Best Ambient of 2017

 

It's that time of the year again - end of the year Best Of list time!  It's always a difficult task to pick albums for one of these lists.  But it's also fun because I get to sort through a bunch of music and it's definitely cool to have a look at other lists and discover a ton of things I missed.

 

There is no way these lists are close to being definitive.  A lot of ambient releases can tend to blur from one into the next and the difference between making the list and not making it can boil down to what mood I was in when I first heard the album.  There's so much excellent music being released on a weekly basis it's impossible to keep up so this list and mix is just a bunch of stuff that I liked this past year.

 

Here are a few other good year in review lists:

 

http://www.astrangelyisolatedplace.com/blog/2017/12/5/asip-reflection-on-2017

 

https://irregularcrates.com/2017/12/12/end-of-2017-a-list-and-mix-by-harry-towell/

 

http://ambientmusicguide.com/best-of-year/best-albums-of-2017/

 

https://www.popmatters.com/best-ambient-instrumental-albums-2017-2513144740.html?page=2

 

 

My best of list is more of a best instrumental music list than just straight ambient.  The mix is mostly ambient but the list contains jazz, instrumental & ambient.  According to my Spotify data I played a lot of 36 last year so it's appropriate that he's got two albums in the top ten. I guess I'm too lazy to write up comments about all the music except to say that there's a lot of good stuff there. So take some time and hunt down these releases, you won't be disappointed. 

 

 

BEST INSTRUMENTAL ALBUMS 2017:

1. 36 - Tomorrow’s Explorers

2. Delia Derbyshire Appreciation Society - Delia Derbyshire Appreciation Society

3. Colin Stetson - All This I Do For Glory

4. Bing and Ruth - No Home of the Mind

5. Joseph Shabason - Aytche

6. Ruven Nunez - Altar of Sunlight

7. Benoit Pioulard - Lingnin Poise and Slow Spark, Soft Spoke

8. Chuck Johnson - Balsams

9. 36 - Black Soma

10. Bibio - Phantom Brickworks

11. Dungen - Haxan(versions by Prins Thomas)

12. Vijay Iyer Sextet - Far From Over

13. Penguin Cafe - The Imperfect Sea

14. Arovane & Hior Chronic - Into My Own

15. Christopher Willits - The Art of Listening

16. Vermont - II

17. High Plains - Cinderland

18. Roedelius and Arnold Kaspar - Einfluss

19. Tonepoet - N/E/W/S

20. Halftribe - Daydreams in Low Fidelity

21. Taylor Dupree - Somi

22. Kamasi Washington - Harmony of Difference

23. Loess - Pocosin

24. Hior Chronic - Our of the Dust

25. Tale of Use - Endless

26. Saltland - A Common Truth

27. Quatuor Ebene - Eternal Stories

28. Aware - The Book of Wind

29. Grails - Chalace Hymnal

30. The Prairie Lines - Eyes Down Slowdown

 

 

If you have a list of your own feel free to leave it in the comments. Or if you just have a favorite or two that you want to recommend please let us know in the comments.

 

Here's to a, musically, great 2017 & a better 2018.  Cheers!

 

 

 

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    36 - Poekhali(Tomorrow's Explorers)
• 06:33    Delia Derbyshire Appreciation Society - Cloudface(Delia Derbyshire Appreciation Society)
• 10:25    Bing & Ruth - Scrapes(No Home Of The Mind)
• 15:10    Bibio - Capel Celyn(phantom brickworks)
• 20:50    Benoit Pioulard Same Time Next Year(Lignin Poise)
• 25:10    Tonepoet - The Moment You Were Swept From My Memory(N.E.W.S.)
• 30:00    The Prairie Lines - Calm Landing(eyes down slowdown)
• 36:00    Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Arnold Kasar - Asco(Einfluss)
• 40:30    Dungen - Aladdin och lampan(Haxan (versions by Prins Thomas)
• 47:10    Vermont - Langholmen(Vermont II)
• 50:35    Island People - Ember(Island People)
• 55:10    Saltland - To Allow Us All To Breathe(A Common Truth)
• 59:10    Penguin Cafe - Cantorum(The Imperfect Sea)
• 1:06:10    High Plains - Ten Sleep(Cinderland)
• 1:09:05   Arovane & Hior Chronik - The Return(Into My Own)
• 1:11:35    Chuck Johnson - Labradorite(Balsams)
• 1:16:30    Ruven Nunez - As Above, So Below(Altar of Sunlight)
• 1:26:00    Taylor Deupree - Autumn(Somi)
• 1:31:40    Loess - Striae(Pocosin)
• 1:37:00    Halftribe - Aphotic(Daydreams in Low Fidelity)
• 1:40:55    Christopher Willits - Ama(The Art of Listening)
• 1:44:10    Aware - But God Was Not in the Storm(The Book of Wind)
• 1:47:10    Justin Walter - 1001(Unseen Forces)
• 1:51:45    Tale of Us - Distante(Endless)
• 1:59:13    Hior Chronik - Cosmos(Out Of The Dust)
• 2:02:37    36 - Black Sun(Black Soma)
• 2:07:40    end