20th Century Ambient

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.

Author: Dusty Henry
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Published: 11/13/2025
Pages: 200
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.52lbs
Size: 7.79h x 5.15w x 0.47d
ISBN: 9798765119334


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 09/29/2025

About the Author
Dusty Henry is a writer and editor based out of Seattle, Washington, USA. His work has appeared extensively at KEXP, a non-profit radio station and arts organization, where he oversees the station's editorial work. He is the co-host of the podcast The Cobain 50 and helped produce, script, and conceptualize the award-winning podcasts 50 Years of Hip Hop and Fresh off the Spaceship: The Story of the Black Constellation. His work has also appeared in Stereogum, NPR Music, and Consequence of Sound, as well as featured at the Pop Conference. He also writes the newsletter Another Thought.