Nicolas Jaar: Cenizas (2020) (Ambient,Electronic)

Cenizas serves as detached spiritual odes. Never explicitly catchy or attention-grabbing, not immersing the listener but rather creating space to invite the listener to interpret this eerie, smoking work of art in their own introspective manner. Ambient yet the compositions are mostly jazz-inspired.



Best Tracks: Cenizas, Agosto, Mud, Hello, Chain *


B

Ambient/Avantgarde Jazz/Electronic

Brian Eno: Apollo (1983) (Ambient, Instrumental)

It's easy to see why Brian Eno is not only one of the most influential figures in ambient music but also music in general. The textures and soundscapes that he conjures are serene, meditative and ethereal keeping you in a hypnotic trance then bursting out in moments of subtle intensity when you least expect it, making it certain this album could not be dismissed as "just background music". This is largely due to the borrowed elements of sleepy country and classical music and the large, wonderous tone the album sets. Though an ambient album and much of it can be characterized as unintrusive, it was not long before I was taken in awe by creeping beauty and wonder that Brian Eno conjured on Apollo. 

Best Tracks: Under Stars, Signals, An Ending (Ascent)*, Under Stars II, Silver Morning, Deep Blue Day, Weightless*, Always Returning*, Stars

A+ Spacy Vibes/Ambient