Dark Ambient

Biomega

Net Ronin Of All Trades
#1

In conjunction to this Noise music thread, I present you Dark Ambient!
Yep, my second genre introduction thread.

Yes, ambient is usually present itself as a nice relaxing music. Often associated with Chillout, Trip-Hop, Acid Jazz and New Age music. Ambient music is done using synths, sometimes organic instruments and sometimes it is just field recordings. Ambient, as the name suggest, reflects a certain atmosphere and ambience. Dark Ambient does that, but in a different way. It is not happy and relaxing, but quite the contrary.

Yes, it gives us a sense of doom, darkness, sinister presence, malice. It is acoustically less disturbing than Noise music, but it is still an unnerving genre of music. Most artist usually incorporates elements and draws inspiration from genres like Noise, Industrial and the like. Often dark and gritty, but yet more humane than its counterparts. Some albums are just made out of synth -- some are from home-made sounds and instruments, and sometimes even classical instruments(piano, violin and etc).

The themes it covers are usually about the occult, death, impeding doom, decay, suffering and pain. But also, it's not always superficial, and it's not always scary, and it can be very emotional; evoking melancholy and producing depression, or even abstract things like emptiness and blankness(2001: A Space Odyssey is a great example of that).

Here, I will bring a couple of works I know.

This is my upload, and my personal favourite. Hard to find, rare music.
[YOUTUBE]KYbcN1iO2iU[/YOUTUBE]

Sometimes Ambient, sometimes not.
[YOUTUBE]ii9LcXkVBcs[/YOUTUBE]

Dark Ambient album by a Jazzgrind band.
[YOUTUBE]cqajweKCWos[/YOUTUBE]

A live version.
[YOUTUBE]WjkvOKSQs0o[/YOUTUBE]

Nihong Dark Ambient
[YOUTUBE]XGUBupeFX1Q[/YOUTUBE]

No synth involved, the guy actually bought electric grids and power lines to produce the music.
Not scary per se.
[YOUTUBE]84tuGBEaAWk[/YOUTUBE]

These are the ones I have discovered, and there tons of other artists of course waiting for us to hear their esoterically beautiful works.

So, any questions?
 
#2
Ah, dark ambient music. The first brush I had with it was a few years ago, from a pretty mainstream band actually, Tool:

[YOUTUBE]rLOwhigl1bU[/YOUTUBE]


While I don't particularly like the genre, it is an intersting listen. It's kinda scary too.
 

Biomega

Net Ronin Of All Trades
#5
Eh I am very interested in it. One of the best bandsI have found is Nox Arcana. I can post more similar music like this, dark, gothic, etheral ambiental some instrumental and some with vocals that aren't very known in all the world.

So, this is Nox Arcana Lullby
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0LDtwAaJBo&feature=related
Yeah, no. This is not Dark Ambient.

This is Dark Ambient(actually Ritual Ambient) with lyrics:
[youtube]7SvPlLdV8Xg[/youtube]

BIG BIG Difference. I doubt you have listened to those examples I gave. They don't have a musicbox music, with piano on the background -- usually huge corrugated metal beating on other metals.

This is a prime example of dark ambient in Video Games. Oh, my ears literally comes during the climax.
[youtube]VlYuwa-gDRo[/youtube]
 
#6
Sorry...we have different understanding of the term.
I put in the Dark Ambient category stuff with moody atmospheric pieces, gothic-themed soundscapes with classic horror references.

A funny similar thing Is happening with Gothic music, in Europe we mostly call Gothic: Symphonic Metal with a female vocalist and rich instrumental, epic lyrics...etc While in the States they use the term "goth-gothic" to refer to some kind of dance-pop trance music....totally different from what we use it.


The "Dark Ambient(actually Ritual Ambient) with lyrics" you posted sounds like what I would call BLACK METAL or at least something like that is known as in this parts of the world.

