Isolationism (album)

Ambient 4: Isolationism is a 1994 studio album of new material by various ambient artists released on the Virgin Records label, part of its Ambient series. The compilation was issued as a double CD, packaged in a slimline case. It was compiled and features liner notes by Kevin Martin. It was the first in the series to be composed entirely of new, exclusive material.

Ambient 4: Isolationism
Studio album by Various artists
Released	1994
Genre	Dark ambient
Label	Virgin/EMI
Various artists chronology
Music of Changes (1994) Ambient 4: Isolationism (1994)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Background

The term "isolationism", in a musical context, was coined by British musician Kevin Martin and first appeared in print in a September 1993 issue of The Wire magazine.^[2] He described it as a form of fractured, subdued music that "pushed away" listeners.^[2]

James Plotkin identifies Brian Eno's ambient works as the greatest influence on the isolationist scene, along with American experimental music such as Illusion of Safety.^[3]

As Plotkin says,

I really didn't know what was meant by Isolationism [...], because it encompassed this broad spectrum of music that ranged from Ambient to avant garde music to even something more aggressive – like the Japanese Noise scene. [...] Isolationism was a Virgin compilation and it needed a marketing angle. And [compiler] Kevin Martin was definitely responsible for exposing a really large amount of people to music that would otherwise have gone unnoticed, so I guess it's not all bad.^[3]

Track listing

CD 1

1. KK Null & Jim Plotkin: "Lost (Held Under)"
2. Jim O'Rourke: "Flat Without A Back"
3. Ice: "The Dredger"
4. Raoul Björkenheim: "Strangers"
5. Zoviet France: "Daisy Gun"
6. Labradford: "Air Lubricated Free Axis Trainer"
7. Techno Animal: "Self Strangulation"
8. Paul Schütze: "Hallucinations (In Memory Of Reinaldo Arenas)"
9. Scorn: "Silver Rain Fell (Deep Water Mix)"
10. Disco Inferno: "Lost In Fog"
11. Total: "Six"
12. Nijiumu: "Once Again I Cast Myself Into The Flames Of Atonement"

CD 2

1. Aphex Twin: "Aphex Airlines"
2. AMM: "Vandoevre"
3. Seefeel: "Lief"
4. .O.rang: "Little Sister"
5. E.A.R.: "Hydroponic"
6. Sufi: "Desert Flower"
7. David Toop & Max Eastley: "Burial Rites (Phosphorescent Mix)"
8. Main: "Crater Scar (Adrenochrome)"
9. Final: "Hide"
10. Lull: "Thoughts"
11. Thomas Köner: "Kanon (Part One: Brohuk)"

References

1. Bush, John. "Various Artists - Ambient 4: Isolationism". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
2. The Wire 20 (2002). The Wire, 225, 42–51.
3. Plotkin, James (2009). "Invisible Jukebox," interview with Phil Freeman. The Wire, 300, 22–25.