Last Updated on 10/10/2023

These are the best 10 ambient techno albums of all time. Discover the top LPs (and artists) from a genre often overshadowed by its most famous exponent: Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works 85-92.

The historical progress of the ambient techno movement is somewhat difficult to track – partly because ‘ambient techno’ has never really defined a music scene in whole. Rather, more commonly, the style has flavoured other music; often, the pounding techno of more recognised scenes has been shaded with the vivid and slow-moving atmospherics of experimental ambient. Or non-techno music (one of music’s two primary categories, along with ‘techno music’) has taken major influence from ambient techno’s rhythmics and atmospherics, producing spots of ambient techno located far away from the rest.

The easiest hot spot of the style to put your finger on though would be within the UK’s early 90s electronic/techno scene, where the style originated. It emerged from the ‘chill-out’ rooms of the UK’s dance music clubs where in the years prior the transportive, melodic ambient house of artists like The Orb and The KLF (as well as the groovier sounds of downtempo) had sound-tracked the gentle come-downs of blissed out ravers. The precise robotics of techno muffled by sliding layers of warm, ambient sound made for a hypnotic and fitting replacement in this context.

This iteration of the sound wouldn’t remain distinct for long though. Its stylings became sucked up with other influences into what became a far more singularly persistent scene: IDM. Looking back at music from that period, ‘ambient techno’ is often but a secondary genre tag despite the fact that many of IDM’s earliest albums are techno of an ambient persuasion – retrospective musical taxonomy has snubbed ambient techno a little.

Aphex Twin’s ever famous Selected Ambient Works 85-92 is a prime example of this. Considered now one of the crown jewels of the IDM catalogue, it is basically (very good) techno music with heavy ambient leanings. But its mission to ‘make the brain dance’ has overshadowed its emphasis on rhythmic atmospherics and has seen the more popular IDM ‘take’ the album for its own (in music criticism circles at least).

IDM itself moved further and further away from the sound in the late 90s and 2000s, rapidly transforming in all senses but it’s philosophy – but ambient techno remained independently influential. Some artists continued to make music in the vein of the early 90s style, but it was perhaps more commonly found on the fringes of 90s scenes such as dub techno, Detroit techno and of course IDM.

And as time went on, ambient techno germinated even further afield. Disparate music scenes picked up on its potent atmospherics, with everything from shoegaze, drone and glitch to breakbeat, trip hop, tribal ambient and dream pop having an album or two with a techno four-to-the-floor lurking in the background and slow, deeply atmospheric instrumentation swirling around the periphery.

But what is the best ambient techno? Of the rich selection of ambient techno music, the following are the top albums, released by some of techno’s best artists, excluding Selected Ambient Works 85-92, of course; you already know that’s great.

10. rEAGENZ, rEAGENZ

My imagination might be being led by the cover art here, but this album brings to mind the organic biological processes going on in a plant; chlorophyll and photosynthesis, xylem, phloem and all that. Pretty cool you know – some quality techno too.

9. Microgravity, Biosphere

One of the ‘housiest’ albums on this list (ambient techno hadn’t fully speciated from ambient house in 1991), it contains some of ambient techno’s biggest bangers. You could even describe the track “Baby Satellite” as ‘sexy’, which isn’t something you can say of much else in the genre.

It may feel slightly more club single focussed, but it still makes for a quality front to back listen.

8. In Sides, Orbital

Definitely one of the most fun ambient techno albums around. The atmosphere is pretty, but the melodic bells, whistles and squelchy bass tones give it a dynamism that is enjoyably unusual for the style.

If you want further indication of its contents, the scene of cartoonish, microscopic (but oddly coherent) chaos on the cover art is more than appropriate.

7. Königsforst, GAS

The solitude of a walk, through secluded summer woodland. Sunbeams pound down with throbbing heat on your skin, you close your eyes to see your eyelids a bright, pink-y red. Exhale contentedly.

Wolfgang Voigt brings absolutely blissful atmospherics on one of ambient techno’s most well-known albums. Pop, this album’s lusher, cooler sequel is even better – it is just slightly short on techno for it to make the list.

6. Cinemascope, Monolake

Monolake captures the nervous thrill of walking around an urban area late at night on Cinemascope. There is no-one around at all, it is peaceful. But a natural tension keeps you alert to experience each flash of a streetlight off glass, every distant clang of machinery and every gentle drip of water, in crystal clear fidelity.

