Some out there still regard 1994 as the golden year in ambient music. I'm not sure I agree with this assessment, but I can say with certainty that 1994 was surely a watershed of ambient, featuring a brace of new labels and a bumper crop of excellent ambient releases. To be sure, ambient as of 1994 had learned a trick or two from its younger sibling: techno--allowing a previously maligned genre to assimilate a more listener-friendly attitude—not to mention serving to introduce a new generation of people to artists like Brian Eno, Tangerine Dream, and many others.

Amidst the ambient-techno explosion of 1994, and perhaps to some degree eclipsed by the overwhelmingly vapid chill-out style music being marketed as ambient at the time, a label rose to brief buzz and even more brief existence: Em:t. The Em:t series of CDs were unified in design, but featured a staggeringly diverse array of artists--from the often-jazzy chill of Woob to the near musique concrete of Carl Stone. Em:t had early success, and a stateside licensing deal with chill-out techno label Instinct (one of the main labels responsible for new ambient's 1994 marketing blitz). After quite a few excellent compilations and full-lengths, the Em:t label had accumulated considerable debt, and went the way of the dodo (as with many smaller indie labels). The ambient marketing bubble of the early nineties had burst, and Em:t was a casualty.

This does not detract from Em:t's importance as a label of fine taste and diversity, and it pleases me especially to see that it has been resuscitated, now, in 2003, with the same care and attention to label uniformity of style. Frankly, I feel Em:t was always unfairly classified as an ambient label (perhaps due to being part of Instinct's ambient line)--Em:t championed difficult, usually electronic, music that rewarded careful attention and a decent stereo system. And now, in 2003, we have the first offering from the new Em:t: Em:t 0003, which is appropriately a compilation, just as the original Em:t 0094 was, way back in '94. Does it hold up when regarded with past Em:t triumphs by Woob, Gas, and their often sublime compilations? Track by track, let's see:

• Track one, by Gregor Samsa, is anything but insectoid, featuring a lovely piano and guitar melody that would not be out of place on a mid-period Durutti Column release. Once the horn comes in, we begin to drift to a sunnier place, and as quickly as the track started, it is over.
• Two, by another newcomer, Radium 88, seeks to tell the story of "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Space Traveller." It is a lonely, melancholy track indeed--reminiscent of Eno's Apollo--but space is warm, here. This is a definite highlight to the compilation.
• Next is original Em:t mainstay Gas, now recording as High Skies. The sound hasn't changed much since the mid-nineties, and this is an altogether pleasant ambient-techno trip that wouldn't be out of place on an original Em:t compilation.
• Beatsystem return from post-Em:t limbo to contribute "Alabama" which illustrates the intoxicating strength of the original CD series. Unlikely samples, twangy guitar, audio manipulation, and a great beat all make this track an excellent Southern-flavored journey. This is the type of music Em:t featured during its first incarnation, and at that point was shockingly ahead of its time. In 2003, the track fits right in with what's going on in electronic music now--making the original Em:t material all the more ahead of its time.
• Brannan Lane contributes "Desert Sunrise," a spitting image of Steve Roach desertscape circa 1988 mixed with more modern synthwork--a nice update. Perhaps not the strongest work I've heard from Lane (see my review of Immense Distance) but a more than worthy track on the compilation.
• International Peoples Gang return with another pretty cutup of sampled dialogue and music, forming another intriguing track. The addition of laptop trickery and vocals create a bizarre laptop folk. International Peoples Gang was always a mysterious presence on Em:t compilations with some pretty out-there stuff--this is no exception, but you won't be hitting the skip button; it’s a great listen.
• Chushen & Cugin give us "The Sutra" which reminds me strongly of the now quite dated tracks by Sine/Symetrics/Mendocino from the original Em:t series. This track does not have the benefit of a 1994-5 release date, and is thus worse for wear.
• Former Orb member Andy Hughes contributes the lovely "I Can't Hear You" consisting of chime tones and a bouncy beat that would not be out of place on a Black Dog album. It's a great track, with excellent samples and melodies that remind me of Kraftwerk mated with Severed Heads. A highlight.
• Richie Warburton brings us the extremely ambient "OO"--a radiant track with echoed samples and warm synth. Creative percussives permeate the background, and eventually the synthwork begins to resemble Deep Space Network during their prime.
• Finally, Mia's "Savannah" is a brief ambient track with droned, metallic synth and a deep low end mixed with vocal samples, similar to Woob or Bad Data. A great finish.

Em:t 0003 is a fine compilation in all, and pays due respect to Em:t's rich history. I feel, to some degree, that this past history has rooted the contributing artists too much in past sounds and genres. One of Em:t's original strengths was its commitment to varied, often difficult sonic anachronisms and experiments. While this is a well mixed, varied compilation, it is nothing we haven't heard before (often prior to the year 2000). I don't feel music should be pressured to constantly innovate, but in this case, the newer artists to the Em:t label seem to focus too greatly on already well-tread ambient/electronic pathways rather than trailblaze like Beatsystem or International Peoples Gang (who continue to create sterling, rewarding work on this compilation). In a way, the music within is similar to the cover art--a label identity is a positive thing, but it must not be forgotten that this unity can be limiting. Many of the artists on the compilation never rise above past Em:t glories, instead finding satisfaction in recreating the original Em:t mystique. Frankly, I don't believe that this is what the original Em:t was all about.

Nevertheless, this is an excellent compilation, even if not essential. I welcome the return of Em:t, and I hope to hear more intriguing, difficult sounds from this seminal label.

Available soon from Em:t Records.

since July 15, 2003