Endless Music
The ambient aesthetic has always maintained a tenuous position within the modern musical discourse. While, on the one hand, its undying consonance and rhythmic conservatism render it largely inoffensive, its extensive repetition demands an intense level of patience – one that outspoken rock ‘n’ roll guitarist Ted Nugent famously lacked, as he reportedly made a $10 million dollar bid for the background music company Muzak, with the intent to erase all of its recordings. Of course, while ambient music may lack the melodic dynamism of rock ‘n’ roll – or even pop music – it has always possessed a level of textural complexity that invigorates some of its less vibrant compositional tendencies.
One of the genre’s primary architects, Brian Eno, perhaps best captured this seemingly paradoxical quality of ambient music, with his famous characterization of it as being, “as ignorable as it is interesting.” Indeed, ambient music – at its surface – might seem monotonous, as it lacks rhythmic momentum, eschews melodic movement and possesses little in the way of harmonic variance. Yet, when skillfully applied, these same minimalist characteristics allow the subtle variations that do occur to truly reverberate; as the composer carefully stacks ambient layers on top of one another, a delicately rich and “interesting” sonic landscape is eventually constructed.
As much as perhaps any other contemporary composer, Brian Eno has always embodied ambient music’s spirit and potential. While he has crossed over into other musical genres – even collaborating with the likes of U2 and Jon Hopkins – his music is almost always defined by its meditative atmospheres, colored by lush drones that sprawl on endlessly.
His newest work, Reflection, continues this trend. The full-length album consists of a single track, running at nearly fifty-four minutes long. Furthermore, in the true spirit of ambient music, the track offers very little in the way of melody, instead gently pounding the listener with a barrage of interminable synthesizer drones. These synths are, of course, automated to magnificent effect, as various panning and filtering effects cause them to swirl between the listener’s eardrums, providing a gentle aural massage in the process.
The subtle melodies that are very gradually introduced to us merely offer ethereal popping tones and chimes. Periodically, harsher, higher-pitched sounds emerge – most notably towards the 18, 29 and 42-minute marks. Yet these comparatively grating timbres exit the sonic field as abruptly as they enter, placing us back in the comfort of Eno’s firmly minimalist soundscape. Finally, towards the backend of the track, as more and more of the instrumental accompaniment is stripped, we are lulled into a hypnotic daze by the faint pulsing of synthesizer drones. Even inattentive listeners, who probably have little interest in straining their ears to pick up these tonal nuances, might find Reflection to be an effective means of smothering the worries of 2016. It is both soothing and long-lasting, allowing for nearly an hour of uninterrupted tranquility: perfect for studying and relaxation.
And for those owning an Apple device, plus a slightly deeper wallet, another edition of Eno’s newest work exists that algorithmically generates the music, which is accompanied by Peter Chilver’s similarly generative visual artwork. This rather ambitious project realized Eno’s desire, “to make an endless music, music that would be there as long as you wanted it to be.” Many YouTube channels have attempted a similar feat by looping ambient pieces for hours at a time, allowing listeners to listen to a single work without having to adapt to a tonal realignment every five or so minutes. Well, Eno has furthered this idea, so that listeners can now conceivably study to one piece of music for hours – even days – without it ever truly repeating itself. In doing so, Eno has both crafted a work that both fulfills his dream for an endless music as well as sound pioneer John Cage’s dream for an indeterminate one.
While ambient and new age music may not have the same mainstream appeal that it once did back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, Eno’s Reflection is proof that the genre has retained the magical allure that has kept weary-eared listeners enthralled all these years.
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