New Age music: Encyclopedia - New Age music

New Age music

New Age music - Influences

Influences reach from meditation music to classical music, world music, ethnic music. ambient music and also prog-rock and Krautrock. However, the musical structures can be understood in relation to many other forms of music that are taken much more seriously. Most New Age music falls under the category of the repetitive or the static which can resemble trance music.

There is the Indian influenced minimalism of Terry Riley, Tony Conrad, LaMonte Young which utilized drones beginning in the early 1960s, and also the music of Ghana (West African) derived tonal minimalism of Steve Reich which has shaped New Age music. However, a more apt direct connection is with the less formal and more popularized take of Brian Eno. Also connected to the creation of New Age music is the resurgence of interest in Gregorian Chant during the 1960s.

Group and artists such as Popul Vuh, Tangerine Dream, Ashra, Vangelis, Iaso, Jean-Michel Jarre and Klaus Schulze are considered some of the most important creators of New Age Music.

New Age music - Themes

The large percentage of music described as New Age music is instrumental, and electronic, although vocal arrangements are also common. In many cases, very few acoustic instruments are used and high-quality samples are used instead. Enya, who won a Grammy for her new age music, sings in a variety of languages, including Latin and her native Gaelic, in many of her works. Medwyn Goodall, not as widely known, relies mainly on electronic keyboard effects, and includes acoustic guitar as well. Although more rock than new age in genre is the 1967 successful musical Hair with its opening song "Aquarius" which referred to the New Age astrological term Age of Aquarius. Arguably, New Age music has said to have started in the 1970s with the works of such free-form jazz groups recording on the ECM record label such as Oregon, the Paul Winter Group, and other pre-ambient bands; as well as ambient music performers such as Brian Eno and Ray Buttigieg. It is often claimed that Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" was the first new age album. Other Popular themes in New Age Music include Space and the Cosmos, Enviroment and Nature, Wellness in being, and Harmony with one's self and the world, Dreams or Dreaming and Journeys of the mind or spirit.

New Age music - Significance

Music labeled New Age often is intended to represent a vision of a better future, expresses an appreciation of goodness and beauty, even an anticipation, relevant to some event. Rarely does New Age music dwell on a problem with this world or its inhabitants and is generally apolitical; instead it offers a peaceful vision of a better world. Since most of the music is instrumental, rather than vocal, these interpretations are often left to the listener's imagination. Often the music is celestial themed when referring to the titles of New Age albums.

Ennio Morricone wrote the entire score for the movie Mission to Mars, and while the credits flash the song All the Friends is played in a New Age orchestral style. In addition to the name "New Age", some composers and listeners refer to the music as "Space music". An interesting connection to make here is with other composers interested in metaphors of space, but with contrasting aesthetics such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, Sun Ra, and even Parliament/Funkadelic. In all cases, notions of space are related to salvation in one way or another.

The titles of New Age music are often illuminating, because the words used by the artists attempt to convey their version of truth, in a few short words. On listening to the music, one may understand the idea within the title. Examples of titles: Bond of Union, Sweet Wilderness, Shepherd Moons, Animus Anima.

One of the biggest misconceptions of New Age Music is that it only deals with a the New Age Movement, it's beliefs and related themes. In fact, this is not true. Only a small portion of New Age Music is associated with New Age as a movement or similar beliefs. New Age Music is often describe as music used to relax, contemplate, and enjoy.

A few examples of artists and record labels related to New Age music include: Tangerine Dream, Solomon Keal, Abandoned Toys, Vangelis, Jean-Michel Jarre, Constance Demby, Ashra, Steve Roach, Windham Hill Records, Real Music, Space For Music, New Albion, Narada, Innovative Communications, Cue Records, Neu Harmony, Private Music and Groove Unlimited.

See also

• Category:New Age music
• List of new age / new instrumental musicians
• Category:New Age albums
• World music

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "New Age music", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki