Music for Airports
Encyclopedia
Ambient 1: Music for Airports is an ambient
album by Brian Eno
released in 1978.
Notice of similarly quiet, unobtrusive music had been given on albums such as Evening Star
, Discreet Music
, Music for Films
and Harold Budd
's The Pavilion of Dreams
(which he produced), but in this album it was given precedence as a full-blown concept.
The music was designed to be continuously looped as a sound installation, with the intent to defuse the tense, anxious atmosphere of an airport terminal. Eno conceived this idea while being stuck at Cologne Bonn Airport
in Germany in the mid 70s. He had to spend several hours there and was extremely annoyed by the uninspired sound atmosphere.
It was installed at the Marine Air Terminal
of New York’s
LaGuardia Airport
.
drummer and vocalist Robert Wyatt
, and Rhett Davies
.
Music for Airports employs the phasing of tape loops of different length in some tracks, where, for example, in "1/1", a single piano melody is repeated and at different times other instruments will fade in and out in a complex, evolving pattern because of the phenomenon of phasing: at some point these instrumental sounds will clump together, at some points, be spread apart.
Talking about the first piece, Eno has said:
The two tracks containing the wordless "aaaaah"-style vocals intermingle four tracks which loop back on themselves and constantly interact with each other in new ways. Subtle changes in timing occur, adding to the timbre of the pieces.
Eno explains of the vocal-only piece:
"2/2", the synth piece, was performed with an ARP 2600
.
The track labeling is this way it is because of the album's first release (1978) as an LP
, and so the first track means "first track, first side", and so on.
The CD pressing adds thirty seconds of silence after every song, including one after "2/2" has completed.
The album's back cover features four abstract graphic notation
images, one for each track.
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
album by Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
released in 1978.
Overview
Music for Airports was the first of four albums released in Eno's "Ambient" series, a term which he coined to differentiate his minimalistic approach to the album's material and "the products of the various purveyors of canned music".Notice of similarly quiet, unobtrusive music had been given on albums such as Evening Star
Evening Star (album)
Evening Star is an album by the British ambient musicians Robert Fripp and Brian Eno. The cover is a painting by the artist Peter Schmidt....
, Discreet Music
Discreet Music
Discreet Music is an album by the British ambient musician Brian Eno. While No Pussyfooting may be his first ambient album and Another Green World features many ambient pieces, this is Brian Eno’s first purely ambient solo album...
, Music for Films
Music for Films
Music for Films is an ambient album by Brian Eno. It is a conceptual work intended as a soundtrack for imaginary films.- Overview :...
and Harold Budd
Harold Budd
Harold Budd is an American ambient/avant-garde composer and poet. Born in Los Angeles, he was raised in the Mojave Desert, and was inspired at an early age by the humming tone caused by wind blown across telephone wires....
's The Pavilion of Dreams
The Pavilion of Dreams
- Track listing :# "Bismillahi 'Rrahman 'Rrahim" – 18:23# "Two Songs: 1. Let Us Go into the House of the Lord / 2. Butterfly Sunday" – 6:19# "Madrigals of the Rose Angel: 1. Rosetti Stone / 2...
(which he produced), but in this album it was given precedence as a full-blown concept.
The music was designed to be continuously looped as a sound installation, with the intent to defuse the tense, anxious atmosphere of an airport terminal. Eno conceived this idea while being stuck at Cologne Bonn Airport
Cologne Bonn Airport
Cologne/Bonn Airport is an international airport located in the district of Porz in the city of Cologne, Germany, and is surrounded by the Wahner Heide nature reserve. The airport is centrally located in the Cologne/Bonn Region southeast of Cologne city centre and northeast of Bonn...
in Germany in the mid 70s. He had to spend several hours there and was extremely annoyed by the uninspired sound atmosphere.
It was installed at the Marine Air Terminal
Marine Air Terminal
-External links:*...
of New York’s
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport is an airport located in the northern part of Queens County on Long Island in the City of New York. The airport is located on the waterfront of Flushing Bay and Bowery Bay, and borders the neighborhoods of Astoria, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. The airport was originally...
.
The music
All tracks were composed by Eno except "1/1", which was composed by Eno, former Soft MachineSoft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
drummer and vocalist Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
, and Rhett Davies
Rhett Davies
Rhett Davies is an English record producer and engineer.Rhett Davies' father was trumpet player Ray Davies; they are no relation to Ray Davies of The Kinks. Davies became a studio engineer at Island Records studios in the early 1970s, and his first session was the recording process for Brian Eno's...
.
Music for Airports employs the phasing of tape loops of different length in some tracks, where, for example, in "1/1", a single piano melody is repeated and at different times other instruments will fade in and out in a complex, evolving pattern because of the phenomenon of phasing: at some point these instrumental sounds will clump together, at some points, be spread apart.
Talking about the first piece, Eno has said:
The two tracks containing the wordless "aaaaah"-style vocals intermingle four tracks which loop back on themselves and constantly interact with each other in new ways. Subtle changes in timing occur, adding to the timbre of the pieces.
