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I started DJing around the time I started raving. I remember it was 1993 we were
at the Trocadero in San Francisco. I walked upstairs with my friend into my first chill room. I think the KLF was playing. We sat down on the floor. There were half a
dozen other loungy kidz around. I remember hearing bird sounds, vintage prog rock, movie samples, and lots of ambient music. We were in heaven. Very soon after that night at the Troc I went down to Radio Shack and purchased a cheesy 4-track mixer and I started mixing.1994 was the year.
Hands down
no doubt about it. Ambient music blew up and it was all good. I remember seeing an "ambient" section in Tower Records. Labels were releasing loads of awesome music
and it was difficult to keep up
FAX was releasing a full-length CD a week! Comps. were everywhere. Silent had From Here to Tranquility, Waveform had the ambient dub A.D. series, Instinct
Ambient had Ambient Systems, Excursions in Ambience on Astralwerks, Barramundi, em:t, Virgin Ambient, Chill Out or Die!, FAX comps., ambient groove, ambient senses, ambient dub, ambient intermix
and on and on and on
All of it good. Many raves had chill-rooms. Chill events started popping up in the city and surrounding areas. Smart bars, aliens, acid and ecstasy, big
mickey mouse hands and candy! It was amazing. Ambient and Trance were meshing in an unbelievable way. More labels and more music. Then, Drum and Bass and Jungle hit.
Chill rooms were being replaced and everything started to change. I still love that era. I love 1994. I still use a LOT of music from 1993 1996 in my mixes, however,
interesting music is still being released today. My sets range from complete minimal drone to full-on trance. Some descriptions might include: Dark wave, minimalism, experimental,
noise, ambient, ambient dub, ambient trance, glitch, found sound, field recordings, movie and tv samples, telemetric noise, idm, floaty-drifty-outerspace-bliss. THE LABELS: Silent Records
Silent was the premier US label for ambient music. Kim Cascone helped shape the look and sound of Rave Chill-Out ambient music. Art by Nick Phillip and a constant stream of ambient and ambient trance kept Silent on the radar during those crucial years.
FAX Records the most prolific ambient music label ever. Pete Namlook, Tetsu Inoue, Atom Heart
need I say more? FAX is still releasing amazing music. Instinct Ambient
A perfect example of a collector's label. What Taylor Deupree helped create with Instinct Ambient and the Ambient series sums up what I loved about this genre. Recycle or Die!
Another collector label. Oliver Lieb sold me. I love every release with a passion. I wish there had been more. em:t
The cardboard sleeves, designer graphics and quality music make this label another collector favorite. Em:t has recently released a new comp after years of lying dormant.
Rising High! home of the Chill Our or Die! Comps and James Bernard. Other awesome labels:
Waveform, Interchill, Reflective,Warp, 12k, Volume, Sub Rosa, Space Teddy, Ritornell,, R&S, Incoming!, Eye Q,
Subharmonic, Elektrolux, Virgin, Caipirinha, Beyond, Apollo, Astralwerks, Rather InterestingThis is just the tip of the ice burg! Please see the link section for more information.
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