A Brief History of Ambient Music

Ambient music in its true and modern form has only been around for a short time, but its psychological origins arguably date back to prehistory, as it could be argued that elements of the genre exist in nearly all types of music. Though not a formal genre until its coining by Brian Eno, the roots of Ambient music as we know it today stretch back to the era of classical compositions. The man generally credited with starting the chain of the phenomenon was known as Erik Satie.

Erik Satie: (image taken from http://www.satie-archives.com/)

Satie is not considered a musician in the general sense. Rather, he is remembered as an artist and experimenter with sound. Having lived a less than glamorous life, from his rejection from formal schools of music to his inability at times to make ends meet, his taste in music was warped to the point where it was on a level unto itself.¹ When it comes to how he kick-started the concepts behind Ambient music, most will refer to his compositions, starting in 1917, known as his Furniture Music.²

One of the Furniture Music movements

Pieces like the one above were meant to be played by a live orchestra in public settings in order to enhance the mood of that particular area. As such, they are not tremendously complex, and tend to loop for a good while. Thus, they are not good for focusing on, but that was never the point, since the music was simply there to add a backdrop to a particular setting. For this reason, these pieces are seen as precursors to the ideas later developed by Eno and others in terms of how Ambient music should be perceived.

However, this notion seems a bit simplistic for me, as there is more to Ambient music than simply being out of the focus of attention. Another composition exists from Satie though, that, (at least to me), is more important to the founding principles of the genre, and came much earlier.

Vexations: One of the earliest examples of music with truly ambient themes.

Vexations Sheet Music: (image taken from http://www.satie-archives.com/web/articl11.html)

This particular composition was written in 1893, but was not publicly known until after Satie's death in 1925. What we get from this piece is not so much a song, but rather, an envelope of emotion. Satie wrote on his original sheet of the piece to the performer that,

“To play this motif 840 times in succession, it would be advisable to prepare oneself beforehand, in the deepest silence, by serious immobilities.”

Some performers, like John Cage (who we will get to later) have taken this to heart, and have made public performances of this song, playing it 840 times in succession². The primary vibe you might get from this composition, (and perhaps one you have already guessed from the implication of repeating this 840 times) is that of boredom. However, rather than simply being boring due to incompetence, the composition seems to define the emotional state instead. The idea that it implies boredom, however, is not the main reason I bring this song up. Vexations is important because it is a song that, while it does not vie to be focused on, hums in the background, and encompasses its listener in an emotional setting. For that reason, I have declared it as the earliest truly ambient song that I know of.

Despite the influence that Satie's music had on various artists and listeners, his works were not very well known, as he was more or less a social outcast. In fact, the vast majority of his published works, (and his fame, for that matter), did not arise until long after his death.¹ The person primarily responsible for Satie's rise in historical importance is the renowned musician John Cage, who made public many of Satie's lost works.

John Cage: image taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_Cage_Laugh.png

John Cage is one of the most influential composers of the 20^th century. His take on music was so vastly different from his contemporaries, it shook the very foundations of the medium. As a prime example, we look at his most (in)famous composition, 4'33”.

Essentially, it's a three-part track of silence. At first, you might wonder how something like this was ever even accepted as art, let alone stand as one of the most famous compositions of the 20^th century. You might think that this song was simply a jab from Cage, stating that anything could be made to be art, if you add enough pretentious and obfuscating explanations behind it, and you might be right. However, the consensus that many critics seem to come to after hearing this particular performance is that when someone performs 4'33”, they are not actually performing. Rather, it is the audience, the theater, and the world outside that becomes the performance.³ For this reason, 4'33” stands as the last universal common ancestor of all true ambient music. It doesn't have a focus on any front stage or spotlight, rather, the focus is on atmosphere, on the surroundings. It teaches us that anything can be considered music, and as such, the universe is an orchestra.

Brian Eno: image taken from http://en.wikipedia./wiki/File:Brian_Eno_Profile_Long_Now_Foundation_2006.jpg

Now we come at last to Brian Eno. Eno is the true definition of a musician. Apart from his two predecessors, (perhaps not even), he is the most influential musician, at least in the field of electronic music. Having studied and respecting the works of Erik Satie, among other minimalist artists, and being inspired by the works of Cage, releasing several of his compositions on his own labels, he is generally regarded as the father of Ambient music.⁴ His early works were not at all what one would call ambient, but elements of the genre became increasingly robust as he continued to make releases and solidify the genre's concept. Eventually, it culminated in the first real ambient album, Ambient 1: Music for Airports. 

Ambient 1 Cover: image taken from http:https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim0K8A1vTICai_ZHUcIXyf9ROgpyjcXQc8hy8yls1sW4aiAco-GJum3j9fvz2zTKG4S_DsGUUXxMDpGTrI-MllewUDCgTzzsNolUq1mTIzW4hB1NIksaWiJqsTm6Ty5abBYfJ7T_sPxhk/s1600/Brian+Eno+Ambient+1+Music+For+Airports.jpg

If one were to read the notes included with the release, they would find Eno's formal definition of the genre:

“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.”⁵

Although I have practiced making Ambient music for years, I didn't pay this particular album much interest at first. It simply felt like a half-baked composition, lacking any complexity. Now, I herald it as one of the greatest examples of the genre, for a couple reasons. Firstly, it does a tremendous job of filling in your surroundings, and essentially taking you to a very different setting. Secondly, it functions incredibly well as a calm-inducing sound-scape. Finally, it is wrought with emotion, to the point where it can send you into a euphoric trance if you are in that persuasive state.

Because of this, it was revolutionary, and started the genre in a single sweep. No true fan of Ambient music doesn't at least know of this release. From here, it blossomed into the multitude of artists and listeners who make up the modern Ambient scene.

That about sums it up. The rest, as they say, is history.

1“The homepage of the French composer ERIK SATIE” Last modified on Sunday, January 23, 2011 5:16:07 AM

http://www.satie-archives.com/web/satie.html

2Wikipedia: “Furniture Music” Accessed on Monday, February 20, 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furniture_music

3“John Cage and the Avant-Garde: The Sounds of Silence:” Last modified on Sunday, April 02, 2000 3:25:58 PM. http://www.classicalnotes.net/columns/silence.html

4Wikipedia: “Brian Eno” Accessed on Wednesday, February 22, 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Eno

5“Music for Airports liner notes” Accessed on Wednesday, February 22, 2012 http://music.hyperreal.org/artists/brian_eno/MFA-txt.html