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Comment by Graham24 | Hacker News Reader

"Selected Ambient Works 85-92" is a quality product.

Green Calx, while an awesome track, always breaks my concentration. I have made many playlists named SAW1-GC on different platforms and have gone so far as considering using a utility knife to cut a custom diagonal skip groove through it on one of my three vinyl copies of SAW85-92.

Probably my favorite album for programming and other work that require concentration.

I still haven't encountered anything like it. I wish there was more.

You should give a listen to the early Autechre or Speedy J. Or anything Warp put out in the 90s.

Yes, if you're listening to it just as background music, early Warp catalog would work.

Highly, highly, highly recommend Autechre's Incunabula, for people who are into Selected Ambient Works.

Worth to mention Boards of Canada and B12 from the Warp catalog as well. Warp has been my go-to music label since early 2000's.

LFO are also top draw stuff

Check out the artist "Actress"

Check out the artist Solar Fields

I love Solar Fields.

Also: Global Communication, Ocouer, Christopher Willits, Marconi Union, Eluvium, Ólafur Arnalds, Balmorhea.

Can’t forget Keith Kenniffs’s projects, Helios and Goldmund.

Oh nice, just realized Solar Fields did both the Mirror's Edge games' soundtracks

The Mirror's Edge soundtrack got me into Solar Fields, and it's remained in my programming rotation since it came out, along with that of Mirror's Edge: Catalyst.

Example from Catalyst - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fb5_zVk2gY&t=1h46m48s

Aphex Twin (anonymously) put some previously unreleased material on SoundCloud a few years back that is from that era.

You should check out: - Autechre - Square Pusher - Bonobo - Wisp - Brian Eno

In that order. All solid. If you want more you should checkout the Rephlex records current and previous artists list. All really solid ambient focused electronic music.

Wisp has done some nice remixes of Aphex Twin songs: http://wisp.kaen.org/audio/saw2reworked.zip

(via: http://www.wisp.kaen.org/ )

Gerald Donald's work (alias Dopplereffekt, Arpanet, Japanese Telecom, was part of Drexciya) works well for me for programming for years. Especially the Album "Inertial Frame" from Arpanet. Calabi Yau Space from Dopplereffekt as well (which was released on Aphex Twin's own label Rephlex)

Thanks for reminding me about inertial frame

For those in San Francisco: he will be playing at the MUTEK festival in May.

Another recommendation: Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest

BOC’s The Campfire Headphase changed my life.

Warp Records (record label that Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada are a part of) has built a really solid catalogue over the years

Plaid is another cool artist on Warp Records.

Oh, yes, i forgot Plaid. I use to listen Plaid along with Amon Tobin back in early 2000's

I agree now with BOC purists that it's not their best record, but "Dayvan Cowboy" came at such a tectonic moment of my life I wouldn't decisively argue it didn't start the earthquake.

Besides the recommendations already done I can recommend Field Rotation: https://fieldrotation.bandcamp.com/

Some favorites:

• https://fieldrotation.bandcamp.com/track/acoustic-tale-2

• https://fieldrotation.bandcamp.com/album/regenzeit

Try some albums of the following artists: Biosphere, Boards of Canada, Forest Swords, Kink Gong, Johann Johannsson, Park Jiha. Hope you enjoy it!

One path to explore is to start with interesting covers of Aphex Twin works:

- The Alarm Will Sound collective has an album called Acoustica where they made acoustic-instrument-based covers of Aphex Twin songs. https://www.alarmwillsound.com/

- The Bad Plus covered Aphex Twin's Flim on their These Are the Vistas album. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeMre0Sp7o4

Both Alarm Will Sound and The Bad Plus are somewhat different, quite interesting directions to explore for other music you might enjoy programming to.

Bibio’s Phantom Brickworks do remind me a bit of stone in focus. I think Capel Celyn is an especially beautiful piece, evenmore so if accompanied by the music clip.

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