Lady of Synth's Top 100 Space/Ambient/Electronic/New Age Albums!

[Lexi Darling]

97. Neptune Towers – Caravans to Empire Algol (1994)

I'll get this out of the way before I begin this review: I have little patience for fascists in music. So I do feel a little bit icky listing this album, as it was made by a guy from a black metal band who was buddies with a different black metal guy who is a literal racist hatemonger. The first guy also said some racist stuff around the time this album was made. If I had known that before I listened to this album like a hundred times, it probably wouldn't have made the list. Let it be known that as a Jewish woman, I will never listen to music that espouses far right, fascist or racist ideology in the lyrics. I'm a bit more lenient on instrumental music, but I still listen to local files and use ad blockers on Youtube whenever possible. I can only hope you, dear reader, will respect my views on this as I respect yours.

So I do admit that this album I love so much was tainted a bit when I looked up the behavior of the artist. Which is a shame as this album is an excellent example of the darker side of space music. Though originating from the black metal scene, it's a far cry from what would become known as dungeon synth, being much closer to early Tangerine Dream and other cosmic artists of the 70s. It hearkens back to the pre-sequencer drones of TD's Zeit album in particular. It channels the spirit of the early 70s German space music pioneers, with its uncompromising penchant for textured drones rather than the melodic leads and arpeggios that would define the Berlin School of the later 70s. Sputtering synth sound effects pepper the dark drones, giving just enough of the classic sci-fi sound without it sounding cheesy or like a 70s pastiche. A slight bit of echoey industrial percussion adds a nice pinch of spice toward the end of the first track.

The second track is a journey that begins with a slightly more abrasive drone, like a murky swamp dotted with tasteful zapping synth sound effects. The swamp begins to sizzle and bubble before giving way to a passage that literally sounds to me like a fleet of alien starships descending. The artist picked the cover art appropriately, this feels like the sound of the universe itself, with a massive-sounding glacial rumble that makes me wish the album was several hours longer.

It's clear that Neptune Towers had a great reverence for the early German cosmic music, and this album is one giant love letter to an anything-goes era and scene where sonic exploration was the only rule. I admit it's not one I go back to as often due to the reasons I detailed in paragraph 1, but make no mistake, I massively enjoyed myself on this revisit.

[Lexi Darling]

96. Gas – Pop (2000)

The wave of ambient music that arose out of the 90s techno scene has many a classic album, some of which will be found further down the list. Gas is a German solo project that has put out some pretty fascinating stuff, and this album represents a move away from the constraints of four-on-the-floor techno toward lush ambient textures.

Most of this album is connected to techno by only the barest of threads; even at its most rhythmic it's something I would never imagine clubbing to in a million years. The underlying pulse of the fourth untitled track beats with a hypnotic sway to it that appropriates just enough of the techno influence to be audibly connected to that genre, but that influence is now recontextualized and assimilated into the ambient haze.

Even the beatless ambience present on the majority of these tracks has a certain sense of repetition that entrances me. Sometimes it's a calm trance, such as in track 5, a lovely piece that would not be out of place on a synthy new age record, and other times it's an uneasy trance. Track 6's washes of atmospheric noise obscure the quiet string chords, as if the melody is trying to break through the noise but can't quite do it. It's a unique sense of sound design that reminds one of the imperfections of real life. Not all ambient music need be calm and pretty.

My favorite track by far is the 14-minute finale, which features the most pronounced use of techno beats on the album. It's a really wonderful example of a well-done marriage between techno and ambient, two genres that a musical layman might think of as contradicting each other's purpose. There is a genre adjacent to this flavor of techno called "IDM" or intelligent dance music. While certainly not unintelligent, this track feels more like the kind of dance music to shut off your conscious thoughts to rather than anything super complex and cerebrally stimulating. It's a purely sensory experience, pure sound, and it's exhilarating.

[Toy Revolver]

gas is a band that up until pretty recently i didn't realize how far far into ambient they ventured

my interest in dance music is inversely related to the advancement of my arthritis

i used to be the craziest dancer - i know a lot of people think that but i actually was

it's on a plaque

now it's all cerebral but fortunately i have incredible brain power in all areas that aren't chess or doing anything in anyway practical

but yeah i was late to the party with this one

nice write up

[Lexi Darling]

95. Kebu – Perplexagon (2016)

It's always cool to be able say "I was there" from the very beginning of an artist's career, or at least solo career in this case. Kebu is a Finnish synthmeister who gained international popularity largely through his YouTube videos of all-analog synthesizer compositions in the vein of Jean Michel Jarre and Vangelis, but mixed with a modern electronic dance sensibility. I discovered his early videos in 2010 while attending college, and as someone who was just then getting heavily into the vintage electronic music he was inspired by, I was hooked. I have followed his career ever since, and he has served as an inspiration to continue immersing myself in the world of analog synthesizers in the modern age.

