Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

5. Infinite BodyCarve Out The Face Of My God

I hate the idea that ambient music is background music, music to have on while attending to other things. To my mind, the guiding principle of ambient music is that the sounds should have such a peculiar and detailed character that they transport the listener to an entirely other world – the word etymologically is connecting to a sense of surrounding, encircling. This record always encircles my whole mind when I put it on and takes me to a very deep place. It doesn’t really do well as background music. It’s not ambient in that sense – it’s pretty aggressive. I’ve always been really bowled by this quote from [the French philosopher] Malebranche that, "Attention is the natural prayer of the soul." That’s the vibe with that record. To pay attention to something is a very confusing thing, though when you engage with this album it becomes very, very engrossing and psychedelic. The sounds here are so thick and the distortion is so intense, though it’s so happy sounding.

PreviousNext Record

The Quietus Digest

Sign up for our free Friday email newsletter.

Support The Quietus

Our journalism is funded by our readers. Become a subscriber today to help champion our writing, plus enjoy bonus essays, podcasts, playlists and music downloads.

Support & Subscribe Today