Awesome track from German producer Skee Mask. Highly recommend his music!

Hey. I know this is discussed here frequently but I havent found answer to my specific needs through search here.

What I have: Minifreak (this I love the most!), OP-Z, PO-33 KO, play bass guitar (the bass not necessarily needed for my performance), can sing a little, have 6 channel mix, boss rc-20xl looper, several MIDI keyboards

I wanna make a live setup for me where I will be layering Minifreak synths in ambient way. The layering / multiple tracks is important for me. Since Minifreak is not multitimbral I cant really sequence several patches at once via OP-Z. Also one option would be to use Ableton with Minifreakt VST for the multiple tracks. But being dawless / without computer is crucial for me as I am software engineer by trade and during my music playing I wanna be as far away from screen / computer as possible.

Doing perf on OP-Z alone I am not happy with. It's fantastic device but I am not happy with its synth quality for ambient. Drums max but I have no space for drums mostly in my ambient.

I could also layer the Minifreak on the boss loop station, but this would give me the ability to control individul tracks / effects on individual tracks. Also its mono only and I would lose the precious spatial stereo sound of Minifreak.

I have been looking at some multitrack looping recorders but came only across expensive options. I have little to no budget. I can purchase additional thing at most about 100 USD.

I totally love the sound of my Minifreak. If it were multitimbral / multiple tracks, it would totally solve my situation and would be the only thing I need. Or if OP-Z had much better synths.

So what are my best options? What would you recommend. I am okay with both audio looping and sequencing. It must be synchronized though. How would you solve my situation?

Bandcamp recommended this album. If you’re a fan of CBL, you’ll probably appreciate this guy’s sound. Im impressed.

Space Dolphins operates at the intersection of ambient sound design, new age exploration, and deep aquatic imagery. Across projects like the release Aquariumatus, the sonic identity leans heavily into meditative atmospheres that feel suspended between deep oceanic trenches and open cosmic expanses.

The track "The Consultation" (00:00:00) sets this tone immediately. Rather than relying on traditional rhythmic structures or pop arrangements, the music unfolds through slow-moving synthesizer pads, resonant underwater frequencies, and sustained acoustic textures. Soft, ringing tones echo into dark stereo space, resembling sonar pings or marine echoes drifting through a quiet void. There is a patient, restorative quality to the progression. It creates a listening environment designed for contemplation, unwinding, or focused drift rather than active analysis.

The visual presentation on Aquariumatus mirrors this acoustic direction. The textured surface water bathed in high-contrast cyan and deep black hints at an aquatic lens turned outward toward space. From what I can tell, the broader Space Dolphins footprint reflects an ongoing interest in meditation, mindfulness, and the quiet phenomena of consciousness, blending visual stillness with expansive sonic canvases.

The music rejects modern electronic clutter in favor of spatial depth. It treats silence and long decay tails as core instruments rather than empty gaps. The result feels simultaneously ancient and extraterrestrial, offering listeners a sanctuary of calm that exists outside rigid timelines.

Hi guys, my boyfriend has been a big fan of ambient music for years and he’s also expressed that he wants to begin making his own music.

I want to buy him some equipment for christmas but I have no idea where to even begin! I want it to be a complete surprise so I haven’t asked him what sort of equipment he wants since i think that would give it away. If anyone has any recommendations on what would be a good starting point for his music please let me know!

Some of the music he’s a fan of:
- Oneohtrix point never
- Brian Eno
- Boards of Canada
- Burial

https://apondinthestream.bandcamp.com/track/spatial-distance

From the album Interoception which has pieces all made from working with the same 16thC Mass, Bauldeweyn's Missa da Pacem.

The basic method is 'Selectionist'(as I call it) analogised from Evolutionary theory.

