Frustrated with my inability to concentrate on my work, I blame these noises as the source of my distraction. As I reach for my headphones seeking salvation in a different concoction of noise—perhaps a shoegaze song dreamy enough to carry my thoughts out to sea or an upbeat art rock song loud enough to drown out the world around me—I pause. Why am I so inclined to listen to a soundtrack I have chosen for myself rather than the one created by the natural ambiance around me?
Therein lies the beauty of ambient music: it is meant to accompany, rather than drown out, the atmosphere around you. To list but one of many important pioneers of the genre, Brian Eno famously coined the term Ambient Music following the release of his sixth studio album, Ambient 1: Music for Airports (1978). In the album's liner notes, he wrote, “My intention is to produce original pieces ostensibly (but not exclusively) for particular times and situations with a view to building up a small but versatile catalogue of environmental music suited to a wide variety of moods and atmospheres… Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting” [added emphasis is my own].
Yet pinpointing what the genre sounds like today (and much less what makes it interesting) is difficult. To understand why, we must embark on a brief overview of the genre’s history.
It is hard to underestimate the impact of analog synthesizers on modern music's evolution. While musical composition prior to this was limited to those with a working knowledge of some instrument, during the 1970s and 1980s, when synthesizers proliferated through the market, suddenly anyone could operate the machine and create limitless soundscapes from the comfort of their home.
Listening to Ambient 1: Music for Airports makes this shift clear. Subdued and beautifully poignant, the album carries an air of weightlessness that does not subtract from the present moment. The four tracks featured on the album, each standing between around ten and twenty minutes in length, feature looping airy piano chords and serene choir harmonies that, when put together, create dreamy soundscapes that lack any discernible melody or rhythm.
When asked about his inspiration behind this new approach to music, Eno cited the incongruence he often witnessed between music and the public spaces in which it was played—especially airports. He recalls one such instance, during which “The light was beautiful, everything was beautiful, except they were playing awful music. And I thought, there’s something completely wrong that people don’t think about the music that goes into situations like this. They spend hundreds of millions of pounds on the architecture, on everything. Except the music.”
Yet the scope of what ambient music includes goes beyond the stratospheric swirls of melodic ambience that had come to define the genre in the 1970s. The introduction of the synthesizer also gave rise to the development of electronic dance music (or EDM) In the 1990s. Artists in this genre reworked the features that characterized many ambient tracks at the time, including textured melodic harmonies looped together, to create entirely new sub-genres of ambient music. Ambient techno, ambient house, or IDM (intelligent dance music—a term I use with caution as many artists look down on the term for its condescending tone) transcended the ambivalence central to ambient music of the 1970s by featuring clear basslines and rhythms.
Since then, a plethora of sub-genres and sub-sub-genres of ambient music have evolved, making the category all the more elusive and hard to pinpoint. Perhaps it is easier to identify based on what it represents—mindfulness, peacefulness, and a commitment to being content in the present moment—rather than the peculiarities of what it may sound like.
What is clear is that, in recent years, there has been a distinct resurgence of the genre’s popularity. Whether it be for studying, sleeping, or meditating, various music streaming platforms have created carefully curated ambient playlists versatile enough for any purpose. At the time of writing, a Spotify playlist titled “Ambient Relaxation” boasts an astounding 1.9 million likes. Platforms, including YouTube and Apple Music, also feature ambient playlists laden with the calming effects of ocean waves, rain sounds, and chirping birds, each with a significant following of their own, signalling the public’s infatuation with this sort of auditory retreat.
Performances at the recent Estonian Music Week, which spanned over the course of five days between Toronto and Hamilton, featured a number of talented ambient artists. The Electronica stage, which was co-produced with Wavelength Music, included performances by Liis Ring, L CON, and Kara-Lis Coverdale. Though each performance was unique, they were equally as engrossing—from Liis Ring’s combination of pre-recorded nature sounds and dreamy live vocals, to Kara-Lis Coverdale’s soothing otherworldly barrage of noise, it was easy to find refuge in their electronic symphonies of noise, connecting to both myself, the audience, and the performers. Ambient music is an art you can meditate on; it encourages reflection and stillness as you fall into harmony with yourself and the world around you. In this context—surrounded by ethereal art that adorned the venue illuminated only by the hazy, hypnotizing stage lights—I experienced a heightened (yet equally as tranquil) awareness of myself and my surroundings I can only describe as soul-stirring.
Yet what can explain the recent resurgence of ambient music’s popularity?
It has become increasingly difficult to practice genuine mindfulness and stillness in life when consumption and hyper-individualism offer the mere illusion of happiness. Whether it remains subconscious or not, people yearn for a connection to themselves and each other. Ambient music, through the lull of its dreamy, hypnotic soundscapes, encourages people to exist in harmony with themselves and the earth. This differs from pop music—a considerable amount of which has been commercialized through the production of mass-marketable, catchy melodies and rhythms. Ambient music, therefore, offers a venue of escape from the perils of commercialization and its association with the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Whatever the reason for ambient music’s popularity, it is undeniable that it is enjoyable in its own right.
Be sure to check out music from Liis Ring, Kara-Lis Coverdale, and L CON, available here on Spotify!
This article was written by Natalie Jenkins as part of the Local Journalism Initiative.
