We’ve compiled a list of 10 of our essential ambient LP’s to cure your Monday blues. From Aphex Twin, Four Tet, Boards of Canada, Autchre & more, we’ve got plenty of lush sounds to ease you into the week.

Monday’s can be difficult, and we’re sure many have sore heads and are feeling a little sluggish after a big weekend of indulgence. On Monday’s we to ditch the pounding kick drums for some tranquil sounds of ambient soundscapes and tranquil pads. We present our 10 favourite ambient album’s to relieve your Monday sorrow.

Brian Eno – Ambient 1: Music for Airports

Brian Eno‘s sixth studio album ‘Ambient 1: Music for Airports‘ is a largely regarded as one of his most accomplished pieces of work. He composed the the album by experimenting with sustained notes or 3-4 note phrases – and looping them at different rates, determined by the length of tape they are recorded on.

Boards of Canada – Music Has The Right To Children

Music Has The Right To Children‘ is the debut album from Scottish duo Boards Of Canada, and this is undoubtedly their most applauded album to date. They honed in on the unique sound through using samplers, detuned vintage synths, drum machines, and reel-to-reel tape recorders for the album. Additionally, it uses a variety of samples, some of which are from Sesame Street, Vangelis & field recordings.

William Basinski – The Disintegration Loops

American avant-garde composer William Basinski wrote a four part album under the title The Disintegration Loops. The albums are made up of long-played tape loop recordings with growing noise and crackling as the tape wore out. When Basinski tried to convert his older recordings to digital format, he ran upon the effect.

Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works 85–92

Next on our list is one of the most important pieces of music in electronic music history from Richard D. James better known as Aphex Twin. Released in 1992 on Apollo Records, a sub-label of R&S Records. The album was written from recordings through Richard’s life as he showcases loops and reels from as far back as the age of 14.

The Orb – The Orb The Orb’s Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld

If there’s one album that is going to cure your Monday blues it’s most certainly The Orb – ‘The Orb The Orb’s Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld’. Loosely defined as ambient house the album touches on some dancefloor focussed mood’s while remaining ultimately melancholic and laid back. The album features the singles ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’, ‘Perpetual Dawn’ and more which have become cult classics.

William Orbit – Strange Cargo iii

This is album is one of William Orbit‘s strongest projects, the Strange Cargo series characterised Orbits career to date, combining many styles but always leaning towards ambient soundscapes. Ambient and dub foundations lay across jazz type off-kilter grooves, while Orbit dips in and out of beatless interludes and tripped out hypnotica.

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and Emile Mosseri – I Could Be Your Dog / I Could Be Your Moon

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and Emile Mosseris two-part album ‘I Could Be Your Moon’, ‘I Could Be Your Dog’ began in 2021 showcasing the pairs adoration for quirky recordings and detuned synth squeals. Moving fluid melodies and limber arrangements that occasionally stray bursts of tranquility. This is sheer experiment.

Four Tet – Sixteen Oceans

A more recent addition to the list as Kieran Hebden enters the conversation with one of his more recent albums, Sixteen Oceans. The influential UK producer showcases an emotionally charged look into a world of grief, hope and childhood. Joining club-ready worlds of UK garage & dubstep with blissful acoustic recordings and winding chords. Four Tet finds the perfect middle ground between joy and despair on a tear jerking LP that’s oozing with déjà vu.

Autchre – Amber

A list of ambient tracks would not be complete without at least one inclusion from Autchre. The duo’s second album landed on Warp Records in 1994 and serves as the pairs most celebrated work to date. Intuitive layering, chord progressions and idiosyncratic recording techniques make this a landmark album for electronic music. The UK duo draw on ethereal drones and whispers while also remaining thoroughly introspective and unearthly.

Kelly Lee Owens – Kelly Lee Owens (Full Album)

Kelly Lee Owens debut self-entitled album showcased the Welsh producers ability to craft detailed waves of sound and atmospheric layers that ripple around in a peculiar manner, yet somewhat feel overwhelmingly familiar. Wandering synth melodies and pounding sub grooves show Kelly’s ability to keep one foot in the smoking area and the other on the dancefloor.

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