound design
Key figures
- Aphex Twin — British producer behind 'Xtal' and other ambient techno
- Global Communication — British duo of Mark Pritchard and Tom Middleton
- Orbital — British duo behind 'Belfast'
- The Orb — British project that mixed ambient with dance music
Labels
- Warp Records — Sheffield , 1989
- R&S Records — Ghent , 1984
- Dedicated — London , 1992
Defining tracks
Connections
Came from: Detroit Techno , Ambient , Early Electronic
Led to: Hypnotic Techno
Sources
- Ambient techno — Wikipedia
- The origins and evolution of ambient techno — MusicRadar