Ambient Twang

 

I remember the first time I heard the Daniel Lanois tunes From Eno's Apollo album, I didn't really care for them. I didn't like the pedal steel guitar. I absolutely hated country music back then and I associated the sound of pedal steel with country and nothing else. 

 

Eventually, the tunes grew on me and I've come to love the sound of pedal steel guitar. I also came around on country-tinged music as I fell in love with indie-folk which can make great use of traditional instrumentation minus the pickups trucks, girls & booze of crappy country.

 

This brings me back around to pedal steel in ambient. There's not a ton of it out there but definitely enough for a good mix. There are four main practitioners of ambient twang - Daniel Lanois, Chuck Johnson, Bruce Kaphan and Chas Smith. I think they all have appeared in earlier Low Light Mixes. All four are in this mix as well as Eno/Lanois tunes, some oddball selections, and some YouTube recordings. Many of the tracks here use an actual pedal steel guitar and some use lap steel.

 

Up next - synth sequencer heaven.

 

Cheers!

 

 

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Brian Eno - Weightless
• 04:15    Bruce Kaphan - Outpost
• 11:55    Chas Smith - Santa Fe
• 14:00    Chuck Johnson - Balm of Gilead
• 21:05    Daniel Lanois - In Crystal
• 24:22    Will Van Horn - Aphex Twin - Avril 14 on pedal steel
• 26:18    Joe Carolino - Ambient drone with lap steel & guitar
• 32:53    Youth - Lotus Rhubarb(Colliding Sky Whale Dub)
• 34:18    The National Pool - Solace
• 36:15    Ryan Lutton - Ambient Improv XXIII
• 39:03    Brian Eno - Deep Blue Day
• 42:28    Xploding Plastix - Ritalin For Four Pedal Steel Guitars
• 49:05    Chuck Johnson - Eye on the Sparrow
• 55:42    Brian Eno - Last Step from the Surface
• 59:31    end