A selection of long songs for Sunday, designed to transport you...well, take your pick from Mars or Dorset and all points in between, or just head straight out of this galaxy and see what else is out there.
The shortest song in this selection clocks in at a few seconds under twelve minutes, the longest contribution edges over fourteen and a half. Too many beats between them all to be considered pure ambient music perhaps, but they all have enough going on to stimulate the senses.
First stop, Japan and a couple of electronic music legends. Magic Dome by Yoshihiro Sawasaki was (I think) his debut release, first appearing on the flip of the Neocrystal 12" single, then the album Perfumed Garden, both in 1994.
Soft Ballet was formed by Ryoichi Endo, Ken Morioka and Maki Fujii in 1986, though my introduction to them was via their remix albums featuring Western artists such as LFO, Jah Wobble, Orbital, Fluke and Global Communication. The third and final in the series reworked 1995 album Form, by which time Soft Ballet had split, although they reunited for a couple of albums in the early 2000s.
Speaking of Global Communication, Tom Middleton resurrected the GCOM alias in 2021 for a 20-track magnum opus E2-XO. Most of them are pretty short, several clocking in at a minute or less, until you get to the album closer, Beyond The Milky Way. Just ride the stellar wave and drift into the unknown.
The Orb and Youth transformed ambient music in the late 80s/early 90s, whether separately or together. I've plumped for the latter, with a remix of Spanish Castles In Space, one of my favourite songs by The Orb, in any incarnation. Alex Paterson and Martin Glover have continued to work together, not least last year's Orb album, Prism.
Back down to Earth now, more specifically Wimborne in Dorset. Al Stewart grew up there and Robert Fripp was born in Wimborne Minster, so you know the vibes are good. MLO were/are Jon Tye and Peter Smith; Jon continues to push the ambient envelope, as one half of Seahawks.
Matt Gunn is the new kid on the block, relatively speaking, with a clutch of great releases on the Paisley Dark and Electric Wardrobe labels. Matt's first album Mostly Fiction is a good jumping on point, though his EPs also come recommended.
Youth is back for the finale, with an end of the millennium reworking of psychedelic rockers Gong. I first discovered Steve Hillage as the credited producer on the 12" single of Sweat In Bullet by Simple Minds, later as a founder of System 7, so my journey back to Gong was full of detours and diversions, but I eventually got there. A bit like this compilation, if you will.
1) Magic Dome (Full Length Version): 澤崎吉広 (Yoshihiro Sawasaki) (1994)
2) No One Lives On Mars (Even Longer) (Remixed By Carl Craig): Soft Ballet (1995)
3) Beyond The Milky Way (Full Length Version): GCOM (2021)
4) Spanish Castles In Space (Extended Youth Mix By Martin Glover): The Orb (1991)
5) Wimborne (Spacetime Continuum Mix By Jonah Sharp): MLO (1994)
6) Space Drohne I & II (Album Version): Matt Gunn (2023)
7) A Sprinkling Of Clouds (Full Length Edit By Youth aka Martin Glover): Gong (1999)
1991: Aubrey Mixes: The Ultraworld Excursions: 4
1994: Perfumed Garden: 1
1994: Wimborne Revisited EP: 5
1995: Forms: Remix For Ordinary People: 2
1999: You Remixed: 7
2021: E2-XO: 3
2023: Mostly Fiction: 6
