Pop Ambient

Pop Ambient 2009 (Kompakt)

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 | Sounds | No Comments

The delightfully blissful Pop Ambient series from Germany’s Kompakt returns for its ninth incarnation, bringing together a wide variety of talent for the 2009 version. Featured artists include celebrated experimental producer Tim Hecker, Jurgen Paape, Sylvain Chauveau, Jorg Burger and collaborator Wolfgang Voigt – Kompakt’s cofounder – Klimek and The Fun Years. Like many of its predecessors, Pop Ambient 2009 steers the listener through a series of meditative works, such as the horn loops present in Klimek’s “True Enemies & False Friends (Yesteryears Suite),” Chauveau’s “Nuage III” and the acoustic guitar-based “Fly Like A Horse,” and the haunting piano and strings of “Hindsmith” by Voigt, recording under the guise Mint. The mood shifts a bit with the stunning “Nightliner” by Poponame, a slow-moving kaleidoscope of elegant soundscapes shifting and building upon each other. Paape’s “Ausklang,” remixed by Burger and Voigt, also veers into twinkly land with its frittering audio tinsel and deep emotional moans, followed up by the equally glistening “It’s Only Castles Burning” by Marsen Jules. The brightest spots of the album appear in the latter half, first Hecker’s understated “Ghosts In Silver” via layers of effervescent keyboards and sweeping textural loops, then Andrew Thomas’ gorgeous “A Dream Of A Spider,” characterized by crackly bits, tightly controlled beat loops and somber chords. While some tracks come off more like a fragment from a much larger instrumental piece, the bulk of the album’s tracks work well with one another, providing a silky smooth ambient joyride that will assuredly keep you calm, cool and collected.