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TheOxfordAmbientCollectiveThe Oxford Ambient Collective (OAC) is the solo m Author: TheOxfordAmbientCollective
The Oxford Ambient Collective (OAC) is the solo musical alter-ego of David Smith, an artist who began his compositional journey in his early thirties using software such as Buzz, FL Studio and Reason. He has a focus on a aesthetic of crafting immersive "ambient drones and ethereal soundscapes." Intentionally grounding his work in the history of the genre, Smiths creative output reveals a clear artistic lineage, with albums like Berlin Vol. III acknowledging the "subtle German EM influences" and paying thematic homage to the pioneering Berlin School of electronic music. While deeply reverent to this historical lineage, Smith's methodology is aggressively contemporary, positioning him at the vanguard of mobile sound design by relying on a sophisticated suite of iOS applications to perform complex sonic morphing and generate his signature textures; his advanced workflow employs Soundscaper as an "experimental sound mini lab" for textural manipulation, with all audio professionally routed through the AUM mixer and hosting application. This innovative approach powered his self-proclaimed "proudest achievement"a 90-minute live performance at Oxford's prestigious Ashmolean Museum, an opportunity secured through his affiliation with Oxford Brookes University as part of its 150th Anniversary celebrations. To solve the inherent challenge of engaging an audience with long-form ambient music, Smith transformed the event into an immersive audio-visual installation, pairing his soundscapes with curated visuals from sources like The Internet Archive to command "active listening." The project's visibility expanded significantly beyond this institutional context through a pivotal relationship with the independent Focussed Silence label, which was instrumental in securing national airplay on BBC 6 Music. This success highlights a versatile appeal, with OAC's work finding a home on highly experimental programs like A Duck in a Tree on Resonance FMhosted by the influential group :zovie Language: en Genres: Music Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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The Fragile Valley (naviarhaiku 636)
Thursday, 12 March, 2026
A short semi improvised piano peice.I nspired by this haiku: beyond the talus withering in the valley — a hanging glacier Haiku by Lisa Germany
