In 1978, Brian Eno released an album of music titled Ambient 1: Music for Airports. It got little attention at the time, and many of those that listened to it were put off by the lack of any songs or melodies, and because the music didn’t seem to go anywhere.

In 1978, most people were listening to disco. The Village people had a hit with “YMCA” and Donna Summer with “Last Dance”. The disco era was in full bloom, and fringe hits were things like Jimmy Buffet’s “Cheeseburger in Paradise”, or “Werewolves of London”, by Warren Zevon.

Against this backdrop, Eno’s quiet, meditative Music for Airports came out. Music for Airports is a sound sculpture, designed to be ignored as much as listened to. It has  no easily discernable rhythm, and no hummable melodies. Yet 25 years later, ambient music has grown to be a busy category of music, and countless musicians name Eno and his ambient music as an inspiration.

Ambient 1 is simply one of the most important pieces of electronic music ever created. Music for Airports created a new genre, ambient music, that has grown to be a popular and influential style.

What is Ambient Music?

Eno places ambient music as an alternative to Muzak. Eno felt that Muzak had created music that was so lightweight and derivative that it had effectively eliminated environmental music as a subject for composer’s attention, or for that of serious listeners. His use of the term “ambient music” was to create a distinction between his music and the canned background music that was available at the time.

Most importantly, Eno wanted to make music that would support reflection and space to think. Eno did this by creating music that was beautiful, but did not have a center of focus to demand your attention. In his liner notes, Eno puts it this way: “Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting.”

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