The Ambient Century: From Mahler to Moby--The Evolution of Sound in the Electronic Age

by Mark Prendergast, Karen Rinaldi, Brian Eno (Foreword by)

The Ambient Century is the definitive chronicle of a century of musical change. Encyclopedic, yet with a strong narrative, Mark Prendergast covers such diverse artists as Gustav Mahler, Philip Glass, New Order, and Moby. Lively, compelling, and authoritative-and boasting an unmatched discography- The Ambient Century is a treat for music lovers of all kinds. With an introduction by electronic music pioneer Brian Eno.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History, Reference, Canon

500 pages, Paperback

First published November 20, 2000

About the author

Mark Prendergast is the author of more than one million words on New & Electronic music. He has written about classical music and rock for newspapers, journals and magazines worldwide and authored the first definitive history of Irish rock. Now resident in London his Ambient Century is the culmination of two decades listening with 'all gates open'.
Other works include:
Irish Rock: Roots, Personalities, Directions; The Isle of Noises; The Jimi Hendrix Companion as contributor, Rough Guide to Classical Music (as contributor), and Tangerine Dream - Tangents 1973-1983

Reviews

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

A thoroughly amateurish and unfocused work which is less an overview of "ambient music" (a term never properly defined by the author) than a series of factually-dubious artist biographies presented in a dull, encyclopedic manner, a format that does little to orchestrate any sense of scope or overarching genre-trajectory. Much of the text is dedicated to artists who could hardly be described as even tangential to ambient—see the weakly-justified inclusion of Schoenberg in the classical section (despite his musical content being almost the antithesis of "ambient"), or the shoehorning of popular names like The Beatles and Bob Dylan, both of whom are granted more attention than pivotal artists such as NEU!—a group universally considered a watershed in ambient music, yet unjustly glazed over here due to biases in the author's preferences (he goes as far as introducing them with "One of the most overrated bands in the history of rock...").

For a more scholarly tracing of ambient and minimalism within a larger context of academic experimental music, read Michael Nyman's Experimental Music: Cage and Beyond. For an intimate look into the post-World War II musical landscape of Germany (an immensely important scene for the development of ambient), read David Stubbs' Future Days: Krautrock and the Building of Modern Germany. For an engaging, Bachelard-esque daydream through the fabric of atmospheric music, read David Toop's Ocean of Sound. Even Wikipedia articles would offer more than this lackadaisical compilation of artist bios and countless exaltations of The Dark Side of the Moon.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating book tracing the rise of ambient and minimalist music from the classical music at the start of the twentieth century upto the ambient electronica and dance that closed the century. It is split into four 'books':

The Electronic Landscape
A review of the development of 'serious' music in the 20th century. It starts with the symphonies of Mahler, through Satie's 'Furniture Music' up until the work of Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho in the 1980s.

Minimalism, Eno and the new Simplicity
Covers the main minimalists of the century including Eno, Michael Nyman, Steve Reich and La Monte Young, including their work with popular artists like David Bowie and U2.

Ambience in the Rock Era
The influence of minimalism, ambience and electronica on the psychdelic music of the 60s, the German music of the 70s, and synth music of the 80s.

House, Techno and 21st Century Ambience
Traces the history of House and Techno from their roots in Chicago and Detroit, and shows how this music evolved through the 80s and 90s into the ambient style of of dance music exemplified by Trip-Hop, Moby and the ambient Drum 'n' Bass of Goldie.

The book works as both a history of ambient music and as a reference guide to the links and cross-polination between different artists in the genre. It also provides plenty of inspiration to expand your musical horizons. I've discovered (or rediscovered) tons of great music because of this book.

[Paul Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Serious ambient music devotees will find it a bit lacking, but for folks like me who only know the 'big' names, it's an incredibly comprehensive primer, and has led me to dozen CDs I've taken out of the library and listen to regularly now...

[Christopher · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mark Prendergast's THE AMBIENT CENTURY is an encyclopedia of the biggest names in "ambient music", a style that's never defined, but which might be a) music that the author digs, and b) music that the author doesn't like so much but which lends respectability to later figures.

Prendergast starts off all the way at the beginning of 1900s with innovative classical music figures such as Debussy, Mahler, and Ravel. There is little that these figures have in common with what came later, but Prendergast seems like he has to start early and so comes up with these guys. His inclusion of Schoenberg and the other Viennese composers is just crazy, since most of the minimalists (the real inspiration of techno, house, and drum & bass in the 80s and 90s) were trying as hard as possible *not* to write like that. Ditto for the inclusion of Pierre Boulez, although his friend Stockhausen merits inclusion.

Passing over the rock era (I'm not competent to comment much on this genre), I must take issue with his treatment of electronic music, which is somewhat US-centric. Sasha is presented as a minor figure that didn't achieve much until 1999, when his Ibiza compilation came out, when he had really be earning praise since 1990 (when the British press was calling him "The Man Like God"). The book then says that Sasha left the U.K. entirely for Australia, which is simply false. Frequent collaborator John Digweed is called "The James Brown of DJing", leading me to suspect that the author has never seen Digweed live.

