Ambient Round Up: Air Texture III and Ghostly Presents SMM: Opiate

For some reason, and I’m not entirely sure why, I’ve been putting off sitting down and writing a piece on the third Air Texture compilation. And it’s not that it’s because I don’t like it—I do. It’s great. On par with last year’s Air Texture II, I think it’s the sheer magnitude of the collection—a 2xCD, clocking in at nearly two and a half hours, where do you start? How do you articulate yourself well enough when writing about what is essential a mixtape comprised of a wide variety of ambient, experimental, drone, and electronic artists?

The Air Texture series is like a gateway drug—it’s like smoking a bunch of hand-picked pot by the best drug dealers, and that, in turn, leads you down a darker path where you are freebasing crack with drug kingpins. Curated by Scott Monteith and Gregor Asch, it goes without saying that Air Texture III is true mood music.

Monteith’s compilation is structured in a way that it kind of builds toward something; it takes its time with that, though. There are beautiful moments (Richardo Vilablobos and Max Loderbauer’s “Pianofup,”) and then there are some moments filled with creeping paranoia (Thomas Fehlmann’s “Embrace.”)

Asch choose to begin his disc as unsettlingly as possible with the slow like molasses crawl of “Bells and Timps” by Phil Niblock, then wastes no time continuing that tone with Ikue Mori’s “While Sleeping.” The selections on disc two are exponentially more restrained in comparison—Evynid Kang’s “Petrified Wood,” and Asch’s own “One Day Old” are both standout tracks, where beautiful tension is created, and no resolution is reach.

Operating within a similar realm is the new SMM compilation—Opiate—from Ann Arbor’s Ghostly International. Opening up with two back-to-back incredibly beautiful pieces—“Water Shadow” by ambient /experimental guitarist (and former Slowdive drummer) Simon Scott, and “Ti Prego Memory Man,” by A Winged Victory for The Sullen.

It’s interesting that the word “heartbreak” is used in one of the song titles on Opiate—the collection showcases experimental artists that excel in evoking a real emotional reaction without using words. As I’ve mentioned before when talking about ambient albums, you know the performer is at the top of their game when they can make that happen.

It’s something that happens on both “Nothing So Mystical,” by Celer, and towards the end, with Fieldhead’s “37^th.”

There’s an overall cloud of claustrophobia and darkness that covers Opiate—and as there should be. Ghostly compiled it over the course of two years.

Both Air Texture III and Opiate are excellent compilations that work well on their own, but they also serve as fantastic introductions to all of the artists included. 

Air Texture III is available now on compact disc via Air Texture, while SMM: Opiate, available now courtesy of Ghostly International, is available on CD, LP, and a special limited edition clear LP with silk screened jacket.