Ambient music is a style with a long and storied history. From mid-20th century orchestral experiments through Brian Eno’s pivotal recordings, to atmospheric dance tracks designed as an antidote to ’90s raves, ‘ambient’ has existed in many forms throughout the decades.
Perhaps rather than a specific genre, ambient is better thought of as an approach – one that places texture and sound design above structure and hooks. In this issue of Future Music, we’re exploring ambient music in all its forms, digging into the history, gaining insight from some of 2022’s most exciting ambient artists, and exploring the gear and techniques you can use to add texture and atmosphere to your music.
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Interviews
Nik Colk Void – The Factory Floor and Carter Tutti Void artist gives us an insight into her working practices and long-awaited solo album
ACT! – David Psutka (fka Egyptrixx) talks digital synths and his unique creative approach
Loraine James – The self-described IDM producers tells us how creative software use inspired new project Whatever The Weather
Producer Like… – Bristol-based DnB artist Ruth Royall on her gospel-inspired approach to recording vocals and collaborative production process
Classic Album – Tim Deluxe on his shift to old-fashioned musicianship for The Radicle
Career In Gear – House icon Ultra Naté on the gear behind her back catalogue
Technique
The Ambient Issue – The history, ideas and techniques behind electronic music’s most atmospheric genre
Producer’s Guide – Create better hooks with our guide to arps, riffs and sequences
Retrospective – Tracing the hard-to-define sound of post dubstep
Reviews
Sequential Take 5
ASM Hydrasynth Deluxe
Knobula Poly Cinematic
ASM Hydrasynth Explorer
Casio PX-S3100
Novation FLkey controllers
Beyerdynamic M 90 Pro X
Longterm test: Bitwig Studio 4.2
& more
Samples
Techno Bass – From deep, rumbling kicks to percussive synth arps, this pack has all your techno needs covered, with staple sounds and fresh ideas.
Hip-Hop Crunch – Capture the sampled sound of classic rap beatmakers with this pack of funky, chopped-up beats, bass licks and melodic hooks.
Access the FM sample archive: UPDATED! Download the ‘Archive’ packs and get over 18GB of loops, hits and instruments from our back catalogue of high-quality and royalty-free samples. From vintage synths and drum machines to esoteric instruments and FX – think of it as our best of. All the samples you need to create great music!
