Best Ambient of 2019

  It's an impossible task to narrow down the multitude of ambient recordings released every year into a definitive "Best of" list. There's so much music out there that I'll never hear it all and what I do hear is hard to give the proper attention to. So many factors can influence a record making the list - where did a first hear it, what mood was I in, what other music did I listen to around it, did I use it in a mix, etc. Suffice it to say, this list is not definitive and is highly subjective.  I will end up making two mixes from this list - this first one is more straight forward ambient and the next one will have a more modern classical/electro-acoustic tone. I split it into two mixes so that I didn't end up with a 4-hour mix. Ain't nobody got time for that!  So here it is, my personal favs of 2019, in alphabetical order:   BEST AMBIENT MUSIC OF 2019:  1. A Winged Victory for the Sullen - The Undivided Five [ninja tune] 2. Ann Annie - wander into 3. Anne Muller - Heliopause [erased tapes] 4. anthéne - asymmetry [whitelabrecs] 5. Benoît Pioulard & Sean Curtis Patrick  - Avocationals [Beacon Sound] 6. Bersarin Quartet - methoden und maschinen [denovali] 7. Chihei Hatakeyama - Forgotten Hill [room 40] 8. Danny Scott Lane - how to empty a cup [shimmering moods] 9. Glåsbird - Grønland [whitelabrecs] 10. Halftribe - Backwater Revisited [dronarivm] 11. Hipnotic Earth - Suspended In Silence [whitelabrecs] 12. Hipnotic Earth - Extended Savasana [desert trax] 13. Ian Hawgood - impermanence [Slowcraft] 14. Innesti - Between Worlds 15. Jazzdefector and Slow Clinic - Green Echo [whitelabrecs] 16. Jens Pauly - Vihne [whitelabrecs] 17. Jogging House - Lure [seil records] 18. Jonsi & Alex - Lost And Found [krunk] 19. Kryshe - Hauch [serein] 20. Loneward - Home 21. Louigi Verona - Nocturnal Creatures 22. Luis Miehlich - Timecuts [whitelabrecs] 23. M. Grig - Mount Carmel [12k] 24. Marty Hicks - Olreilion [white paddy mountain] 25. Moss Covered Technology - Slow Walking [polar seas] 26. Ohio - upward, broken, always [12k] 27. Olga Wojciechowska - Infinite Distances [ASIP] 28. Past Inside The Present - Healing Sounds- A Compilation for Hurricane Recovery [pitp] 29. Plïnkï Plønkï - Pangur Din [piano & coffee records] 30. Porya Hatami, Aaron Martin, Roberto Attanasio - Sallaw [dronarivm] 31. Ripperton – Contrails [ESP institute] 32. Seabuckthorn - Crossing [eilean] 33. Sean Curtis Patrick - The Best Driving Music in the World Ever [pitp] 34. Sjors Mans - Noord [piano and coffee records] 35. Sven Laux and Daniela Orvin - The Writings [dronarivm] 36. The Phonometrician - Mnemosyne [lost tribe sound] 37. Trond Kallevag Hansen - Bedehus & Hawaii [hubro] 38. Various Artists - Place Language [fluid audio] 39. William Ryan Fritch - Deceptive Cadence- Music For Film Volume I & II [lost tribe sound] 40. William Ryan Frisch - Artifishal [lost tribe sound]   And here's the tracklist for the actual mix:   T R A C K L I S T : 00:00    Innesti - Barrockstadt Station (Between Worlds) 04:28    anthéne - lucky (asymmetry) 07:25    Moss Covered Technology - Gen #4 (Slow Walking) 10:50    Ohio - Crepescule (upward, broken, always) 14:10    Benoît Pioulard & Sean Curtis Patrick  - Sunek (Avocationals) 17:25    Ripperton – Love Is Not Enough (Contrails) 22:22    Plïnkï Plønkï - Pangur Din (Pangur Din)  27:05    Danny Scott Lane - Four (how to empty a cup) 30:12    Jogging House - Fountains (Lure) 34:18    Jens Pauly - Form (Vihne) 37:55    Jonsi & Alex - hundslappadrifa (Lost and Found) 42:55    Loneward - Savour (Home) 48:42    Louigi Verona - Coming of Dawn (Nocturnal Creatures) 54:02    Halftribe - Bumpy Roads (Backwater Revisited)  56:18    Saltbreaker - Leaf pt 2 (Healing Sounds - A Compilation for Hurricane Recovery) 59:47    Hipnotic Earth - The Gentling (Suspended In Silence) 63:25    Ann Annie - wander into (wander into) 68:52    M. Grig - Capistrano (Mount Carmel) 71:08    Sean Curtis Patrick - Simon & Anna (The Best Driving Music in the World Ever) 73:50    Jazzdefector and Slow Clinic - Green Echo (Green Echo) 81:12    Kryshe - Meditation (Hauch) 84:27    Marty Hicks - Hiolorium (Olreilion) 90:07    Sjors Mans - Oventura (Noord) 95:18    end