Ambient 1: Music for Airports cover

Ambient 1: Music for Airports

Released

Fun fact one: I can’t listen to this without dissolving. It got me through one breakup and one death, and it has never failed me yet. Fun fact two: the album that brought the word “ambient” into wide use is built on a sturdy, very noticeable melody, which happens to be very slow. Or, more precisely, “1/1,” the opening track, is built on that kind of melody. The other three tracks rely on clouds of wordless singing, combined with piano and synth. These do, in fact, align with what Spotify is telling you ambient sounds like. 1978! Your boy simply went the fuck off and changed how music works.

Sasha Frere-Jones

Recommended by

Suggestions
Pool cover

Pool

Skee Mask
The Cherry Thing Remixes cover

The Cherry Thing Remixes

The Thing, Neneh Cherry
(No Pussyfooting) cover

(No Pussyfooting)

Robert Fripp, Brian Eno
Figures cover

Figures

Aksak Maboul
All Is Not Lost, But Where Is It? cover

All Is Not Lost, But Where Is It?

The Orb, Youth, Suns of Arqa, Raja Ram
Raft cover

Raft

Mike Cooper
Tokyo Stories cover

Tokyo Stories

Francesco Tristano
Hedera cover

Hedera

Lesley Flanigan
Blackdance cover

Blackdance

Klaus Schulze