This is a really disappointing and often-wrong book, and a bit of an odd duck because, expect for the "coolness" of it all, the people mentioned here have little in common. If you are interested in innovative classical music in the 20th century, try Griffith's MODERN MUSIC AND AFTER: Directions Since 1940 (Oxford University Press, 1995). Similarly, those interested in electronic music would do well to find a more focused guide.

[João Pedro da Costa · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a lot of criticism concerning this book on the web. Personally, I found it simply amazing: a real-eye opener of the connections between major figures of ambient music from Mahler to Moby.

The fact that the book is more of a practical guide than an essay about ambient music is probably the main why some reader found it disappointing. When I ordered it I was expecting exactly what I ended up reading: a well-written journey through the work and life of key figures of ambient music. I especially liked the "To Listen" sections, where Prendergast shows his personal tastes. I found myself sometimes disagreeing with him (example: his evaluation of David Bowie’s work), but I guess I’m one of these guys who love to confront his ideas with somebody else’s.

I’m positive I’ll return to it in the future.

[Jeremy Hatch · Rating 2 out of 5]

The table of contents is pretty good! Unfortunately it’s downhill from there. The author has good taste but, alas, is also a complete idiot. It’s not that surprising that he disappeared with hardly a trace after this tome came out way back in 2000. I read it one subsection a day for a couple months, reading (eventually, skimming) his dumb take on the artist of the day and then going on to listen to the music discussed, if I happened to be unfamiliar with it. So, it’s worthwhile picking up as a “listen to this” kind of thing — but spare yourself the effort of careful reading. I’m going to be making a copy of the table of contents but will be ditching the book itself.

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb study of the evolution of ambient music, from its beginnings in early 20th century classical music right up to its place in house, techno and contemporary electronica. Lots of recommendations to enjoy too.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of the artists mentioned here are far too mainsteam /commercial to be classed as ambient, avant guard or even interesting but Mr P offers up so many examples that there is plenty left over to check out and enjoy.

[AJ Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly detailed, fascinating history of the topic.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prendergast has given himself an impossible task in trying to present a evolutionary history of Western music in the 20th century, but he more than does his best in rising to the challenge.

[Stefan A Schoellmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good edition to your library for audiophiles!

[Justin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wooden writing and the encyclopedic format of the book make this an absolute slog. I would much rather read Allmusic reviews of these artists and their albums.

This is definitely not an even-handed history of "sound in the electronic age." Readers can easily tell which artists Prendergast favors over others, and some artists which I personally feel have had a profound impact on recording techniques and overall ambience in recorded music--My Bloody Valentine for instance--gets a few sentences.

To me, the book's one redeeming quality is that it aggregates all of these great artists and provides a vast list of album and performance recommendations.

[Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally! A must read book for lovers of ambient music!
The focus of this book is mostly on the historical aspects and the development of the concepts and early artists of the ambient world. I found it a bit light on the modern ambient music scene (from about 1990 until it's date of publication), I was hoping for it to delve a little deeper. But that's just my personal taste. This book is a great reader for anyone interested in not just ambient music, but for the exciting possibilities of where music may take us in the future.

[Bennett · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had made a promise to myself only to put up books I love or have found stimulating in one way or another, but this is the only bad review i'll give because I hate the thought of anyone I know wasting their hard earned cash on this piece of shit. dreadful, simplstic, poorly researched, frequently worng (yes, folks.....WRONG!). that in the 20th century music became "ambient" is a completely lame premiss on which to waffle on at length about stuff the author seems to know almost nothing about. this book is pants! don't buy it.

:-)

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really a book to be read from cover-to-cover; this feels more like an encyclopedia related-ish to Ambient music. (And yes, the writer does capitalize the word "Ambient" like that.) A good book to browse through, though some sections have aged really badly since this book was published. (His criticisms of the viability of MP3s as a format actually made me smile - that said, the book came out a couple of years before the iPod was created, so I can't fault him too badly for that.)

[Brian Criner · Rating 3 out of 5]

rather dry, very repetitive, and poorly written. It's saving graces are the truckloads of information and the unique connections made between artists, that connection being their use of ambience.

[Keith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not exactly what I hoped for. While I certain case was made for the origins of the idea of ambient, I can't really say that the case was made in this book. Everything the author liked seemed to be termed ambient.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not much of a cover-to-cover read, more of an all-inclusive reference book. Main negative is that Pendergast's all-inclusive approach tends to blur the distinction between the ambient and avant-garde approaches to music, which are not the same.

[Andreas Rauh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional! Outstanding! Great source and reference for practically anything related, even vaguely, to electronic music in the XX century. A clear cut choice for anyone interested in the subject. Highly recommended.

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good history of the orgins of the ambient music scene. From where is started to where it is now. Many good references, and and awesome way to find out about legendary bands.

[Matthias · Rating 4 out of 5]

the one reference book you should have for music that works in the background and is still exciting

[James Piazza · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive guide to the ambient genre and its history. I only hope a second revised edition will be published to reflect the recent rise of modern classical and music for films.

[Matthew Langley · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book, for a certain musical interest

[Charles · Rating 1 out of 5]

An unhelpful slog.

Edit to add: the book is frequently inaccurate and also erases contributions by women. There are better, more accurate, less sexist books out there.

[Patrick McGarry]

Great book on ambient/electronic history!