‘Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting.’ — Brian Eno (Music for Airports liner notes, September 1978)

Harold Budd is also one of the very few who can very rightly be called an ambient composer. On the 1980 “Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror,” the piano maestro collaborated with British pioneer Brian Eno to produce one landmark album of the Ambient genre. The result, a sparse and tonal wash of piano and sonic treatments, introduced an organic, melodically rich blueprint and set the tone for their later collaborations. A contract with Eno’s Opal Records resulted in one of Budd’s most glorious albums – “The White Arcades” (1988), recorded in Edinburgh with Robin Guthrie and Brian Eno.

Robin Guthrie is the co-founder of influential and prolific indie band Cocteau Twins. Long-regarded by many as the “father of shoegaze and dreampop,” Robin’s reverb-drenched guitar textures have had a significant impact on alternative music since the early ’80s. Guthrie contributed to the sound and aesthetic of UK’s legendary 4AD label more than any other artist did, either as part of the Cocteau Twins or with This Mortal Coil, Wolfgang Press, and Dif Juz. Numerous acts have emulated his style and several others — including Felt, the Gun Club, Ian McCulloch, Chapterhouse, Ulrich Schnauss and Lush — have enlisted his production skills.

In 1986, Robin Guthrie – along with bandmates Simon Raymonde and Liz Fraser – recorded an album with Harold Budd titled “The Moon & The Melodies.” It would mark the beginning of a long-standing creative relationship between Budd and Guthrie. On Budd and Guthrie’s 2007 dual release “After The Night Falls” and “Before The Day Breaks” the two have once again collaborated on a masterpiece of sustaining guitar textures, minimalist piano composition and subtle beauty.

If Eno and Budd are the chief architects of Ambient Music, Biosphere’s Geir Jenssen is quite possibly its greatest innovator. Biosphere’s discography, which spans over fifteen years and over two-dozen albums, is a true testament to the composers’ phenomenal work ethic and ability to adapt over the years. His “Substrata” album for Eno’s All Saints Records is regarded as one of the all time classic ambient albums.

Opening the showcase is Seattle’s own Rafael Anton Irisarri, whose 2007 debut album “Daydreaming” on Norway’s Miasmah label has been gaining critical acclaim across the globe.

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