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Ambient Music
- Thread starter Kundi
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Could someone please explain to me exactly what ambient music is? Thank you!
gratefulshrink
Headphoneus Supremus
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Could someone please explain to me exactly what ambient music is? Thank you!
http://music.hyperreal.org/artists/brian_eno/MFA-txt.html
These are the liner notes from the initial American release of Brian Eno's "Music for Airports / Ambient 1", PVC 7908 (AMB 001)
AMBIENT MUSIC
The concept of music designed specifically as a background feature in the environment was pioneered by Muzak Inc. in the fifties, and has since come to be known generically by the term Muzak. The connotations that this term carries are those particularly associated with the kind of material that Muzak Inc. produces - familiar tunes arranged and orchestrated in a lightweight and derivative manner. Understandably, this has led most discerning listeners (and most composers) to dismiss entirely the concept of environmental music as an idea worthy of attention.
Over the past three years, I have become interested in the use of music as ambience, and have come to believe that it is possible to produce material that can be used thus without being in any way compromised. To create a distinction between my own experiments in this area and the products of the various purveyors of canned music, I have begun using the term Ambient Music.
An ambience is defined as an atmosphere, or a surrounding influence: a tint. 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.
Whereas the extant canned music companies proceed from the basis of regularizing environments by blanketing their acoustic and atmospheric idiosyncracies, Ambient Music is intended to enhance these. Whereas conventional background music is produced by stripping away all sense of doubt and uncertainty (and thus all genuine interest) from the music, Ambient Music retains these qualities. And whereas their intention is to `brighten' the environment by adding stimulus to it (thus supposedly alleviating the tedium of routine tasks and levelling out the natural ups and downs of the body rhythms) Ambient Music is intended to induce calm and a space to think.
Ambient Music must be able to accomodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting.
BRIAN ENO
September 1978
That was perfect, @gratefulshrink! Thank you!http://music.hyperreal.org/artists/brian_eno/MFA-txt.html
These are the liner notes from the initial American release of Brian Eno's "Music for Airports / Ambient 1", PVC 7908 (AMB 001)
AMBIENT MUSIC
The concept of music designed specifically as a background feature in the environment was pioneered by Muzak Inc. in the fifties, and has since come to be known generically by the term Muzak. The connotations that this term carries are those particularly associated with the kind of material that Muzak Inc. produces - familiar tunes arranged and orchestrated in a lightweight and derivative manner. Understandably, this has led most discerning listeners (and most composers) to dismiss entirely the concept of environmental music as an idea worthy of attention.
Over the past three years, I have become interested in the use of music as ambience, and have come to believe that it is possible to produce material that can be used thus without being in any way compromised. To create a distinction between my own experiments in this area and the products of the various purveyors of canned music, I have begun using the term Ambient Music.
An ambience is defined as an atmosphere, or a surrounding influence: a tint. 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.
Whereas the extant canned music companies proceed from the basis of regularizing environments by blanketing their acoustic and atmospheric idiosyncracies, Ambient Music is intended to enhance these. Whereas conventional background music is produced by stripping away all sense of doubt and uncertainty (and thus all genuine interest) from the music, Ambient Music retains these qualities. And whereas their intention is to `brighten' the environment by adding stimulus to it (thus supposedly alleviating the tedium of routine tasks and levelling out the natural ups and downs of the body rhythms) Ambient Music is intended to induce calm and a space to think.
Ambient Music must be able to accomodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting.
BRIAN ENO
September 1978
@serman005
The following two albums by Brian Eno are typically recommended to those venturing into ambient music for the first time. I highly recommend you give them a thoughtful listen to when you are completely relaxed and have the time as you need to repeat a few times to capture what is being presented.
The following two albums by Brian Eno are typically recommended to those venturing into ambient music for the first time. I highly recommend you give them a thoughtful listen to when you are completely relaxed and have the time as you need to repeat a few times to capture what is being presented.
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Passenger11
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Sound artist William Basinski.
"The Disintegration Loops" I - IV.
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Passenger11
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armink
Head-Fier
Selected Ambient Works 85-92 is good.
Like, really ****ing good.
It was WAY ahead of its time.
Everyone should have this.
Like, really ****ing good.
It was WAY ahead of its time.
Everyone should have this.
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stray1000
New Head-Fier
MONO has a lot of really chill instrumental/ambient music.
Passenger11
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Passenger11
Headphoneus Supremus
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Kundi
1000+ Head-Fier
The label DRONARIVM has a sale on now for 30% off all their releases. Some good stuff to be heard!
Passenger11
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