Greg Fenton reviews Pop Ambient 2026 – Kompakt
This is the 26th in a series of compilations of music labelled as ambient, which in itself says something about the timeless qualities and emotional craftsmanship inherent in sounds associated with the genre. If you think that the term is simply about repeating drones or hearing the same emotion plugged into a soothing effects download, then 2026 could be the year to change your mind.
Find yourself drifting between exalted highs and melancholy lows; either way, this journey is most rewarding for the sheer depth of travel involved. This is also about the art of music and how it translates into human feeling, the way you function, and how you may choose to appraise your surroundings. There are exceptional pieces of music woven throughout this selection, though each piece is more than worth the wait. I prefer to see this as a set of sounds to listen to as a whole, not because it is samey but because it is rewarding.
Perhaps it is slightly strange that it is a genre, but it seems so contemporary given the length of time the word Ambient has been used (some six decades). The construction of which never loses its spark or intensity, or, god forbid, wallows in retrograde nostalgia. It feels more honest and pointed.
If I could suggest Morgen Wurde feat. Tetsuroh Konishi’s beautiful Wusste Längst, and the poignant emotional tear of Dirk Leyers’ grainy Regolith, Thore Pfeiffer / Niko Tzoukmanis’ picturesque Impuls, Joachim Spieth’s sublime turmoil – Onset and Thore Pfeiffer’s heavenly Phase Locked Loop 2, or the suspension of reality found in the touching Blank Gloss – Hairpin, but then there is a wealth of memories to be created here, leaving you in a better place than where you first began.
Release: December 5
Download/ Stream/Vinyl at Kompakt
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