why is ambient so popular now

luka

Well-known member
explain the resurgance of ambient drone etc
the internet is too broad/vague. be specific.
 

luka

Well-known member
my little sisters gone nuts for it over the last year and shes a very well adjusted human, down to earth, normal, not a freak.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
Outside of your little sister who else is into it?

The explanation, I would guess, is the internet.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
I wouldn't be surprised if this was the case tbh as music has BECOME AMBIENT, whether or not it was designed to be.

It's constantly accessible, and so constantly playing, in the background. Nobody sits down and listens to music without any distractions anymore.

What is wanted, most of the time, is a pleasant accompaniment to browsing social media.

I often read on the tube with music in my headphones, and I am constantly forced to stick on some ultra-agreeable classical music or ambient (Eno 'On Land') just so it doesn't distract me from reading.

OFFTOPIC but its similar to the situation with visual art, in which we're so overwhelmed with images these days that images that used to shock or inspire or overwhelm people now have to be stared at for a considerable length of time, perhaps with explanatory captions, in order to puncture our overstimulated senses. Imagery is ambient too.
 

luka

Well-known member
william basinski
grouper
stars of the lid
max richter
pauline oliveros


loads of stuff. insatiable appetite for it. came out the blue.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
What do you make of my half baked theory?

Here's another one:

It's a REFUGE from the madness of the ultra connected world. Unplug. Forget about Trump. Forget about Twitter. The feed.

LISTEN TO THIS LOOP FOR 30 MINUTES.

(SIDENOTE: growth of MINDFULNESS MEDITATION connected?)
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I thought the mid-90s was the Golden Age of ambient? Orb, Willy Orbit, Future Sound Of London, Aphex, Massive Attack, all of that.

Though I guess some of this vapourwave stuff is verging on ambient.
 

droid

Well-known member
Really depends how you define 'ambient'.

Dont think it ever went away though, its been a recurring theme in nearly every decade since the 50's and has broken through into the mainstream on several occasions.

If there's one factor that Id say is different now its the sheer number of producers and the massive amounts of music being released.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
Not to tie everything in with rap, but have you noticed these ambient textures are now everywhere in rap and R&B? Clams Casino, 40, the weeknd etc.

By ambient textures I mean reverb heavy, thick, nebulous, atmospheric...
 

droid

Well-known member
def escapism

Once again - it depends on your definition of ambient.

Look at the people in Luka's list. Basinski - deeply melancholic studies on decay, Richter & Stars of the Lid - defined narrative structures with periods of extreme intensity - they represent a strain within ambient that has very little to do with the traditional definition. Drone as a genre is characterised as much by its stark bleakness as anything else.

This is not the escapism of New Age, prog hippies like Fripp and Hillage, 90's chill out bliss or Eno's canonical period.
 

Leo

Well-known member
Dont think its held up too well.

"76:14" still sounds pretty great, actually.

and agree with craner, winter months when the windows are closed is the time for "ambient". once the warm weather comes and the windows open, i can't hear those drones and bleeps/bloops over the outside traffic.
 
Top