Today we’ll talk about the features of the dark ambient genre. Artists who create works in this direction will be listed below. This is a genre of electronic music - a subspecies of ambient. This phenomenon arose at the end of the eighties as a rethinking of the experiments of the discoverers of the field.
Most common features
In the dark ambient genre, natural or industrial noises are most commonly used. Some projects use signals converted to sounds from military targets, space probes and radars. Dark ambient songs are rarely built according to the classical laws of music. Their structure often meets only the intentions of the author. Next, we consider what psychoacoustic techniques are characteristic of the dark ambient genre.
Groups that develop this direction often tend to evoke certain emotions among listeners. Attempts are made to reach the subconscious of a person. This effect is achieved by introducing resonances and low-frequency sounds into the composition. Similar tricks are characteristic of the Raznolik and Kunst Grand groups.
Story
The dark ambient genre is partly associated with some of Brian Eno's creations. These works were created by the musician in conjunction with other authors. These include the composition An Index of Metals, which was included in the album Evening Star. This work was created with Robert Fripp in 1975. It included a guitar feedback. You should also recall the ambient compositions on David Bowie's records: Heroes and Low. An important forerunner of this genre is the double album of the group Tangerine Dream, which received the name Zeit and was released in 1972. In this work, there is a rejection of melody and rhythm to create a gloomy atmosphere.
Main varieties
Occultism, religiosity, ritualism, and the promotion of one's own views through music were inherent in numerous musicians. For example, Lustmord became famous thanks to its “conditionally satanic” ideas. Thus, a separate occult branch appeared in the style of dark ambient. Another variation was the Vedic genre. He combined ambient with the philosophy of the Vedas, Buddhism, as well as elements of the East. Here, the focus is on the sound of acoustic instruments over synthesized backgrounds. The characteristic representatives of this phenomenon include the projects Zero Kama, Rapoon and Herbst9. Among modern representatives, Desiderii Marginis, Hexentanz and Ah Cama-Sotz should be noted.
Some representatives of the noise genre create ambient landscapes in sound. Among them, it should be noted the groups Merzbow, Kiyoshi Mizutani, Iszoloscope, Daniel Menche, "Solar Salt", MOZ, Junkielover, Aube. The direction of drone ambient arose at the end of the twentieth century. Artworks of this style are characterized by low-frequency monotonous buzzes, resonances, different rhythm vibrations, and harmonic abstractions. In addition, tool records that are run backwards are often used. As a result, an integral sound landscape is born. Aisoleisationist ambient is characterized by the use of unresolved harmonies, microchromatic dissonance and repetition, thus creating a feeling of desolation and anxiety.