Isolationism (album)


Ambient 4: Isolationism is a 1994 studio album of new material by various ambient artists released on the Virgin Records label, part of its Ambient series. The compilation was issued as a double CD, packaged in a slimline case. It was compiled and features liner notes by Kevin Martin. It was the first in the series to be composed entirely of new, exclusive material.

Background

The term "isolationism", in a musical context, was coined by British musician Kevin Martin and first appeared in print in a September 1993 issue of The Wire magazine. He described it as a form of fractured, subdued music that "pushed away" listeners.
James Plotkin identifies Brian Eno's ambient works as the greatest influence on the isolationist scene, along with American experimental music such as Illusion of Safety.
As Plotkin says,

Track listing

CD 1

  1. KK Null & Jim Plotkin: "Lost "
  2. Jim O'Rourke: "Flat Without A Back"
  3. Ice: "The Dredger"
  4. Raoul Björkenheim: "Strangers"
  5. Zoviet France: "Daisy Gun"
  6. Labradford: "Air Lubricated Free Axis Trainer"
  7. Techno Animal: "Self Strangulation"
  8. Paul Schütze: "Hallucinations "
  9. Scorn: "Silver Rain Fell "
  10. Disco Inferno: "Lost In Fog"
  11. Total: "Six"
  12. Nijiumu: "Once Again I Cast Myself Into The Flames Of Atonement"

CD 2

  1. Aphex Twin: "Aphex Airlines"
  2. AMM: "Vandoevre"
  3. Seefeel: "Lief"
  4. .O.rang: "Little Sister"
  5. E.A.R.: "Hydroponic"
  6. Sufi: "Desert Flower"
  7. David Toop & Max Eastley: "Burial Rites "
  8. Main: "Crater Scar "
  9. Final: "Hide"
  10. Lull: "Thoughts"
  11. Thomas Köner: "Kanon "