Eno explains of the vocal-only piece:
"2/2", the synth piece, was performed with an ARP 2600
ARP 2600
The ARP 2600 is a semi-modular analog subtractive audio synthesizer, designed by Alan R. Pearlman , and manufactured by his company, ARP Instruments, Inc...
.
Track listing
All tracks composed by Brian Eno.The track labeling is this way it is because of the album's first release (1978) as an LP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, and so the first track means "first track, first side", and so on.
The CD pressing adds thirty seconds of silence after every song, including one after "2/2" has completed.
The album's back cover features four abstract graphic notation
Graphic notation
Graphic notation is the representation of music through the use of visual symbols outside the realm of traditional music notation. Graphic notation evolved in the 1950s, and it is often used in combination with traditional music notation...
images, one for each track.
Credits
- SynthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, cover artCover artCover art is the illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book , magazine, comic book, video game , DVD, CD, videotape, or music album. The art has a primarily commercial function, i.e...
, production – Brian Eno - Vocals – Christa Fast, Christine Gomez, Inge Zeininger
- Acoustic piano – Robert WyattRobert WyattRobert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
- Engineering – Dave Hutchins ("2/1", "1/2"), Conny PlankConny PlankKonrad "Conny" Plank was a German record producer and musician. He was born in Hütschenhausen. His creativity as a sound engineer and producer helped to shape some of the most important and innovative recordings of postwar European popular music, covering a wide range of genres including...
("2/2"), Rhett DaviesRhett DaviesRhett Davies is an English record producer and engineer.Rhett Davies' father was trumpet player Ray Davies; they are no relation to Ray Davies of The Kinks. Davies became a studio engineer at Island Records studios in the early 1970s, and his first session was the recording process for Brian Eno's...
("1/1") and Eno - Recording location:
- Tracks 1-3 : London
- Track 4 : Plank's Studio, Cologne
Release history
| Country | Label | Cat. No. | Media | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | Polydor | AMB 001 | LP | 1978 |
| France | Polydor | 2310 647 | LP | 1978 |
| Canada | GRT | 9167-9835 | LP | 1978 |
| Italy | Polydor | 2310 647 | LP | 1978 |
| US | Editions EG | EGS 201 | LP | 1981 |
| UK | Editions EG | EGED 17 | LP | 1983 |
| UK | Editions EG, Virgin | EEGCD 17 | CD | Aug 1990 |
| US | Editions EG | EEGCD 17 | CD | Aug 1990 |
| UK | Virgin Records | ENOCD 6, 7243 8 66495 2 2 |
CD | 2004 |
Usage
- "Mistaken Memories of Mediaeval Manhattan" is a 1981, 47-minute ambient video created by Eno which uses music from both the albums On LandOn LandAmbient 4: On Land is an album by the British ambient musician Brian Eno. It was the final edition in Eno’s ambient series, which began in 1978 with Music for Airports.-Track listing:...
(cat # HEN 2134) and this album.IMDB link This title was later repackaged with his Thursday AfternoonThursday AfternoonThursday Afternoon is a 1985 album by the British ambient musician Brian Eno consisting of one 60 min eponymous composition. It is the rearranged soundtrack to a video production of the same title made in 1984.-Overview:...
video as "14 Video Paintings", RykoDisc, (HNDVD 1508). Ryko link - Music from the album has been covered by:
- Bang on a CanBang on a CanBang on a Can is a multi-faceted classical music organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1987 by three American composers who remain its artistic directors: Julia Wolfe, David Lang, and Michael Gordon...
- Music For Airports Live, 1997, Point-Music (314 536 847-2) 1 , 2 , 3 - Makyo - "2/1 (Night Flight Mix)", on the double compilation CD Minimalism: More Or Less, 1998, Law & Auder (LA05CD) 4, 5.
- Bang on a Can
- The first track is used in the PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
special The Creation of the Universe (IMDB link). Eno is the sole music credit, and he also wrote original music for the documentary. - "1/1" is frequently used as background music on the U.S. public radio program This American LifeThis American LifeThis American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...
. - "1/1" features prominently in the opening scene of the 2009 motion picture The Lovely BonesThe Lovely Bones (film)The Lovely Bones is a 2009 American drama film directed by Peter Jackson. It is a film adaptation of the award-winning and best-selling 2002 novel of the same name by Alice Sebold. The film stars Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon, alongside Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz as Susie's parents Jack and...
.
See also
- Ambient 2/The Plateaux of MirrorThe Plateaux of MirrorAmbient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror is a 1980 album by ambient musicians Harold Budd and Brian Eno. This is the second installment of Eno's Ambient series which began in 1978 with Music for Airports, identifiable by its similar cover art which looks like it depicts rural terrain on a...
- Ambient 3/Day of RadianceDay of RadianceAmbient 3: Day of Radiance is an album by the American ambient musician Laraaji which was produced by Brian Eno.-Overview:...
- Ambient 4/On LandOn LandAmbient 4: On Land is an album by the British ambient musician Brian Eno. It was the final edition in Eno’s ambient series, which began in 1978 with Music for Airports.-Track listing:...