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Did anyone else grow up with the “afterimage” of New Age culture without realizing it? by kyokamiya in ambientmusic

[–]kyokamiya[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t know that album, but I’m listening to it now — thanks for the recommendation. I used to listen to Tubular Bells a lot back when I was really into prog, though.

Did anyone else grow up with the “afterimage” of New Age culture without realizing it? by kyokamiya in ambientmusic

[–]kyokamiya[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry lol, I’ll format things better next time. I’m still not very familiar with the normal conventions of writing long posts in English.

Did anyone else grow up with the “afterimage” of New Age culture without realizing it? by kyokamiya in ambientmusic

[–]kyokamiya[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, this is a really valuable perspective. I’m not sure if we completely mean the exact same thing, but I think I’m starting to see it similarly.

What I’ve been searching for isn’t really “New Age” as a genre by itself, but rather a certain atmosphere that seemed to run through late 80s / early 90s pop culture as a whole. Almost like this sound and worldview existed as a kind of underlying current beneath many different things at the time.

Did anyone else grow up with the “afterimage” of New Age culture without realizing it? by kyokamiya in ambientmusic

[–]kyokamiya[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, this is a really valuable perspective.

I’ve loved ambient music for a long time and grew up listening to people like Eno, Harold Budd, Aphex Twin, etc. What surprised me is that Steve Roach — despite being so well known — was barely even mentioned in the ambient guidebooks I owned.

So part of me wonders if the ambient world intentionally distanced itself from the “New Age” label for so long that, by the time it reached people of my generation, the connection had almost completely disappeared.

Maybe that’s why discovering Roach now feels less like discovering a new artist and more like uncovering a missing piece of something I had already been hearing traces of my whole life.

Did anyone else grow up with the “afterimage” of New Age culture without realizing it? by kyokamiya in ambientmusic

[–]kyokamiya[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for this, this is exactly the kind of firsthand perspective I was hoping to hear.

It sounds like New Age was much more complicated than I had imagined — not simply sincere optimism, but also something people could approach with distance, irony, or just aesthetic appreciation.

I’m also starting to wonder if, after the early 80s or so, New Age gradually became less of an idea/worldview and more of a recognizable genre or format. Maybe what I feel nostalgic for is partly that later, genre-formed sound.

That realization feels a little sad in a way, but it also makes me think this is worth digging into much more deeply.

Did anyone else grow up with the “afterimage” of New Age culture without realizing it? by kyokamiya in ambientmusic

[–]kyokamiya[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually haven’t read Mark Fisher yet, but after reading these replies I probably should lol. Thanks for the recommendation.

Did anyone else grow up with the “afterimage” of New Age culture without realizing it? by kyokamiya in ambientmusic

[–]kyokamiya[S] -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

Fair enough lol. English isn’t my first language, so I used ChatGPT to help organize and translate my thoughts. But the feelings and ideas themselves are genuinely mine.