Perplexagon is his second solo album, and from the structure of the thing alone, you can easily see the Jarre influence with the six untitled tracks that make up the titular suite of the album. Much of the music is reminiscent of Rendez-Vous era Jarre mixed with modern trance and what would become known as synthwave. The synthesizer arrangements are intricate and lush, with a flurry of bright, spritely melodies and twinkly arpeggios dotting the landscape. It's somewhere in between a really melodic dance album and a classical 80s synth music album, and I think it honors the traditions of both genres while providing memorable compositions.

My favorite moment on the album is the fourth part of the title suite, with its cinematic tension that hearkens back to Vangelis' Blade Runner soundtrack leading into a lush, brassy synth solo that just gives me all the tingles. As much as I loved Kebu's debut album To Jupiter and Back from 2012, this track feels to me like he fulfilled all the potential he showed on that album and then some.

It has its moments of kitsch (Dawn reminds me a lot more of late 90s Euro-trance than 80s synth soundtracks), and it's certainly more than a bit derivative of the well-worn ground that Vangelis, Jarre, Moroder, et al have tread since the 1970s, but as someone who is a bit disinterested in a lot of modern trendy electronic music, hearing an updated take on that classic sound is very welcome.

[Lexi Darling]

94. Rei Harakami – Wasuremono (2006)

A vivid and quirky slice of Japanese electronica, this album is a masterclass in compositions that may seem simple on first listen, but there's really an unbelievable amount of small moving parts that make this music very addictive and fun to return to again and again.

Harakami, who tragically passed away from a brain hemorrhage at the age of 40, was an artist who came to prominence in the late 90s during the rise of IDM and ambient techno. Like the best of those styles, his music always keeps you guessing and tends to veer into unexpected directions for the genre, even reminiscent of jazzy improvisation at times. The sound palette is fairly basic, but he does a lot with those familiar tones, particularly electric piano and organ, and what it may lack in brilliant sound design it makes up for in a big way with its intricate composition. There's way more going on in these pieces than may appear to those who are listening a bit more passively. This is not music to zone out to, it's a tapestry that unfolds and shows its true colors with closer attention.

The highlight of this album for me is the drums, there's a lot going on in each little fill and percussion roll, and they always have a pleasant tone that never intrudes on the chill atmosphere. My favorite track is "Snack" with its ebbing and flowing synthesized bass providing a cool foundation for the twinkling and warping synths. And just when you think you've got a good feel for the track, it busts out a wicked transistor organ part straight out of 1965. A lot of this stuff actually reminds me of a fractured and mangled take on 1960s lounge music, actually.

Above all, this album is an extremely fun listen, as is Harakami's catalogue in general. It's musically dense, but it's also got a lot of levity and really does bring a smile to my face every time I listen to it.

[Toy Revolver]

if you haven't heard it Planetary Natural Love Gas Webbin' 199999
By DJ 光光光 [DJ Pica Pica Pica] is another fun one - for all i know it's coming up on your list though

[Lexi Darling]

if you haven't heard it Planetary Natural Love Gas Webbin' 199999
By DJ 光光光 [DJ Pica Pica Pica] is another fun one - for all i know it's coming up on your list though

That's Eye from Boredoms, right? Never actually listened to that project. I'll note it!

[Toy Revolver]

if you haven't heard it Planetary Natural Love Gas Webbin' 199999
By DJ 光光光 [DJ Pica Pica Pica] is another fun one - for all i know it's coming up on your list though

That's Eye from Boredoms, right? Never actually listened to that project. I'll note it!

yeah - saw him perform under this moniker in nagoya btw - it was ferocious

[Toy Revolver]

Neptune Towers – Caravans to Empire Algol (1994)

just finished first listen

yeah that's one i should've known

enjoyed it a lot - still sounds pioneering to me

[Lexi Darling]

I do apologize for the lack of updates. I started this project at a time when I was relatively confident that I would regularly have more free time to write, but moving, marriage, and increased workloads in both professional and home life have really been made this a whirlwind of a year for me.

I have not abandoned this list, but my duties to my job, my husband and my own health must take precedence. I look forward to writing the rest of the list, but updates will continue to be sporadic.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

- Mrs. Waffles ♥️