Monolake’s beautifully detailed productions can highlight the rich diversity of interest in the gloomiest of cities.

5. Biokinetics, Porter Ricks

I’ve never been in a submarine, but I reckon this is what it would feel like.

Within the range of ambient techno albums talked about here, this dub techno-influenced number is one of the least melodic and most rhythmic. This makes it quite a cold record – it sounds pretty lonely and inhumane down at the bottom of the ocean.

But the sublime sound textures bring it to life. From air conditioning units and propellers whirring and clanking, to water rushing around metal and oxygen bubbles popping languidly, it is a fascinating experience. And one that you almost feel a sense of achievement about having been through as you gratefully rise back into the light on the final track, “Nautical Zone”, which audibly glows with relief.

4. Compro, Skee Mask

This is one old cold European winter.

Bryan Müller’s breakout record may be the newest on this list, but it feels closer in sound to some of ambient techno and house’s earliest exponents – namely early 90s Aphex Twin, Autechre and the KLF (who you can read more about here). He puts his own freezing continental twist on the Brits’ style though.

Autechre’s cold, complex rhythmics are reincarnated here; the snowstorm of breakbeats that muffle the hard-edged percussion beneath brings to mind their early experimentation. The hypothermic fever dream this sinks you into is more like The KLF in atmosphere, although much chillier than their sunny ambience was. Aphex Twin emerges in the very warmest moments of this record, sweet melodic synth lines filter through like watery sunlight on grey, icy concrete.

Skee Mask finds a sweet, sweet balance on this masterful record.

3. Deep Space, Model 500

In 1995, Detroit Techno pioneer Juan Atkins hadn’t abandoned the sound he broke to the world with the rest of the Belleville Three in the 80s, but he certainly hadn’t stagnated creatively either. Taking back inspiration from the ambient techno artists to whom he had given the techno genre in the first place, he produces an album of Detroit techno with potent atmosphere.

Still a master of rhythm, melody and building emotive tension, Deep Space constitutes a brilliant set of tracks. But it is the otherworldly aura that puts it in the running within this conversation.

As you blast off into the cosmos in your glass sided spacecraft, you will boogie– Juan Atkins on the decks will make sure of that.

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2. The 4 Cornered Room, Luke Slater’s 7th Plain

1994 was arguably the year for ambient techno. The sound hit peak popularity and electronic music icons Autechre and The Future Sounds of London both released their landmark albums in the style (Amber and Lifeforms respectively). Luke Slater’s release as 7th Plain, The 4 Cornered Room, is the pick of a brilliant bunch though.

Opener “Time Melts” (which is undoubtedly one of the best tracks in the genre) immediately engulfs you. From here you float in warm, lightly fluorescent techno-soup for the rest of the album, languidly grooving in the viscous atmosphere; there is not one miss in the long tracklist. It isn’t necessarily trying to do anything different from other albums released around the time, but if you want a taste of the OG ambient techno sound executed brilliantly well, this is a great place to start; the progressions are euphoric, and the atmosphere strikes a perfect balance between potency without pushing into the gimmickry that some albums of this type did (not pointing any fingers).

Recommendation: if you are travelling somewhere on an overcast, humid summer’s day, stick this on and grey skies and light rain will suddenly become a lot more welcome and far less disappointing than it seemed before.

1. Martes, Murcof

A surprising number one pick? Probably because the American/Euro-centric electronic music canon has majorly overlooked this glitch-laden ambient techno masterpiece.

Mexican artist Fernando Corona’s debut under the Murcof name is beautiful. A lover of modern classical music, Murcof repurposes some of his favourite movements with the sparing addition of dry, glitchy techno beats, turning them into one long, lucid trip.

It really is impressive how much he does with so little. Slightly reminiscent of Nicolas Jaar’s latest releases, Cenizas and Telas, the mix for the most part contains very few sounds at any one time, but the premium quality of each audio snippet and his meticulous arrangements conjure an intensely stimulating world inside your head.

The sparse combination of the prickly, arid percussion, cavernous bass tones and the dichotomy of beautifully forlorn and forebodingly tense strings over the top is able to isolate you immediately, placing you far away in a grandiose and parched mountain range. Beautiful, but perilous for life, the only sounds are insects in the rough shrubs, birds of prey swooshing in circles overhead and the dry wind. Your awareness of your own mortality keeps you alert as you hike through the imposing scenery – it’s not a relaxing stroll but you have never felt so alive.