For all intents and purposes, the Orb created ambient house. The group’s atmospheric tracks were a welcome addition to the relentless intensity of the ’80s electronic scene. Though manifested in its ...

Emerging from the fertile crossroads between techno‑inspired house rhythms and the expansive sonic landscapes championed by pioneers of ambient music, Ambient House carved a distinct niche in the late ...

The music of The Orb plays like a dream. Vocals and samples float through the mix like phantasms. The songs feel like they could be hours or minutes long. The atmosphere they conjure is relaxing and ...

William Basinski’s “Melancholia II” sounds like what might happen if despair itself walked into a studio and someone pressed the record button. Little pops poke through its smeared dreariness, like a ...

Host Scott Detrow talks with Pitchfork editor Andy Cush about ambient music and the growth in popularity of marketing it as so-called mood music on streaming platforms. And finally today, to create a ...

Listen to Gas, Hiroshi Yoshimura and Lou Reed (yes, that Lou Reed). By Lindsay Zoladz For several reasons, I have found myself listening to a lot of ambient music this week — even more than usual, ...

Ambient music has been on the rise in the streaming era. But with royalty reform and the threat of AI-generated sounds, its future is still uncertain. By Kristin Robinson Senior Writer This analysis ...

I’m trying to focus on this record, Carter Thomas’ Sonoma—a mid-’80s UK pressing with a trilogy of early ’70s pieces, all done solely on Buchla and Serge equipment, all gorgeous. Deep, resonant ...

Brian Eno’s Music For Airports celebrates its 40th anniversary this month. This record is widely regarded as formalising ambient music as we know it today. To those of us used to the repetitious ...