New-age music is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration , relaxation , and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga , massage , meditation , [1] reading as a method of stress management [2] to bring about a state of ecstasy rather than trance , [3] [4] or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is associated with environmentalism and New Age spirituality. New-age music includes both acoustic forms, featuring instruments such as flutes , piano , acoustic guitar and a wide variety of non-Western acoustic instruments , and electronic forms, frequently relying on sustained synth pads or long sequencer -based runs. Vocal arrangements were initially rare in the genre, but as it has evolved vocals have become more common, especially those featuring Native American -, Sanskrit -, or Tibetan -influenced chants, or lyrics based on mythology such as Celtic legends. There is no exact definition of new-age music. New-age music was influenced by a wide range of artists from a variety of genres. Tony Scott 's Music for Zen Meditation is considered to be the first new-age recording. New-age music is defined more by the use and effect or feeling it produces rather than the instruments and genre used in its creation; [10] it may be acoustic, electronic, or a mixture of both. New-age artists range from solo or ensemble performances using classical-music instruments ranging from the piano, acoustic guitar, flute or harp to electronic musical instruments , or from Eastern instruments such as the sitar , tabla , and tamboura.
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Contact General Enquiries: crack crackmagazine. Trends in music can often indicate cultural shifts; a zeitgeist-y reflection of our surrounding socio-political climates and anxieties. Far from being arbitrary patterns, a surge of interest in soothing, ambient sounds aligns with times of uncertainty.
Hiroshi Yoshimura
The maligned genre was once lampooned and derided as cheesy nonsense, but with an eager legion of younger fans it has been reborn for a new generation. W hen did new age music become cool? The mellow tones of new age were once the province of spas, wellness centers, yoga studios and hippie bookstores. These days, new age records — particularly the more rare LPs and cassettes released in the s and s — are a touchstone of cool. A wave of recent well-received reissues, coupled with a wave of younger musicians releasing brand new records in the genre, are keeping the flames of new age music alive. Some record stores are finding it hard to keep new age albums in stock. At Amoeba Records in Berkeley, California , a new generation of listeners are cleaning out the dusty new age bins. Musician Greg Davis, who founded the popular new age cassette blog Crystal Vibrations, says that the surge of interest in rare new age albums — many released on cassette tapes — was inevitable. It was easy to find that stuff and sample it and listen to it and see if you liked it, and people were checking it out. A recent Laraaji show in Brooklyn was packed with people in their 20s and 30s.
New-age music is broadly defined as relaxing, even "meditative", music that is primarily instrumental. Unlike relaxing forms of classical music, new-age music makes greater use of electronica and non-Western instrumentation. There is some debate on what can be considered "new-age music"; for example several musicians in Celtic music or Smooth jazz have expressed annoyance at being labeled "new-age musicians".