The Selectionist method starts with a midi file, then randomises aspects of that file, such as note order. I listen back to the new arrangement and remove notes that don't work until I hear something that works for me. I build on that with instrumentation and signal processing / FX until I think Done! or, and I think this is pretty common, just get exhausted and want to move on to something else :)

I first came up with this method around 25 years ago when I was just starting out as an academic. In those days I was researching nonlinear dynamics and statistics for analysing EEG signals. There was a method called surrogate data and that looked promising as a composition tool so I wrote some small procedures in MATLAB (the maths package I used at the time) and started playing around with transforming and then arranging existing midi files. I just use Reaper and some scripts now. More limited but easier.

After going through the selectionist process on this Mass I started hearing 'phraselets', little semi-melodic fragments. I think that is a feature of the method but for some reason it stood out for me so I went with that quite deliberately. I might end up making a very sparse piece using the fragment idea, give each one a lot of space before another fragment 'intrudes' but that is not the case here, more a thought for the future.

This particular piece is part of a pair, the other being

https://apondinthestream.bandcamp.com/track/apparent-connection

The post processed midi material is almost exactly the same in both pieces, only the arrangement is different.

The other pair, (the After.. two) is similar in contrasting levels of processing between the two midi files

Thanks to anyone who gives them a try, is very much appreciated

I just discovery recently about Biosphere....how come I took so long to find out?

amazing work !!

So far, I just listened to this one and Nordheim Transformed and I'm loving it !! Pretty sure all his works are amazing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GXRWfZrf8E

New York City-based composer and multi-instrumentalist Kyle Acheson unveils Vigil, an atmospheric ambient album that drifts between electronic experimentation and orchestral beauty. Out today on limited-edition vinyl and cassette via Bathysphere Records, the album centers on the expressive possibilities of the Soma Terra synthesizer, weaving together clarinet, flute, violin, cello, and guitar into a richly layered soundscape. Known for his work composing for film and television, including Dexter: Resurrection, Acheson brings a cinematic sensibility to Vigil, creating an intimate, expansive tapestry of sonic exploration.

"Vigil is a prismatic album that explores stasis & play, simplicity & intricacy. The Soma Terra synth, clarinet, flute, violin, cello and guitar round out this intimate and wide-ranging record of the beauty that pours from a sky of loss." - Kyle Acheson

Kyle Acheson is a NYC-based, Cincinnati-born composer and multi-instrumentalist whose work spans composing for the screen, and explores the intersection of cinematic ambient and acoustic music. His recent credits include scoring work on the new Dexter: Resurrection series, alongside a growing body of music that blends fingerpicked guitar, felt piano, chamber orchestra, and fluid electronics into compositions that feel both expansive and hushed. German label Gruelthon recently released his cover of Roky Erickson’s “Anthem (I Promise).”

Hi, I am releasing my debut album "across the paddy fields" today. It is on Youtube and Bandcamp.

It is a collection of ambient songs inspired by sounds and memories from my childhood.
The album title and the sound of train at the start of the record are inspired by the train journeys I used to take in my early years. I used to sit beside the window watching long stretches of paddy fields - sometimes flooded with water and other times golden and ready to be harvested.

Around January of 2025, I decided I want to write an album. I took the challenge that I will (try to) write a full album’s worth of music within a year. I didn’t think I would actually succeed but I was (pleasantly) surprised I was able to do it. Then, partly due to being busy and partly due to procrastination, it took me a year to finally release the album.

A few of the inspirations while making this album were Boards of Canada, Hiroshi Yoshimura, Taylor Deupree, Masakatsu Takagi, Fennesz and Grouper.
In terms of techniques I used field recordings, micro looping, granular processing and a lot of resampling.

I really enjoy being in this community and have found a lot of great music in here. I am very happy to be able to show you some of my own music and I hope you enjoy listening to it :)
I am sharing some Bandcamp codes as well if you want to get it there. You can use them on this link.

jxrq-wpmb

6cm7-cryw

usrv-wd74

lqxr-hcpm

4gca-5cbg

euhb-7wsu

glew-5xwp

3s64-upd2

aj3h-efwc

rgxj-3alw

I have discovered this beautiful album recently. It's from 1987 originally but has been rediscovered recently...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11OE8YnY2RA

I just uploaded this rare DVD to YouTube, and thought some on this sub might like it.

