The text below is included in the booklet in the front of the CD box, except for the text in blue, which is additional material only available on this website.
Acoustic guitar music with a difference...
Slowspace — Beatless, atmospheric, immersive
ambient soundscapes for relaxation or contemplation
Let's start by clearing up any confusion between new age, ambient and beatless ambient music. New age music is usually gentle, beautiful and uplifting, with delicate instrumentation, sometimes including peaceful singing, often using melodies based on major chords, and is generally intended to be used during meditation, yoga, massage therapy, for "channelling spiritual energy", developing an increasingly optimistic outlook on life, obtaining "inner healing", and so on.
Ambient is a rather general term these days, often referring to downtempo chillout dance music, and including a myriad of sub-genres such as dub, groove, classic, house, psybient, tribal, noise, etc. Beatless ambient is a very specific sub-genre, and its purpose is to "open a space for thought", as one artist described it. Usually the sounds have a musical basis, but the distinguishing feature is the total absence of any kind of rhythm (percussion or melody). Instead, overlapping layers of sustained notes or chords are often used, which gradually swell and subside over time. This effect can either be created artificially using a synthesiser or computer software, or naturally, in an enclosed space with a long reverberation time.*
Any musical instrument can be used as the sound source – traditional or modern, acoustic or electronic. If any form of melody is present in the music, it's always slow and unobtrusive, with no regular tempo. Chords don't usually progress in a traditional sense (eg. C, Am, F, G7), but tend to explore variations on a single chord (eg. Am, Asus2, Am7, Amadd9). Layers of non-musical atmospheric effects are often added to the musical foundation, creating an extra dimension to the sound. The overall result tends to be very spacious and immersive, with a wide stereo spread surrounding the listener, and the absence of rhythm allows the listener to focus instead on the subtle textures and variations in the sound.
The complexity and structure of beatless ambient music is not always initially discernible, due to the apparent simplicity of the sound and its slow rate of progression, and listening to it requires a different approach from listening to mainstream music. It's sometimes inspired by a natural environment or phenomenon (eg. clouds, the sea, aurora borealis, the seasons, rainforests, etc), but at other times it's quite abstract, with no obvious inspiration, and listeners are invited to find their own interpretations.
You may have already heard some beatless ambient music without realising it, in movies or on TV, where it's sometimes used to create specific emotional atmospheres. But you may not know that there are hundreds of artists, both professional and amateur, who create entire beatless ambient albums. These are usually only available by mail order from specialist music stores, which explains why you probably haven't seen any in your local CD shops.
Unfortunately, some people just don't "get" this kind of music. I once read a review written by a music critic who had assumed that it was merely background music, and had reviewed a beatless ambient album while doing activities such as cooking and washing up. Understandably, he found the album boring, gave it a bad review, and probably never listened to it again. Sadly, he completely missed the whole point.
This album was inspired by the music of some great ambient artists (see the next page for a few recommendations). I'm particularly fascinated by the work of artists such as Mathias Grassow, who specialises in drone-based ambient music. He finds inspiration in various types of ancient tribal music (consisting of droning wind instruments and chanting), which he believes can have a "profound effect" on the listener's state of thought. He has released a formidable number of albums over a period of about twenty years, and the drones he has created for tracks such as Mondseele (on his 1998 album Himavat) are quite awesome in their power and beauty.
* There is a two-million-gallon disused water cistern in Fort Worden, Washington, often referred to as "The Cistern Chapel", with an extraordinary reverberation time of 45 seconds, which has been used by many innovative musicians, such as Stuart Dempster.
Here are a few albums worth checking out, in three different styles of beatless ambient music. First, some lush, richly-detailed soundscapes – highly recommended:
(In case you're wondering, there isn't a printing error in the cover of Darkest Before Dawn – it really is completely black! The album itself is a wonderful 74-minute piece of smooth, deep, vast ambience which received fantastic reviews.)
Fans of fantasy artwork will enjoy many ambient album covers. My two favourites are:
Beatless ambient music is certainly not a mainstream genre, hence its absence from most high street music shops. Nevertheless, the demand for such music clearly exists. For example, the Hypnos online ambient-music store (www.hypnos.com) stocks over 800 albums, and the store's online forum is very active. A comprehensive "wiki" is currently under construction, and the website as a whole is well worth checking out.
Although listening to beatless ambient music can be quite a solitary activity, it is no more so than reading an absorbing novel, and for those with a vivid imagination and an open mind, it provides a wonderful opportunity for escapism and contemplation. Its rhythmless nature often gives it dreamlike qualities, and if listened to at night, it can create a great atmosphere in which to fall asleep.
Some people have difficulty understanding the purpose of drones in music. My belief is that beatless ambient music uses drones to create particular moods or environments, and these can require several minutes to become fully established. The drone can be simple or complex, completely monotonous throughout or gradually evolving over time. The listener's awareness of the drone progresses from the conscious to the subconscious, until the drone becomes part of the background, almost a state of thought rather than a sound. Detailed sonic textures can then be explored in the foreground, and the listener's awareness and perception of these is enhanced due to the aural environment already established by the drone. Since this is a new kind of experience for many people, they often react to it with feelings of boredom or disinterest until they understand it more deeply. An excellent example is the album Mercurius by Mathias Grassow and Klaus Wiese. An MP3 sample is available here from this page, and although not particularly long or high quality, it should hopefully help to illustrate the principle.
There are many different styles of beatless ambient music, of which this album represents only a small proportion. For more information, including hundreds of links to audio samples of other albums, please visit:
This website is the source for Slowspace music and news, and free downloads of unreleased and experimental tracks are available.
To fully appreciate The Eternal Realm, you need to listen to it (uninterrupted) for a reasonably long period of time (ie. not just five or ten minutes). You'll probably find that it's better experienced in the evening or at night, rather than during the day. Dim the lights, lie back, and most importantly, close your eyes*. Experiment with different volume levels to find one which is comfortable, reasonably loud but not overwhelming. You shouldn't try to actively 'listen' to the music – just relax and let it wash over your thoughts. You can use the album story on the back of this booklet as a guide for your listening experience, or allow your imagination to create its own interpretations.
* Steve Roach's online ambient music store sells a special blindfold called The Mindfold, which doesn't press on your eyelids, and therefore allows you to experience "total darkness with your eyes wide open". Although this darkness is the same as when you close your eyes, the fact that your eyes are actually open (but not receiving any visual input) helps your mind create more vivid mental images while listening to ambient music.
The recommendation on the back of this booklet is important, because it will greatly affect your enjoyment of this album: use good-quality headphones. The worst possible option is to use a small hi-fi with speakers close together, since this will produce very little stereo surround. Only by using headphones (or maybe widely-separated speakers) can you fully experience all the subtle details in the immersive stereo space.
I've tried to adjust the sound equalisation so that the album sounds 'balanced' on most headphones and speakers. However, if you find that the album sounds rather dull or boomy on your sound system, you may need to adjust your bass/mid/treble controls or EQ settings. It's worthwhile experimenting with these anyway, since they can have a significant effect on the album's sound. (As a simple test, Echoes in the Deep should have rich bass and crisp treble, with a moderate amount of mid-range.)
No synthesisers or electronic instruments were used in the creation of this album. All tracks were created using an acoustic guitar, heavily processed using various software filters (reverb, binaural, compander, pitchshift, etc). In addition, Echoes in the Deep and Airborne use some reverberated tapping of household objects, and An Enchanted Ocean contains processed field recordings of marine life and seawash.
I hope you will enjoy discovering the fascinating yet little-known genre of beatless ambient music, and be inspired to explore a few of the many other albums out there.
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