20th Century Ambient

Genre: A 33⅓ Series #13

by Dusty Henry

Bloomsbury presents 20th Century Ambient by Dusty Henry, read by Sam Rushton.

Through text and comics, 20th Century Ambient searches through ambient music’s recent history to unearth how the genre has evolved and the role it plays in our daily lives.

Ambient music is a part of our daily lives, whether we all realize it or not. It’s the undercurrent in some of our favorite songs. It’s the mood-setting background music in our favorite movies and video games. We hear it in the placid music pumped through the speakers in department stores, on critically acclaimed albums from generational talents, and in synthesizer drones from the depths of Soundcloud. It’s present in the peaceful sounds of spa music, new-age chants, and wellness resources like the Calm app that purport ambient’s healing properties. You can find it on those strange, anonymous instrumental nature albums you can buy at Bed Bath & Beyond. It shows up in genres ranging from electronic and rock music to jazz and lo-fi beats. Ambient is everywhere.

20th Century Ambient details a crucial period in which ambient music became a fully realized idea and is secretly one of the most popular genres in the world. Ambient has existed debatably as long as music itself. It wasn’t until the 20th century that it became a defined genre. This book walks through ambient’s ambiguous timeline to uncover not just the genre’s evolution but to understand why it resonates so deeply with the human spirit. From Erik Satie’s classical compositions, hidden histories in blues and dub music, innovations by Brian Eno and Alice Coltrane, all the way through modern artists spearheading ambient in the still early 21st century.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

Audible Audio

First published November 13, 2025

About the author

Dusty is a writer, producer, and editor based in Seattle. He leads editorial at KEXP and co-creates stories about music and culture. His work has appeared in Stereogum, NPR Music, and Consequence of Sound. He also writes the newsletter Another Thought.

Reviews

[Thom]

An excellent introduction to the ‘genre’, though as the book makes clear ambient isn’t really a genre, but a feeling or approach to a broad swathe of music. The format of the 33 1/3 series limits discussion to a pocketbook size, so we are move through history like skipping stones, touching in on several luminaries (including lovely discussions with Laraaji and Suzanne Ciani). If you’re a devotee to ambient you will likely find the book to be surficial without many new insights, but I think it’s a great gateway and Henry’s voice (and cartoons! What a lovely surprise) are a welcome friend to guide you along the way. Throughout you can feel his own frustration at trying to distill many disparate movements and fascinating personae’s into one small book. I’d love to see him work on a more substantial work on the subject, but will continue to enjoy his ongoing Another Thought newsletter.

[Ted]

Perfectly fine, short read about a subject I know a lot about from collecting and other books. But it does contain interviews with Laraaji and Suzanne Ciani, along with one of the few places to describe the creation of the Laraaji/Eno "Day of Radiance" album. It also led me to explore more Kankyou Ongaku genre albums. OTOH some sections are too short--Sakamoto and Hosono of YMO get mentioned but winds up just briefly mentioning their ambient albums. I'm not sure how this would work as a primer for the uninitiated...obvs Eno is the place to start, but Laraaji, as much as I like his music, would be an odd follow-up choice, compared to say Harold Budd, who does get a chapter. Henry grapples with what is and what isn't ambient in this genre discussion. Does he offer a clear definition? Not really. (He doesn't really say what *isn't* ambient.) I would have liked to have heard a confident statement even if I didn't agree with it.

[Peter]

A really great primer for anyone interested in ambient music. The author provides a great overview of the history. Linking Satie and Debussy's inspiration from Gamelan, to Pauline Oliveros' deep listening practice, to Harold Budd's eternally beautiful music (and Eno of course). Interviews with Laraaji and Suzanne Ciani provide insight into the New Age movement's ties to the ambient genre. Really appreciated the chapter on Kankyō Ongaku. The author's voice is very present which gives this overview a lovely personalized touch. Check out his newsletter Another Thought for similar musings.