Never has there been a genre with so much potential than pop ambient. Well, let me rephrase that. Never have I been so excited at the dawn of a genre FOR its potential than pop ambient. Emerging along with the nascent Kompakt label as one of the major yearly compilations, Pop Ambient seemed to be one of the innovations that would keep the label forever grounded into making interesting music, keeping a strong balance between texture and rhythm on its releases. Unfortunately, in the recent past, the compilations have begun to take a dive in quality. The dreaded aura of new age has begun to creep in from artists such as Pass Into Silence, other artists that had made up the core of the compilations disappeared (Dettinger, Ulf Lohmann) and overall it just seems like the ideas of what Pop Ambient is have become too diffuse (in the wrong ways). There are exceptions, of course, but to be a bit old and grumpy about it: it all seemed so much more vital a few years ago. As such, I’m presenting a few of my favorite Pop Ambient tracks for your enjoyment, so you can make your own judgment.

Gustavo Lamas– Manana, [Pop Ambient 2001]

The first track is the only one to ever actually make it on one of the compilations proper, but I think it ably represents a type of Pop Ambient that seemed to be very much in vogue (and promising) at the time. The motif is one of bells, also used to great effect by Markus Güntner on his wonderful In Moll record. But here, the bells obscure the real melody that begins to emerge over time, much in the manner that Gas constructed layers of gauze around his experiments for Mille Plateux.

[visit Kompakt’s website here, buy Pop Ambient 2001 here, read Ron Schepper’s Stylus review of Lamas’ Brotes here]

Markus Güntner– Such A Shame (Markus Güntner Mix), [Such A Shame 12”]

Got turned onto this remix of Güntner’s Talk Talk cover just recently actually by the always spot-on Tim Finney who suggested a few years ago that this was a possible avenue for the Pop Ambient crew to examine that would never occur. Right on both counts. As I’m thinking about it, I’d be hard pressed to come up with two or three tracks that utilized the human voice in a non-heavily effected fashion by any of the producers found on the compilations. Which seems odd. With the myriad of options available out of that instrument, why are they shying away from it? Take it from an avowed music first, lyrics later type listener: the voice can be as ignorable as it is interesting.

[visit Markus’ website here, buy “Such A Shame” here, read my review of In Moll here]

Dettinger– Untitled, [Oasis]

There is something about this track that I just can’t quite describe. I suppose it’s the very subtle and almost secretive way that it goes out of phase with itself. Or maybe it’s the creepy melody that makes its way over the top of the whole thing. Or maybe it’s all the little digital bumps and scrapes that are happening underneath what seems like an otherwise unremarkable track. But, when it comes down to it, I’d rather not find out what keeps drawing me to this thing and what keeps making me listen to it, because I fear if I ever isolate it, I may never have to come back again.

[buy Oasis here]