''Ambient 3: Day of Radiance'' (1980) is an album by the American ambient musician

Laraaji Laraaji (born Edward Larry Gordon, 3 May 1943) is an American multi-instrumentalist specializing in piano, zither and mbira. His albums include the 1980 release '' Ambient 3: Day of Radiance'', produced by Brian Eno as part of his ''Ambient'' ...

(alias Edward Larry Gordon), which was produced by Brian Eno.

Overview

This album is the third entry of Eno’s Ambient series, which began in 1978 with ''

Music for Airports Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

'', and was preceded by '' The Plateaux of Mirror''. The series ended with ''

On Land ''Ambient 4: On Land'' is the eighth solo studio album by British ambient musician Brian Eno. Released in 1982, it was the final edition in Eno's ambient series, which began in 1978 with '' Music for Airports''. Overview ''On Land'' is a mix ...

''. Compared to the rest of the series, ''Day of Radiance'' features very little in the way of electronics. Laraaji uses a variety of acoustic stringed instruments such as a hammered dulcimer and 36-stringed open-tuned

zither Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat ...

Track listing

All tracks by Laraaji #”The Dance #1” – 9:06 #”The Dance #2” – 9:39 #”The Dance #3” – 3:15 #”Meditation #1” – 18:42 #”Meditation #2” – 7:50

Content

The first three tracks are variations on a theme named "The Dance", and are delivered in a fast, hypnotic,

Gamelan Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. T ...

-like, rhythmic pace on a hammered dulcimer. Eno's input is not only in the role of producer; he also adds many creative touches to the natural instrument-sounds. In particular, he "layers" the tracks, after which he applies various effects to the point at which the dulcimer almost sounds like other instruments. These processes are particularly noticeable on the last of the "Dance" pieces. The simple practice of slowing the tape down creates resonances that are deep, and distorted in places. The final two tracks ("Meditation 1 & 2") are different; more in keeping with the "ambient" style featured on the rest of the series. These are slow, meandering beatless compositions performed on the zither, with the dulcimer adding the odd highlight. Eno's tactic in these two pieces is mainly to electronically highlight the zither's naturally long decay-rate, creating a highly ethereal sound.

Personnel and instruments

* Cover art and production – Brian Eno * Music – Laraaji * Instruments – treated and amplified zither; hammered dulcimer

Versions

References

External links

Interview; 2002

''Discogs.com'' entry

* Japanese ambient dub quartet

Audio Active Audio Active were a Japanese reggae fusion band who released several albums between the early 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century. History Audio Active were one of the most successful reggae fusion bands to come out of Japan, and wer ...

have remixed a selection of the material for their album ''The Way Out Is The Way In'', Gyroscope/Caroline GYR 6615-2, 1995
''Discogs.com''
{{Authority control Laraaji albums 1980 albums Albums produced by Brian Eno E.G. Records albums