Wikipedia also labels Nox Arcana as Dark Ambinet
Nox Arcana is an American dark ambient musical group, formed in 2003 by Joseph Vargo and William Piotrowski. Nox Arcana specializes in concept albums based on gothic fiction and classic horror literature. Such literary references include: H. P. Lovecraft, The Brothers Grimm, Ray Bradbury, and Edgar Allan Poe.[1] Some of their albums also make reference to medieval themes and ancient mythology.[2]
 

Biomega

Net Ronin Of All Trades
#7
Sorry...we have different understanding of the term. I put in the Dark Ambient category stuff with moody atmospheric pieces, gothic-themed soundscapes with classic horror references.
Yes, Dark ambient is "moody atmospheric pieces", but it is not "gothic-themed soundscapes with classic horror references" - who gave you this idea? Well, actually there are who do this, but it all solely depends on the artists.

My understanding on Dark Ambient is universal, and yours is limited to that particular band.

That particular piece is not Dark Ambient at all. There is no ambiance, there is no use of obscure instruments -- just musicbox music and piano -- come on, use some common sense!

If you are so reliant on Wikipedia(there is also Akira Yamoaka, which is the silent hill I have posted), why don't you go that page(dark ambient) and check some of the artists. Check any of Lustmord or Nocturnal Emissions on youtube, compare that to the one I have posted, and to the one you have posted. Big difference, you will notice.

There is no musicbox and piano, or organ, for that matter. Dark Ambient uses a lot of Synth and untraditional instruments - to put sense on ominous and menacing music. Yours has none of that.

A funny similar thing Is happening with Gothic music, in Europe we mostly call Gothic: Symphonic Metal with a female vocalist and rich instrumental, epic lyrics...etc While in the States they use the term "goth-gothic" to refer to some kind of dance-pop trance music....totally different from what we use it.
I think of Gothic as something like by Cacteu Twins, Joy Division, Christian Death or Bahaus, and other post-punk material.

The "Dark Ambient(actually Ritual Ambient) with lyrics" you posted sounds like what I would call BLACK METAL or at least something like that is known as in this parts of the world.
No, you have mistaken that with Atmospheric Black Metal. What I have posted was actually a Ritual Ambient, if you check on it again, you can see they are chanting in different obscure language and they use traditional Chinese instrument. Black Metal is totally different -- they emphasize guitars, and a lot of drums, and a lot of squealing vocals. Burzum, Immortal or Mayham, they are a great examples, check them on youtube, if you have doubts on what's Black Metal.

This is an example Atmospheric Black Metal, which fuses Dark Ambient and Black Metal:
[youtube]Lu6yIuC7Az0[/youtube]

You can easily hear guitar in the above with growly vocals, but not in that Ritual Ambient where you have labelled it as BLACK METAL. No.

You are so wrong in many different ways.

If that your band is indeed a dark ambient band... oddly enough, all Dark Ambient are Solo artists. Anyway, if your band is a Dark Ambient band, why don't you post a song that is Dark Ambient, that would be nice. Someone posting Musical box's music and piano to a dark ambient thread is an insult to the OP(aka trolling). It's like posting Lady Gaga in a Classical or Baroque music thread.

That's not dark ambient. And anyone who knows what they are talking about will tell you the same. That's not dark ambient. Ad infinitum.

Also, Hadriel did the same thing. Tool's Viginit Tres is not Dark Ambient, it is an intermission that has dark ambient influences, is all.
 

Chimer

★('°Ch†mR°') ★
#8
@Biomega => Well you should have lol when i said your song was "right now a bit too "dark", but your thread is really interesting. To be honest i don't like all, but the feelings coming out from some songs are really impressive. ( like Dark Ambient album by a Jazzgrind band, or the Nihong dark ambient... silent hill is good tto ^^ ), but The Birchvill cat motel, is a too "comceptual" for me, i mean i don't find the feeling/harmony/sense in this particular association of sounds.

The Atmospheric Black Metal song is quite interesting too, i'll check this side of the moon too.