View source for Ambient techno

{{Short description|Subgenre of techno music}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Ambient techno
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|[[Techno]]|[[ambient house]]|[[ambient music|ambient]]|[[New Age music|new age]]|[[chillout]]|[[dub music|dub]]|[[acid house]]|[[electro (music)|electro]]}}
| cultural_origins  = Late 1980s — early 1990s, UK and US
| other_topics      = {{hlist|[[Intelligent dance music]]|[[dub techno]]}}
}}
'''Ambient techno''' is a subgenre of [[techno]] that incorporates the atmospheric textures of [[ambient music]] with the rhythmic elements and production of techno.<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|title=Ambient Techno - Genre Overview|url=http://www.allmusic.com/style/ambient-techno-ma0000012032|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=6 June 2017}}</ref> It was pioneered by 1990s electronic artists such as [[Aphex Twin]], [[Carl Craig]], [[The Orb]], [[The Future Sound of London]], [[The Black Dog (band)|the Black Dog]], [[Pete Namlook]] and [[Biosphere (musician)|Biosphere]].

==Characteristics and influences==
[[AllMusic]] states that ambient techno, building off the [[ambient house]] scene, blended the "soaring, layered, aquatic atmospheres of beatless and experimental [[ambient music|ambient]]" with [[techno]]'s "well-produced, thin-sounding electronics."<ref name="allmusic"/> Artists fused the "environmentalist" work of [[Brian Eno]], [[Jon Hassell]], and [[Wendy Carlos]] with the rhythms of urban dance styles such as techno and [[acid house]].<ref name="Bios">{{cite web |last1=Cooper |first1=Sean |title=Biosphere - Biography |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/biosphere-mn0000081248 |website=AllMusic |access-date=22 May 2021}}</ref> Ambient techno artists returned to the instruments of the [[Detroit techno]] and [[Chicago house]] scenes, including [[analogue synthesizer]]s, the [[Roland TB-303]] bass machine, and the [[Roland TR-909|TR-909]] drum machine.<ref name="energy flash"/> Common elements included heavily reverbed [[synth pads|string pads]] and subtle drum programming that moved beyond the simple patterns of 4/4 techno and [[house music|house]], while artists typically de-emphasized [[sample (music)|sampling]].<ref name="bloom"/> 

One principal influence on the genre was the 1984 album ''[[E2-E4]]'' by German musician [[Manuel Göttsching]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rietveld |first1=Hillegonda |title=Infinite Noise Spirals: The Musical Cosmopolitanism of Psytrance |journal=The Local Scenes and Global Culture of Psytrance |date=2010 |page=74 |publisher=Routledge}}</ref> The Orb's 1991 album ''[[Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld]]'' would inspire [[dub music|dub]]-influenced ambient techno.<ref name="energy flash"/> ''[[Artforum]]'' noted the genre's similarities with [[new age music|new age]]: "swaddling the listener in a womblike sound bath, it means retreat from the environment, relief from the stresses of urban existence."<ref name="Artforum International"/> Critic [[Simon Reynolds]] characterized the style as a "post-rave genre" meant "for immobile contemplation," comparing it to "the aqua-mysticism and forest idylls of [[Claude Debussy]]."<ref name="energy flash"/> 

The style would be associated with labels such as [[Warp Records|Warp]], [[Apollo Records (Belgium)|Apollo]], GPR, and [[Beyond Records|Beyond]],<ref name="allmusic"/> with releases focusing more on [[studio album|album]]s than [[12-inch single]]s.<ref name="Artforum International">{{cite journal |title=Muzak of the Fears |journal=Artforum International |date=1995 |volume=33}}</ref>

==History==
===Origins===
Ambient techno departed from the communal, dance-oriented sound heard at [[rave]]s and instead gained popularity in the early 1990s as a form of "electronic listening music."<ref name="energy flash">{{cite book|last1=Reynolds|first1=Simon|title=Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture|date=2012|publisher=Soft Skull Press|pages=156–7}}</ref> Artists such as [[Carl Craig]], [[the Black Dog (band)|the Black Dog]], and [[The Orb]] produced early works in the style.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rietveld |first1=Hillegonda |title=Infinite Noise Spirals: The Musical Cosmopolitanism of Psytrance |journal=The Local Scenes and Global Culture of Psytrance |date=2010 |page=74 |publisher=Routledge}}</ref> Carl Craig's early releases as part of the [[Detroit techno]] scene (later collected on the compilation ''[[Elements 1989-1990]]'') showcased an ambient style of "narcoleptic, interior techno,"<ref name=fact>{{cite web |last1=Marcus |first1=Tony |title=The 20 greatest ambient albums ever made |url=http://www.factmag.com/2011/07/19/20-best-ambient/ |website=Fact |date=19 July 2011 |accessdate=8 February 2020}}</ref> and would inspire UK artists aiming to make atmospheric listening music.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Reynolds|first1=Simon|title=Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture|date=2012|publisher=Soft Skull Press|pages=217–218}}</ref> [[Aphex Twin]]'s 1991 recording "[[Analogue Bubblebath]]" would also signal a shift toward meditative, ambient-leaning techno,<ref name="energy flash"/> while his 1992 debut LP ''[[Selected Ambient Works 85-92]]'' became "the flagship of the emergent genre" according to ''[[Spin Magazine|SPIN]]''.<ref name="SPIN">{{cite news |last1=Reynolds |first1=Simon |title=Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works Vol II |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-GJOt0bM2-YC |access-date=28 April 2022 |work=Spin|date=March 1994 }}</ref> Producer [[Pete Namlook]] released a prodigious amount of music in the genre, starting the label [[FAX +49-69/450464|Fax]] in 1992 and becoming a "spiritual leader" of the movement.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Barr |first1=Tim |title=Techno: A Rough Guide |date=2000 |publisher=Rough Guides |page=222}}</ref> 

