On Land - Definition and Overview

Ambient 4/On Land (1982) is an album by the British ambient musician Brian Eno. This is the final edition of Eno’s ambient series which began in 1978 with Music for Airports.

The album has a dark nocturnal atmosphere. It is a mixture of synthesizer, nature recordings and a complex array of other sounds, some of which are mixed in the far background.

The track “Shadow” features Jon Hassell on trumpet, though it is played in such a bizarre, muffled tone as to be unrecognizable as a trumpet.

The album ends with an eerie guitar harmonic texture titled “Dunwich Beach, Autumn, 1960”. This track is named after the once prosperous sea-port of Dunwich, England which eroded into the sea over a period of three-hundred years. This track is also Eno’s first collaboration with Daniel Lanois.

This album was recorded between 1978 and 1982 during which time Eno had released several other albums.

Track listing

1. ”Lizard Point” (Eno, Beinhorn, Gros, Laswell) - 4:34
2. ”The Lost Day” (Eno) - 9:13
3. ”Tal Coat” (Eno) - 5:30
4. ”Shadow” (Eno) - 3:00
5. ”Lantern Marsh” (Eno) - 5:33
6. ”Unfamiliar Wind (Leeks Hills)” (Eno) - 5:23
7. ”A Clearing” (Eno) - 4:09
8. ”Dunwich Beach, Autumn, 1960” (Eno) - 7:13

Personnel

• Brian Eno - various
• Michael Beinhorn - synthesizer (track 1)
• Axel Gros - guitar (track 1)
• Bill Laswell - bass (track 1)
• Jon Hassell - trumpet (track 4)
• Michael Brook - guitar (track 8)
• Daniel Lanois - live equalization (track 8)

The frogs on track 6 were recorded in Choloma, Honduras by Felipe Orrego.

See also

• Brian Eno
• Ambient 1/Music for Airports
• Ambient 2/The Plateaux of Mirror
• Ambient 3/Day of Radiance
• Ambient music
• Electronic music