S6:E6 – What Makes Ambient and New Age, Ambient and New Age ?

In January 1975, a taxi struck Brian Eno as he crossed the street.

It ran over his legs and threw him against a parked car, splitting his head open.

He then recorded several collaborations, including two albums with King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp, and was working on his third solo record when the accident left him housebound for over a month.

He listened to it after she left, but the volume was low and one speaker wasn’t working. He was in too much pain to get up and fix it so he left it alone. He heard only the loud parts interspersed with the rain outside.

Hearing it so quietly showed him the value of music as atmosphere. It gave him new ideas about what music could be. He thought about music “designed to occupy the background.” 

In the Postmodernism episode, we talked about John Cage’s 1952 composition “4:33” and its four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence.

An audience member might sneeze or shift in their chair. You’d hear the door open and close if anyone comes in late. You’d also hear sounds from outside the room: cars going by, someone laughing in the lobby, a dog barking down the street.

There are always sounds in any location. Even in a barren desert, you can hear the wind. These random noises are called ambient sounds.

It’s music that fills the space but doesn’t call attention to itself. Like the rain and that quiet harp music, it creates an atmosphere without being noticed. You can listen to it closely, or not at all, or anything in the range between the two. 

Eno’s fourth solo album, Discreet Music, experimented with ideas that would become Ambient. But it’s his 1978 record Ambient 1: Music for Airports that’s most often cited as the first Ambient recording.

At about the same time, other musicians were making New Age Music.

A movement in the 1970s put forth the belief that physical health is tied to mental health.

It’s a holistic approach, and there’s some evidence that the right music could actually make you healthier physically. If nothing else, it will put you in a better frame of mind.

That’s the idea behind New Age music. It’s meant to bring you peace and quiet and relaxation.

But it’s not Muzak or any other commercial music designed to change behaviors. New Age is influenced by the 1960s’ interest in Eastern spirituality and Western mysticism, and the burgeoning holistic health movement of the 1970s.

A place of refuge and renewal in the midst of life’s challenges and uncertainties. New Age seeks to provide relaxation, introspection, and spiritual awakening. 

These are pretty high-minded goals, and easy to satirize as hippie-dippie nonsense for those inclined to do so. Let’s take the high road and ask the obvious question: How does it reach those noble goals?

Musicians in both genres use synthesizers, samplers, field recordings, and other electronic and acoustic instruments to create moods and expansive sound worlds.

Minimalist techniques, such as repetition, sustained tones, and gradual changes over time, create a sense of timelessness and space, allowing listeners to enter a state of deep relaxation and contemplation if they so choose.

In the mid-20th Century, the avant-garde of the Classical world were working with minimalism and experimenting with electronics.

Minimalism showed that popular music doesn’t need an insistent beat or catchy melody to be interesting, or induce a trance, or dissolve completely into the background.

Tony Scott was one of the top clarinetists playing Jazz in the 1940s. The clarinet fell out of favor in the 50s and by 1960 he was living in Asia, touring extensively and learning about Buddhism.

On the Ambient side of the coin, Harold Budd mastered Minimalism and his music plays with the ideas of space, silence, and spirituality. He blends piano-based melodies and atmospherics.

Stars of the Lid, an Ambient duo consisting of Brian McBride and Adam Wiltzie, is known for their immersive soundscapes and orchestral arrangements.

While primarily known for his 1990s work in Electronic music, Aphex Twin – nee Richard D. James – has also explored Ambient territory with albums like “Selected Ambient Works 85-92” and “Selected Ambient Works Volume II.” 

On the New Age side of things, Japanese composer and multi-instrumentalist Kitarō is a pioneer of Electronic and Ambient music, but his exploration of nature, spirituality, and the human experience put him firmly in New Age territory.

Greek composer and keyboardist Yanni is known for his epic orchestral compositions and live performances.

His albums, such as Live at the Acropolis and In My Time, blend elements of Classical, World, and New Age music.

Singer-songwriter Enya is one of the most successful and influential New Age artists of all time.

Known for her ethereal vocals, dense orchestration, and cinematic production, Enya has released a series of critically acclaimed albums, including Watermark, Shepherd Moons, and A Day Without Rain, which have sold millions of copies worldwide. Her single “Orinoco Flow” hit #1 on multiple charts around the world.

In 1975, the same year that Eno was hit by the taxi, guitarist William Ackerman dropped out of college. He began selling his music on cassette and eventually started a label called Windham Hill.

While they signed Jazz and Classical artists who shared their ethos of mellow, soothing music, Windham Hill became known as a New Age label and became so popular that the German media conglomerate BMG bought them out in the mid-90s.

As the Ambient genre evolved, several subgenres developed:

• Dark Ambient uses themes of melancholy, mystery, and the supernatural.

• Dreampunk is a recent subgenre.

• Environmental Ambient uses field recordings, found sounds, and natural elements.

New Age subgenres include:

• Celtic New Age, which blends the melodies and mystical traditions of Celtic music with the ambiance and spiritual themes of New Age.

• Spa and Relaxation music is specifically designed to create a tranquil and rejuvenating environment for wellness practices, massage therapy, and holistic healing.

And then, there’s the best of both worlds:

Ambient New Age music combines the atmospheric textures and ethereal qualities of Ambient with the melodic sensibility and introspective themes of New Age.

Proponents of Ambient and New Age music believe they have therapeutic effects on the mind, body, and spirit. Some studies do in fact show that Ambient music can reduce stress, ease relaxation, and enhance mood.

New Age and Ambient are similar genres with different intentions.

The best of each can call up emotions, memories, and imaginary landscapes through sound.

And the other is happy to be aural wallpaper.

Suggested Listening – Full YouTube Playlist

• Ambient:

• New Age:

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