Christ, this thread is old. I just realized I talked about Basic Channel, Vladislav Delay and many of the artists below on the very first page.
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stymie miasma:
I believe I mentioned Basic Channel, Chain Reaction, Vlad Delay and Stephen Betke (a.k.a., Pole, mastering engineer for D&M and therefore all of the Channel/Reaction stuff -- he's the reason Multila sounds better than anything else Delay's done) on the *music to sleep to* thread, Porter Ricks under the neglected musicians thread. I also like a lot of work on Betke's label (~scape). The latest release, deadhead's Wild Life Documentaries, is reminiscent of Rhythm & Sound at its most straight ahead.
The Porter Ricks/Techno Animal trade-off on Milles Plateaux is sweet, of course. But I also like Thomas Koner (half of Porter Ricks) as a solo artist. Nuuk is my favorite album to sleep to; I listen to it every night -- literally. I also like Daikon and Koner's collaborations with Tiechens (such as Kontakte der Jugend). Monolake's Hong Kong also issues from the Chain Reaction days. Cinemascope is rather good, too -- especially from an engineering standpoint.
Still, nothing bests tracks like BC's Radiance for hazy listless mist-on-scratched-aluminum warmth. I actually own the 12" of Radiance II just to savor the surface noise overlay topping the track's warm hiss.
If you haven't listened to a composer named Giacinto Scelsi, I highly recommend him. He likes to work with drones but did so long before LaMonte Young and is far better than any of the 80s minimalists. A collection of short Scelsi pieces (such as ed RZ 1014) is a good place to start.
People who like slow atmospheric music might also like pub's _Do you ever regret pantomime?_.
On the housier side of space, Murcof (Martes) is really good at blending fragments of classical music with sparse dark "four on the floor" (as they used to say at the Paradise Garage). Most artists don't make the splice sound quite this organic.
People who like experimental minimal textures with guitar might like _History Has No Effect_, a new album by Anthony Braxton's son. I actually dislike guitar music for the most part, but I really do like the slowed down root movement on this particular album.
And don't forget DJ Krush's Kakusei -- possibly the most rhythmically abstract album he ever made.
Have I mentioned Wolfgang Voigt? His work under the pseudonyms Gas and M:1:4 fall into the space category neatly. I highly recommend Konigsforst, Zauberberg and Pop -- classic albums to audition on the nod. Voigt's version of ambient is rooted in house, but has a dark Germanic quality that some (including Voigt) seem to associate with Bavarian forests.
. Of course there's no right and wrong in music (except Nu-Metal, boy bands, 21 and under divas and 14 year old rappers and...) and I wasn't looking to discredit anyone's tastes.