| Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 1980 | |||
| Recorded | 1979 | |||
| Studio | Grant Avenue Studio, Hamilton, Ontario | |||
| Genre | Ambient | |||
| Length | 39:30 | |||
| Label | E.G. | |||
| Producer | Brian Eno | |||
| Harold Budd andBrian Eno chronology | ||||
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| Brian Eno chronology | ||||
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Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror is a 1980 studio album byHarold Budd andBrian Eno. A work ofambient music, it is the second installment of Eno'sAmbient series, which began in 1978 withAmbient 1: Music for Airports.Ambient 2 consists mainly of minimalist composer Budd playing improvisational piano in soundscapes produced by Eno. The album received positive reviews and led to Budd and Eno collaborating again for the sonically similarThe Pearl (1984).
Harold Budd andBrian Eno had previously worked together onThe Pavilion of Dreams (1978) after British composerGavin Bryars introduced the pair.[1] After returning from a four-month trip to Thailand, Eno began work with Budd onAmbient 2.[1] The album was recorded inHamilton, Ontario.[2]
Eno explained production as mostly Budd improvising "in a sound-world [Eno] had created".[3] The music was improvised by Budd while Eno managed the "sound". He would set up the piano to be treated with electronic equipment, and then Budd would improvise with it.[1] Budd was able to listen to the processed sound as he played the acoustic pianos in the studio.[4] He discovered, as he played, how to best manipulate the treated piano, finding the best register and speed to play at, and how to make it resonate.[5] Budd described using choral and delay effects in extreme unintended ways: "you're hearing the effect as the sound itself, rather than using them to industry standards".[4] The project was the first time Budd experienced the concept of using the studio as a compositional tool.[4]
According to Budd, production came "so quickly and so easily that it was kind of a phantom, you thought you could do thirty more of those with the samejoie de vivre".[6] However, after completing their later collaborationThe Pearl (1984), Budd came to think ofThe Pearl as more "focused", andAmbient 2 as a naive album.[4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| The Austin Chronicle | [8] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [9] |
| Pitchfork | 8.4/10[10] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 6/10[11] |
| Tom Hull – on the Web | B+[12] |
AllMusic reviewer Dave Connolly describedAmbient 2 as "a lovely, evocative work".[7]Pitchfork's Liam Singer wrote, "The Plateaux matches Eno's otherambient albums in its moments of deep beauty, though it does little to mute the human presence. One gets the feeling that Harold Budd was after something slightly different from Eno, as his playing seems a bit busy under the concept at hand. Still, left on in the background,Plateaux is a light-filled album that accomplishes the goal of transforming its environment."[10]Mojo wrote that Budd's "mix of lyricism and minimalism" contrasted well with Eno's style, as if they were destined to collaborate.[13]The Austin Chronicle wrote that Eno's treatments "refract" Budd's melodies, creating a prism-like effect and resulting in "a panacea for a dim day or the conduit for a floodgate of buried sensations".[8]
In a more critical review,PopMatters wrote that Ambient 2 is "intentionally banal...featureless... not designed to engage the listener on anything but a subconscious level. Trying to pay the music your full attention will result in nothing but frustration: nothing's really there."[14]Stylus wrote that the listener can gather a sense that Eno and Budd were not able to settle on a style for the album.[1]
All tracks composed byBrian Eno andHarold Budd except "Steal Away" by Budd andEugene Bowen.[2]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "First Light" | 6:59 |
| 2. | "Steal Away" | 1:29 |
| 3. | "The Plateaux of Mirror" | 4:10 |
| 4. | "AboveChiangmai" | 2:49 |
| 5. | "An Arc of Doves" | 6:22 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Not Yet Remembered" | 3:50 |
| 2. | "The Chill Air" | 2:13 |
| 3. | "Among Fields of Crystal" | 3:24 |
| 4. | "Wind in Lonely Fences" | 3:57 |
| 5. | "Failing Light" | 4:17 |
| Total length: | 39:30 | |
