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Plenty of records are relaxing. Very few changed how people think about what music is for. Brian Eno's Ambient 1: Music for Airports, first released in 1978, did exactly that. It was the first album to carry the word ambient as a label, and it set out a simple, radical idea: that music could be part of a space, like light or color, rather than something that demands your full attention.
What Music for Airports is
Music for Airports is the first of four albums in Eno's Ambient series, listed on the official Brian Eno site alongside the records that followed it, including Ambient 2 with Harold Budd and Ambient 4: On Land. It contains four long pieces, titled simply 1/1, 2/1, 1/2 and 2/2, and runs a little under 50 minutes.
The music is slow, spacious and gentle: soft piano, wordless voices, synthesizer tones and silence. Nothing seems to happen quickly, yet nothing ever repeats in quite the same way.
The idea behind it
Eno has described being stuck in an airport and noticing how poorly the background music suited the space. Airports are places of waiting and quiet anxiety, and he imagined music that would make them calmer, something you could listen to closely or ignore completely. In his liner notes he wrote that ambient music should be as ignorable as it is interesting, a phrase that is still quoted whenever people try to define the genre.
That idea built on his earlier album Discreet Music and on his interest in systems: setting up a process and letting it generate the music rather than composing every note.
How it was made
The most famous technique on the album is the use of tape loops of different lengths. On 2/1, for example, Eno recorded single sung notes onto separate loops of tape, each a different length, and let them play at the same time. Because the loops never line up in the same way twice, the notes drift in and out of new combinations over the course of the piece. The music is effectively composing itself from a few simple ingredients.
The opening piece, 1/1, is built around a gentle piano phrase played by Robert Wyatt, slowed and layered with soft electronic tones. It is one of the most recognizable passages in ambient music and a natural starting point for new listeners.
Why it is cool
- It started a genre. Without this record there is no ambient section in the record shop, and our ambient music starter guide traces everything that followed.
- It still sounds modern. The loop based approach anticipates generative music, sound installations and much of today's drone and electronic work.
- It works in real spaces. Put it on while you read, work or cook and it changes the feel of the room without asking for anything.
- It rewards close listening. Through good headphones, you start to hear the loops overlap and shift.
Music for Airports on vinyl
This is a record that makes a strong case for vinyl. The pieces are long and unhurried, and side breaks feel natural rather than intrusive. Quiet music also benefits from a good pressing, since there is nothing loud to hide surface noise. A 180 gram double vinyl edition spreads the four pieces across four sides for wider grooves and better sound, and it is the version many collectors prefer. The plain, map like cover art suits the music perfectly.
Because the dynamics are so soft, set your turntable up carefully and keep the record clean. Our guide to the best turntables for beginners covers the basics.
Who it suits
Music for Airports suits anyone curious about ambient music, people looking for calm music to work or sleep to, and collectors building a shelf of essential electronic records. It also makes a thoughtful gift. If you already love it, Eno's work with the German duo Cluster connects it to the experimental scene covered in our krautrock starter guide, and the darker side of the genre is covered in our dark ambient starter guide.
Where to go next
After Music for Airports, try Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror with Harold Budd, then Ambient 4: On Land, which is darker and more textural. Thursday Afternoon from 1985 stretches the idea to a single hour long piece. The full catalog is on Eno's official site.
Where to buy
For more drifting, slow and spacious music and the gear to make it, explore our ambient hub.
