Where is the music taking us?
ambient elements in Black music [part 1 kinda]
As a youngster, too young honestly, I’d watch Love & Basketball (2000) on repeat. The coming of age romantic drama would arrive in its last ten or so minutes and I’d prepare myself to hear my favorite song from the soundtrack. As Monica “played for Quincy’s heart” in a one-on-one game of basketball and she began to lose her lead, a soft deep voice swept in singing. I remember… The cellos swelled and cried, while the pairs' game became more intense. There’s always been an atmospheric feel to the instrumentation of this moment, which doesn’t take you out of the scene, but rather makes you feel Monica’s predicament even more. She was losing his heart and being made a fool of!
All these years I would have never considered MeShell Ndegeocello’s “Fool of Me” having “ambient elements” until recently. I can now say that it is my earliest memory of a Black artist making music that really took me into a world of heartbreak, which I knew nothing about. An artist’s voice paired with some instrumentation can do that to you.
Digging deeper into MeShell’s catalogue, beyond and before Bitter (1999), listeners will find more albums that fully incorporate not only ambient, but folk, funk, hip-hop, rock, and much more. There is really no way to staunchly categorize MeShell’s musical flavor and that’s something I’ve noticed among Black musicians who also have a toe or foot in ambient music elements.
When delineating what ambient (genre) can or cannot include, the personal doesn’t tend to be recognized by some artists. What I mean is that there tends to be a separation, a fleeing from feeling in some of the music. Depending on the artist, the use of the human voice is deemphasized. However, Black artists regularly bring their voice to the space as a way to express and explore intimacy of place, of memories.
Minnie Ripperton on “Close Your Eyes and Remember” almost reads as a guided meditation. You’re in nature recalling a time of sensational, new first love. There are strings, a harp glissando-ing away, and eventually a full blown symphony orchestra emerges. Minnie and her background singer’s vocals are reminiscent of echo and reverb production techniques. What a hit y’all!
Related, Black people are not often, if ever, recognized as contributors to ambient music creation, although there is a long history of Black folks in experimental music spaces across a plethora of genres. By no means, do Black musicians have to claim or “reclaim” this genre though. There is no need. I’ve found myself curious about the connections between the musical characteristics across genres. Maybe we can chat about genre essentialism one of these days.1 With that, this led me to some questions: what the hell is ambient music? And what exactly can it encompass?
In 1978, Ambient music as a genre was coined in writing by Brian Eno. He defined it within the liner notes for his album Music for Airports. Eno stated, “Ambient Music is intended to induce calm and a space to think.” Basically, Eno wanted to create music that was useful for supporting a variety of atmospheres and spaces. Further he shared:
Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting
Today, what is labeled as ambient has exploded beyond something Eno himself imagined. However, what was more interesting to me is his journey towards actually making ambient music. In an interview with Riz Khan, Khan explains how Eno was hit by a car. While bedridden in the hospital, a friend of his put on a record loud enough to hear, but not loud enough to drown out the surrounding environment (e.g. rain). Eno decided to give in to this way of listening and felt inspired by this experience. His vulnerability, pain, and ability to listen beyond what was immediately drawing his attention led to him creating his music.
I wonder what leads other people into ambient music elements and why? How does space and place influence how Black musicians approach utilizing ambient elements? I don’t have any of these answers yet, so I’m just throwing out questions for now.
Music For Airports Liner Notes
Musically and sonically ambient is characterized by drones (long sustained sounds/notes), use of reverb, delay, echo (check out my instagram page for examples of this!); repetition of melodic lines, sometimes a lack of melodic lines, and other sound elements that make the production of a piece feel like it could exist in various settings and/or induce a space to think… or maybe think a little less. Some ambient music includes vocals, some doesn’t. Stereotypical ambient music is not thought to include vocals. Writer, Jon Dale, shared that ambient
In some ways, ambient now is the genre-less genre: it has expanded to absorb electronica, minimalism, contemporary classical, various mutant strains of dance music, post-rock, shoegaze, and more beyond.
This “genre” often draws upon our natural environment and experimental music practices. If we want to touch on instruments, yes, synthesizers and other forms of music technology are mainstay. The harp is a very prominent feature in my experience. Stringed instruments have this ability to be used in non-traditional ways to create unique sounds. Then “found materials” and sounds can become useful music making tools (e.g. the sound of a can being kicked down a paved street, the sound of children’s laughter). There’s more to highlight historically so I would recommend checking out Vincent Szabo’s “Why Is(n’t) Ambient So White?” if you’re interested.2
Ambient music elements can be a place-making tool too. Composers take listeners and themselves alike to places not yet seen or heard. Ambient elements existed far before the writing and creation of it as a named or marketable genre (all respect to Eno).3 When considering the origins of building ambience, with regard to Black musicians, spiritual jazz players immediately capture my ear: Alice and John Coltrane, Lonnie Liston Smith, Pharoah Sanders, Sun Ra. The worshippers in the Gospel music space come to mind. Funk artists who bent time and notes to share their energy. I consider the soulful voice of Curtis Mayfield who would lean into non-traditional song/lyrical structures convey the seriousness of our sociopolitical conditions on for example a “(Don’t Worry) If There Is Hell Below, We’re All Going to Go.”
Dub music!! House, Kwaito, + other dance music artists; both the divas who raised their boisterous voices and the people who remixed their voices. I hear the folk song of Odetta and blues of Bessie Smith. Sound Artists prominent influence color how ambient elements are heard in Black artists: @trusound and @forthefuture.family on instagram would share some really great Black sound artists. I’ll attach a document that they made which introduces what “sound art” is.
Make no mistake though, there are specific Black folks in the ambient genre that contributed greatly during its development; all while crossing over into other musical heritages. Beverly Glenn-Copeland and Laraaji are two trailblazers. Each are linked to “New Age” music and are both from Philly.
Beverly Glenn Copeland from his website
Glenn’s musical journey started in his youth as a child to a gifted piano player for a father, who would regularly perform some classical greats; Brahms, Bach, and Chopin. His mother, who also played piano, would sing spirituals to him. At the age of 16/17, he would move from Philly to Canada to attend McGill University to learn lieder (singing) performance (19th century European music). While in school and even before, he would engage with various forms of African drumming, Chinese music, bagpipes, and other non-Western music that would inform his artistry.
In a Red Bull Music Academy interview, he would share the sentiments I touch on here regarding the difficulty of genre categorization during the creation of his first album.
Well, all of a sudden, people decided that I was some kind of jazz singer, which I am not, but I just happen to be backed by jazz musicians, so it had a jazz feel to it. Nobody knew what to do with it, this album. They just kind of put it up on the shelf and went, “Whatever it is, you know? We don’t know what it is,” so they didn’t even have a category to put it in. In those days, categories were absolutely critical. If you weren’t in a category, you just existed out in space somewhere. 4
Despite these challenges, and others: being trans in a cishet world, being Black in a white supremacist world, Glenn would continue to release music that wasn’t neatly fitting into genres of the time. Truthfully, it still doesn’t in many ways.
When one listens to an Erzili, for example, folk music comes up for me, with its guitar riffs and emphasis on instrumentals in its 9+ minute run time. But, Glenn’s voice is almost like a wind that lifts you up in the first part of the song. When he returns in the second half the repeated lines “Thou has possessed me, I can dance upon the waters…” melt into a chant that becomes an invitation to dive into the active instrumentation. The drums are fast and I’d like to think that this particular song is encouraging action. While Glenn may not have intended for listeners to be moved in a certain way, the voices of all these instruments make me want to act, to move.
screenshot of Laraaji from “Bring The Sun” video
Laraaji’s ambient music creation begins with his collaboration with Brian Eno on Ambient 3: Day of Radiance. Since this debut, Laraaji released over 50 albums. Prior to his first album, he practiced a variety of instruments (most notably zither!) and studied composition + piano at Howard University. Over on OkayPlayer, John Morrison5 provides an amazing overview of the relationship between Black music and spirituality; how this connection influences Black folks making ambient music. Within this article, John notes Laraaji’s connection to the baptist church, but also how Laraaji's introduction into yoga meditation led to making ambient music.
I found my way into my own inner meditative experience around 1971 and ‘72, and was having experiences that clarified what I didn't understand about the Bible and Christianity. It also shifted my direction in music. [...] I noticed that music could be used to point to a transcendental realm that's bigger than a third and fourth dimension, and holding space for this transcendental realm became experimental and fun. My meditation experiences were things I couldn't really talk about. I would try to talk about it, but it didn't seem to communicate well as much as sound and music.
