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Ambient techno is a subgenre of techno that incorporates the atmospheric textures of ambient music with the rhythmic elements and production of techno. It was pioneered by 1990s electronic artists such as Aphex Twin, Carl Craig, The Orb, The Future Sound of London, the Black Dog, Pete Namlook and Biosphere.
One principal influence on the genre was the 1984 album E2-E4 by German musician Manuel Göttsching. The Orb's 1991 album Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld would inspire dub music-influenced ambient techno. Artforum noted the genre's similarities with new age: "swaddling the listener in a womblike sound bath, it means retreat from the environment, relief from the stresses of urban existence." Critic Simon Reynolds characterized the style as a "post-rave genre" meant "for immobile contemplation," comparing it to "the aqua-mysticism and forest idylls of Claude Debussy."
The style would be associated with labels such as Warp Records, Apollo, GPR, and Beyond Records, with releases focusing more on studio album than 12-inch singles.
Other prominent artists in the style included Mixmaster Morris, Global Communication, Higher Intelligence Agency, and Future Sound of London. According to AllMusic, early classics of the era included Aphex Twin's debut LP, Ultramarine's Every Man and Woman Is a Star (1991), Biosphere's Microgravity (1991), and the Orb's U.F.Orb (1992). Author Sean Albiez added Higher Intelligence Agency's Colourform (1992) and the Black Dog's Temple of Transparent Balls (1993) as early examples. The release of Warp's Artificial Intelligence compilation in 1992 helped to establish the genre and featured ambient techno pioneers such Aphex Twin, B12, Autechre, the Black Dog, Richie Hawtin, and the Orb's Alex Paterson. B12's 1993 Warp album Electro-Soma was also called a classic of ambient techno by Resident Advisor. The Quietus characterized Luke Slater's early-90s work under his 7th Plain moniker as important to the style's development. Following the release of Warp's Artificial Intelligence series, the genre developed further into the "intelligent techno" scene.
In the early-to mid-1990s, a small network of ambient techno artists developed around the Berlin-based labels Basic Channel and Chain Reaction. In 1995, producer Wolfgang Voigt began releasing influential ambient techno projects as Gas, bringing together lush and expansive atmospheres with 4/4 minimal techno beats. Voigt co-runs the German label Kompakt, which has released installments of the influential ambient techno compilation series Pop Ambient annually since 2001.
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