About a decade ago, I stumbled into the world of ambient music. The entry point could’ve been finding David August’s 2014 Boiler Room set during my university days, hearing Deep Blue Day by Brian Eno for the first time, or the yoga music that used to play in the studio I frequented.
Ambient music to me was the antithesis of my typical taste at the time. I loved a good headboppable beat with a vocal track layered on top. Ambient music was the absence of all of that - a mix of synths, minimal note changes, no vocals. To a new listener, it would seem like a whole bunch of… nothing? But diving deeper, you quickly realize just how special and comforting it is.
Sounds in silence
Ambient music is described as “a genre that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody.” I like to think of it as meditative, dreamy soundscapes that are both ‘as ignorable as it is interesting' as famously said by Brian Eno.
There are a few notable names in this world of ambient soundscapes. Erik Satie, a French composer, first coined the term ‘furniture music’ or furnishing music, which described sounds that were played to create background atmosphere, rather than be the central entertainment. John Cage had his iconic 4:33 composition, which drew inspiration from Satie’s furniture music. The premise of 4:33 was that the musicians would not play their instruments throughout the piece - basically sit in silence. Rather, the ‘music’ would come from the sounds and noises of the crowd. As Cage puts it, “everything we do is music.”
Hearing this for the first time (or rather, not hearing it) was a complete trip for me. What particularly stuck out to me was the length of the piece. Four and a half minutes feels like a long time of silence in music. But perhaps that was the intention of the piece - encouraging us to really tune in and find the music.
Music as a friend
Another notable figure is Hiroshi Yoshimura. His 1986 album GREEN blended ambient soundscapes and nature sounds into one dreamy meditation. Yoshimura has one of the best explanations of ambient music I’ve read. He writes on his music that “its volume should not become a hindrance to a conversation, and should be placed in the same family of sounds as the vibration of footsteps, the hum of an air conditioner, or the clanging of a spoon inside a coffee cup…”
Embracing monotony
During the pandemic, my connection to art and music completely changed. In a time where I was craving comfort and connection, I found myself gravitating towards ambient sounds more and more. Being in the four walls of my city apartment meant that the days quickly started blending together. Ambient music became a space of comfort here. It helped fill those silent rooms with soft, meditative sounds, allowing me to tune in and embrace the monotony. It became a natural additional soundtrack to my space, adding gentle, sweet tones as the kettle boiled, the wind blew in the window, the TV hummed.
Brian Eno’s work, in particular, became my favourite companion. Eno is known as the person to officially coin the term ‘ambient music’, and is widely recognized for popularizing the genre. I often gravitate towards his 1983 album Apollo, particularly the tracks ‘Signals’, ‘Weightless’, and ‘An Ending (Ascent)’ during the morning hours.
Music for Airports
Eno’s album Music for Airports is typically my travel music. As I type this, I’m seated in a middle seat on an airplane with 2/1 playing in my ears. It creates space for me to observe and marvel at just how easy it is nowadays to jet off to anywhere in the world. It’s a magical feeling - how every person on this flight is on their own paths, their own travels, and in this very moment, we are all headed in the same direction, suspended in air and time. We experience collective emotions on this flight - exasperation when there’s a delay or smiles when a cute baby giggles and diffuses the tension. To me, ambient music has proven to be perfect for those sweet and not-so-sweet moments, and all the ones in between.
Curated playlists of my favourite ambient and ambient-adjacent tracks: