Sounds of the Spheres

The genre of ambiance (originally pioneered by the ever-evolving Brian Eno nearly thirty years ago) has been flying under the radar since its conception. Ideally speaking, ambient music should induce a relaxed state of vertigo. Wordless, the songs bend and twist ever so slowly, building upon light motifs and stretched bars of what initially seems like nothingness.

In a nutshell, ambiance sounds like the soundtrack to a babbling brook.

One evening I fell asleep listening to Stars of the Lid (more on them below) and dreamt I was hallucinating on the surface of Saturn's moon, Titan.

The Austin-based band Stars of the Lid is this entry's main dish...A band that has just about perfected this relatively small genre, infusing their own organic feel to what Eno started with when he recorded albums such as "Ambient Music For Airports" (which sounds precisely what the name implies).

Stars of the Lid (just about fifteen years old) went about infusing ambient music with a pure, ephemeral sound, giving the listener a dizzying and weightless (albeit pleasant) feeling.

For those searching for something a bit off the beaten path, Stars of the Lid just might provide you with the proper tranquility in an increasingly deafening industry.

Enjoy!

- MD

Stars of the Lid's MySpace