Ambient Music

Taking the Fripp & Eno experience a step further, Eno experimented with different sound sources and gradually stumbled upon the concept of Ambient music, which creates music that's designed to be listened to at almost inaudible levels, thereby intruding into one's life only occasionally.

Brian Eno Discreet Music

Brian Eno: Discreet Music

The story behind Ambient music is best told from the Discreet Music liner notes. As I seem to understand it, Ambient music isn't background music...it's music that exists in the background, perhaps as the background to daily life.

I remember thinking the concept was strange and slightly pretentious when I first heard about it back in early 1976...and it still doesn't sit well with me, being the antithesis of what I regard as pop music.

Nevertheless, from my almost completely ignorant perspective (educated only in that I purchased the album in 1976), I gather that Eno's first Ambient album, Discreet Music is music of happy accidents. Two harmonically compatible sound sources are looped, mutated slightly...and the resultant "music" is what you hear. However, you're not meant to "hear" it. It's just meant to co-exist almost subliminally with your daily life.

I accept the concept. So what's music that I don't listen to like? Well, surprisingly pleasant, actually...and I cheat, because I actually do listen to it!

Split into two halves:

Discreet Music &
Three Variations on the Canon in D Major by Johann Pachelbel

Discreet music is a really long drone (and I mean that in a nice way) in which there is an occasional change of note or a subtle piece of synthesizer is introduced creating something quite mesmerising over the half hour duration.

Three Variations on the Canon in D Major is a different beast altogether, sounding like the well-known Pachelbel's Canon...but not so, as well...and strange as it might sound for such a well-known soothing piece, a bit jarring in relation to Discreet Music.

This is music that you have to experience to understand, so head on over to Amazon and listen up, this is truly interesting stuff.

Brian Eno: Discreet Music

"...Mesmerising...An astounding, futuristic piece of work, Discreet Music...can be listened to whilst driving, gardening, reading or most importantly, for the simple pleasure of hearing it. An essential purchase for the open-minded..." Amazon reviewer Dave Lang

"...The first piece, Discreet Music, is a beautiful, pastoral bit of process music - two separate lines of soothing electronic woodwinds changing timbres and relations for a half hour. An excellent example of the "less is more" philosophy..." Amazon reviewer C. Gardner

"...The album is pure gold and a landmark in music history. Get it and find out why..." Amazon reviewer Sean M. Kelly

There is some debate as to whether Eno actually "discovered" Ambient Music because others in avant-garde circles may have been creating similar music blah, blah, blah but there's no doubt that Eno was the first one who brought it to market and Discreet Music is still considered to be a trail-blazer, thirty years later.