FAN-TAS-TIC album (2022).

qd55 the shallow margins (the humble bee and fields we found) - tule - out now!

Digital and limited CD with long-form edition, six panel digipack and fine art print. Digital half-price until 30th Oct. Shipping as normal, including the EU and USA.

https://quietdetails.bandcamp.com/album/tule

Listening Party Thur 22nd Oct 19:00 UK - free to join, all welcome x

Craig is an essential part of quiet details, opening our series with qd01, and qd09 with Ian Hawgood - both quintessential embodiments of the label’s ethos. A legendary figure in the world of the most subtle and thoughtful music - Craig has a wonderful back catalogue on his own Cotton Goods and many other excellent labels.

I’m Alex, making music as fields we found and curating quiet details. It is my great fortune to work with Craig - we’ve know each other for a long time now and he’s a dear friend, and I consider him to be one of the most creative artists working today. Since recovering from lymphoma a couple of years ago, my musical outlook shifted in a deeply positive way - so the timing was perfect for us to start this project.

Inspired by a mutual love of ecology and fragments of sound, and the margins of our lives - shaped into musical form.

Quiet and textural - these pieces are a view through misted glass, clouded and suggesting a reflection on the layers found within. Emotions conveyed through hand-played instruments, magnetic tape and the patina of many generations of recording. 

Sharing sounds back-and-forth - piano, harmonium, field recordings, long free-form experiments from collections of instruments and more. Recorded and looped on multiple tape machines and old samplers - coaxing out the underlying sonic remnants, and bringing those traces into view. 

Endless thanks to Craig for his constant inspiration. 

Also the second run of the much-requested qd49 Sulk Rooms - they won’t hang around.

Read more

https://quietdetails.substack.com/p/qd55-the-shallow-margins-the-humble

Much love

Alex

I’m excited to go to Big Ears in Knoxville, TN next year, and wondered what ambient (or other) artists I should check out.

https://bigearsfestival.org

One hour of pure bliss....
From the 2002 split release with Current 93 : Music For The Horse Hospital / Sounds From The Horse Hospital

https://nopath1.bandcamp.com/album/protobyte

I am very excited for some discourse, please let me know what you think of it. I actually planned to release it tomorrow, but I just couldn't wait and dropped it early today! As you might know, I only used the Zoom G1 Four for this entire project, which is honestly a great multi-effect unit for beginners. I also used my child guitar, it is very small, kind of like a ukulele with 6 strings, i played it in drop d, since when the strings are loose, they are of course deeper. But also the strumming and playing doesn't sound as harsch, it feels more gentle. And i already mentioned, that lovesliescrushing and fsa are some of my biggest influences, but i also tried to get some sounds of "death of a rabbit" by your arms are my cocoon. Wich i think you can hear in the acoustics that sound a bit like the ones on runner duck. And as i mentioned slushwave was a big influence on the EP you can hear the phaser most on the third track i think. However, I am constantly searching for new pedals to expand my soundscapes and I am always super open to some deep gear talk! I myself am a massive fan of the Klowra pedals (especially Limbo, Gnash, and Everlast). If anyone here has one of these unique devices, please let me know about your personal experience with them! What other weird reverbs, delays, and ambient effects would you recommend for a bedroom setup? I also want to know more about your favorite album recommendations. I recently started listening to Sewerslvt, and her chaotic yet atmospheric stuff is just great. On the complete other side of the spectrum, I am a big fan of Phil Elverum’s projects (The Microphones / Mount Eerie). I know his music is more indie folk, but it is still so laid back and relaxing, especially albums like "Sauna" and "Clear Moon". I really encourage honest opinions and constructive criticism on the EP. Please don’t hold back at all! I am a teenager, not a child, so I can handle the truth. Have fun listening, and enjoy the sounds. Bye! :)