This intimate spiritual experience gave Laraaji a vision for sounds to share and, even more, he amplifies this impact through providing experiences for others to connect to their bodies + spirits through his music. Laughter meditations are Laraaji’s fun, grounding workshops that he hosts in person and virtually (He actually hosted one near where I am, but I missed it *sad face*). At these laughter meditation sessions, he guides participants through laughing. Yes. Laughing. He does this in very specific steps, while ambient sounds play in the background. He takes us through engaging different body parts: mouth (smile), throat, breastbone, heart, abdomen, and lungs. It is said that laughter is healthy for blood circulation and lowering cortisol in the body. The added layer of being around people laughing strengthens bonds between people. I love a good comedy club for this reason. Check out this if you want to learn more about the meditation: A guide to laughter meditation with Laraaji | Wallpaper
Again, the prominent use of voice in Black musicians tapping into ambient elements, is an element itself that can ground us back into ourselves, or take us elsewhere… or both simultaneously is worth note. As we all continue to move through this world, how much music we have that genuinely encourages us to engage with boldness? To see how we might contribute to helping one another. To feel what it is like to be cognizant of someone else’s experience and be compelled to help one another. Ambient elements and an artist committed to a practice of engaging listeners with specificity + intention, can elicit all of this.
How can music guide us through the phases of dysregulation in our daily lives? Our current society is derived from and built through anti-Blackness. We see and feel this killing people and environments.6 While this music doesn’t always contend with race + the environment, I guess I am wondering who we can all become with music that helps us come home to ourselves and one another. What happens when we witness others do the same?
A note- Other artists I hope to consider as a future part of this series: Kelela, Moses Sumney, Niecy Blues, Joy Guidry, King Britt, Kelsey Lu, Naliah Hunter, L’Rain, Klein, Nala Sinephro, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Moor Mother, and others.
Whew y’all this has been sitting in my drafts half-finished for YEARS. I am going to do better I promise, but I am glad these preliminary thoughts are out and just in the air. Thanks for reading.
selected sources:
https://www.barbican.org.uk/s/ambientmusic/
https://www.grainsmusic.com/articles/the-grains-history-of-ambient-music-part-13-the-roots-of-ambient-274915
https://www.grainsmusic.com/articles/the-grains-history-of-ambient-music-part-23-oceans-of-sound-275306
https://www.grainsmusic.com/articles/the-grains-history-of-ambient-music-part-33-the-ambient-boom-275797
https://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectures/beverly-glenn-copeland
Beverly Glenn-Copeland – Beverly Glenn-Copeland | Releases | Discogs
How Black Musicians Carved Out a Space in Ambient Music - Okayplayer
Murmurations: Climate Solutions Require Black Ecology
How Black Musicians Are Creating Soundtracks For Popular Meditation Apps - Okayplayer
https://brooklynrail.org/2017/07/music/The-Emergence-of-A-New-Black-Avant-Garde-Experimental-Music-and-Text
https://crackmagazine.net/article/mixprofile/black-history-month-a-space-for-sound/
https://ra.co/features/3813
https://art.metro.net/artworks/metro-art-presents/music-series/
https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/african-electronic-music-10-essential-tracks
https://reverb.com/news/king-britt-on-the-gear-of-blacktronika-history
SO! Amplifies: Wu Tsang’s Anthem (2021) | Soundling Out!
Alot of people have talked about Genre Essentialism. I like what Maureen Mahon discusses in Black Diamond Queens: African American Women and Rock and Roll
I actually have a pdf of the article, but I do want to respect the author. So I’ll ask if he doesn’t mind me sharing it. just fyi.
You might also be reading this and asking, “well, why the hell do Black people need to be associated with ambient?” Ya know, good question. I personally don’t think Black people *need* to be associated with ambient music. I just like to say why not continue to consider our already solidified connection to boundless music-making? Ambient is just a word for a genre upheld by standards that Black folks ain’t gotta fit in and standards that we long touched on. The genre’s front face is not the only sound, especially when much of the sounds we hear are linked to Black music making practices across the diaspora (also, other non-white music cultural practices). Black musicians' music making is the curve. Let’s explore the curve even more. I’m just using this word “+ elements” to do that because SO many Black diasporic musics regularly create. Of course, we can’t use the word without all the history attached to it though… so i feel folks on that.
https://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectures/beverly-glenn-copeland
https://www.okayplayer.com/culture/wellness/black-ambient-music-laraaji
https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2025/02/25/murmurations-climate-justice-black-liberation