Loscil is the largely one man project of Scott Morgan from Vancouver, BC, who has produced a number of excellent conceptual albums in the ambient music vein. His music is often based around warm drones and loops. His 2002 album, “Submers” was an aquatic-themed record with each track named after a different submarine from history. “First Narrows” was about the Vancouver Bridge, and “Plume” was about the sky. His newest free EP to build buzz for his full length seems to be based around the Strathcona neighborhood of Vancouver. Loscil is one of the most exciting ambient artists and “Strathcona Variations” is a great teaser for his new record in 2010.

Various Artists – Pop Ambient 2009

Kompakt Records has been putting out some of the most innovative and exciting electronic music for over a decade. Every year they release a compilation of the best techno tracks of the year in the Total Series and the best ambient tracks in the Pop Ambient series. “Pop Ambient 2009” is another great release in this ongoing series and is a testament to their ongoing relevance and influence in the ambient scene with tracks by newcomers and old heads like Tim Hecker and Sylvain Chauveau.

Celer – Capri

The sad thing about Capri is that Dani Baquet-Long, one of the founding members with her husband Will Long, passed away at the young age of 26 from cardiac arrest. Her father also died from cardiac arrest at the age of 29, which makes the story even more sad. “Capri” was recorded by the two on the Italian island of Capri during a short summer stay and it is a beautiful, epic 78 minute work of beautiful, hypnotic field recordings of bird in bird cages, the waves crashing and summery drone melodies. It is easy to get sucked in by the beauty and sadness of “Capri” and the circumstances surrounding its release.

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