Other prominent artists in the style included [[Mixmaster Morris|Irresistible Force]], [[Global Communication]], [[Higher Intelligence Agency]], and [[Future Sound of London]].<ref name="Artforum International"/> According to [[AllMusic]], early classics of the era included Aphex Twin's debut LP, [[Ultramarine (band)|Ultramarine]]'s ''[[Every Man and Woman Is a Star]]'' (1991), [[Biosphere (musician)|Biosphere]]'s ''[[Microgravity (album)|Microgravity]]'' (1991), and the Orb's ''[[U.F.Orb]]'' (1992).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/every-man-and-woman-is-a-star-mw0000090916|title=Every Man and Woman Is a Star – Ultramarine|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=13 June 2018|last=Bush|first=John}}</ref> Author Sean Albiez added Higher Intelligence Agency's ''[[Colourform]]'' (1992) and the Black Dog's ''[[Temple of Transparent Balls]]'' (1993) as early examples.<ref name="bloom">{{cite book |last1=Albiez |first1=Sean |title=Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, Volume 11 |date=2017 |publisher=Bloomsbury |pages=26 |isbn=9781501326103 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WKc0DwAAQBAJ |access-date=10 January 2020}}</ref> The release of Warp's ''[[Artificial Intelligence (compilation album)|Artificial Intelligence]]'' compilation in 1992 helped to establish the genre and featured ambient techno pioneers such Aphex Twin, [[B12 (band)|B12]], [[Autechre]], the Black Dog, [[Richie Hawtin]], and the Orb's [[Alex Paterson]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=Dave |title=Alternative Rock: Third Ear - The Essential Listening Companion |date=2000 |publisher=Miller Freeman |page=157}}</ref> B12's 1993 Warp album ''[[Electro-Soma]]'' was also called a classic of ambient techno by ''[[Resident Advisor]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Warp to reissue B12's ambient techno classic Electro-Soma |url=https://ra.co/news/39310 |website=Resident Advisor |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref> ''[[The Quietus]]'' characterized [[Luke Slater]]'s early-90s work under his 7th Plain moniker as important to the style's development.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Eede |first1=Christian |title=Luke Slater Returns To The 7th Plain Alias |url=https://thequietus.com/articles/25553-luke-slater-7th-plain-reissues |website=The Quietus |access-date=28 April 2022}}</ref> Following the release of Warp's [[Artificial Intelligence (series)|Artificial Intelligence series]], the genre developed further into the "[[intelligent techno]]" scene.<ref name="allmusic"/>

===Developments===
During the 1990s, compilation series such as ''Chill Out or Die'' popularized ambient techno and [[ambient house|house]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, Volume 11 |date=2017 |publisher=Bloomsbury |page=168}}</ref> In reaction against the more "cozy" features of the early ambient techno scene, some artists would move toward a darker sound heard on releases such as Aphex Twin's ''[[Selected Ambient Works Volume II]]'' (1994) and projects by other "ambient noir-ists" such as [[Seefeel]] and the duo of [[David Toop]] & [[Max Eastley]].<ref name="Artforum International"/>  [[Virgin Records|Virgin]]'s 1994 compilation ''[[Isolationism (album)|Isolationism]]'' served as a summary of this darker tendency.<ref name="Artforum International"/>

In the early-to mid-1990s, a small network of ambient techno artists developed around the Berlin-based labels [[Basic Channel]] and [[Chain Reaction (record label)|Chain Reaction]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sherburne |first1=Philip |title=A New Wave of Dark Ambient Artists Wants to Make You Uncomfortable |url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/a-new-wave-of-dark-ambient-artists-wants-to-make-you-uncomfortable/ |website=Pitchfork |date=3 February 2022 |access-date=24 September 2022}}</ref> In 1995, producer [[Wolfgang Voigt]] began releasing influential ambient techno projects as [[Gas (musician)|Gas]], bringing together lush and expansive atmospheres with 4/4 [[minimal techno]] beats.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gas: Biography & History|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/gas-mn0000158888|website=AllMusic|access-date=22 April 2018}}</ref> Voigt co-runs the German label [[Kompakt]], which has released installments of the influential ambient techno compilation series ''Pop Ambient'' annually since 2001.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Colly |first1=Joe |title=Pop Ambient 2009 |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12864-pop-ambient-2009/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=22 May 2021}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Electronica]]
* [[Intelligent dance music]]
* [[Techno]]

==References==
<references />

{{Ambient music}}
{{Techno}}
{{Electronica}}
[[Category:20th-century music genres]]
[[Category:Techno genres]]
[[Category:Electronica]]
[[Category:Ambient music]]
[[Category:Electronic music genres]]
[[Category:British styles of music]]