Ghostly has taken great pains to convince its fan base that this ensemble of music, and ostensibly the invitations from Ghostly themselves, are worth paying attention to.
[Listen | Purchase] Ambient music has come a long way from its unobtrusive beginnings – “beginnings” defined as the point at which Brian Eno coined of the phrase ambient to describe some of his music. The initial idea of ambient music was that it could be “actively listened to with attention or as easily ignored, depending on the choice of the listener,” in the words of Eno himself. Of course, this is presumed knowledge for being interested in SMM: Context in the first place. But the interesting thing about SMM: Context, is that most of its content could be described as “ambient,” but the aim of that content is radically opposed to Eno’s description some 30+ years ago.
This compilation’s music is opposed to that original vision not due to possible alternative genre designations but because of its zeal to engage. Most of SMM: Context is not content or compatible with the “easily ignored” provision of Eno’s pronouncement. No. These songs want to engage you. But where Emeralds’ “Does It Look Like I’m Here?” is the most recent pinnacle of engaging ambient, as close as you can get to rhythm and still somehow get labeled drone, these songs go about that engagement in different ways. Contributions from Goldmund and Christina Vantzou go the emotional route, pairing pianos with warm tones (no surprise), while others from Svarte Greiner and Aidan Baker are haunting, oppressive slabs of drones and ghosts playing violins (again, no surprise). The Fun Years offer a characteristically complex pastiche of looped piano and sharp guitar, on par with the rest of their most recent output, while Kyle Bobby Dunn’s “Runge’s Last Stand” is a subtle, effective orchestral exercise, one of the best on the album. Another understated piece is Manual’s “Three Parts,” a moving elegy that flows like a river under a sheet of ice.
This change toward attention-grabbing ambient can be both good and bad, but often an artist’s well-intentioned efforts can produce a cloying mess. A good example of such confused production is “Polaroid” by Leyland Kirby, a song whose length makes its languor unbearable. And even the name of Rafael Anton Irisarri’s “Moments Descend On My Windowpane” points towards this same problem: the song aims to be pleasantly torpid but quickly turns lachrymose.
SMM: Context is getting the album treatment from Ghostly, with lush vinyl packaging and then some. The message is clear: This isn’t just another collection of ambient excursions. No, it is a carefully considered selection of works by ambient musicians who Ghostly have deemed both important in modern ambient music and congruent with their own output; it is on this defining thread that SMM: Context flourishes.
Let’s not get caught up in accessory details. Despite the seemingly arbitrary nature of this album’s flagship assignment, this is commendable music, and on the whole, it is an adequate representation of most facets of contemporary ambient music (excluding noise). SMM: Context is not a conceptual album; rather, a series of eleven invitations to explore eleven artists’ audio work; and what beautifully done invitations! Ghostly has taken great pains to convince its fan base that this ensemble of music, and ostensibly the invitations from Ghostly themselves, are worth paying attention to. So if you have any interest in ambient music today, go ahead and RSVP.
SMM: Context is out now on Ghostly. [Listen | Purchase]
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