I've been more and more interested in "quiet noise", music/sound-art that is still abstract, perhaps even still distorted and dirty, but on the other end of the volume spectrum - quiet, remote, unimposing, insisting more on concentrated listening rather than feeding the gluttonous urges.
I've mentioned Vangelis's "Invisible Connections" in the Playlist topic. While usually known for melodic (and lately, sickly and over-the-top theatrical) music, his background in jazz puts him in good stead when he wants to do something different, and this release is very abstract, no doubt unlistenable to his usual audience. Strong use of silence and darkness.
"Duos For Doris", by the duo of Keith Rowe and John Tilbury, also from jazz/improv. backgrounds (as I understand), is a release I heard a few years ago that made me realise how important and powerful the use of soft volume and silent spaces can be. Three lengthy, improvised pieces over two albums, combining piano, guitar and electronics, this is demanding listening, not forgiving of the lazy. For those who make the effort, I believe it will be worth it to you. Again, very abstracted, hardly anything identifiable as "music", with soft crackling distortion and buzzes, sparingly used piano plunks and other, occasional sounds (including radio).
The last few years, for me, have also been years of influence by Ernie Altoff, Australian composer of sound installations and improvised 'scapes. A maker of solar powered instruments from the cheapest and easiest available materials which, when operated together, make pure, soft yet metallic sounds. Other recordings of his feature simple materials found around the house, blatant field recordings, and so on.
Thanks to our favourite magazine I was introduced to the work of Raymond Dijkstra. The couple of albums I've downloaded (I appreciate that his releases are total packages) are greatly inspiring - the squeaky rubbing of glass, the gentle murmur of the accordion, and the over-all couldn't-give-a-fuck attitude of the sound arrangement. By that I mean, there's a charming naivety to the construction, intentional or not, that makes it greatly listenable for me. Certainly, others of his pieces are noisier (
http://www.thewire.co.uk/audio/tracks/p=15017), and equally charming.
I can't speak with any authority on most of the albums mentioned on
this list - perhaps others can, as well as fill in more gaps with more recommended "quiet noise".
