Not to be confused with New Wave music

New Age music is music of various styles intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation,^[1] and reading as a method of stress management^[2] or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is often associated with environmentalism and New Age spirituality.^[1]

The harmonies in New Age music are generally modal, consonant, or include a drone bass. The melodies are often repetitive, to create a hypnotic feeling, and sometimes recordings of nature sounds are used as an introduction to a track or throughout the piece. Pieces of up to thirty minutes are common.

New Age music includes both electronic forms, frequently relying on sustained synth pads or long sequencer-based runs, and acoustic forms, featuring instruments such as flutes, piano, acoustic guitar and a wide variety of non-western acoustic instruments.

Vocal arrangements were initially rare in New Age music but as it has evolved vocals have become more common, especially vocals featuring Native American, Sanskrit, or Tibetan influenced chants, or lyrics based on mythology such as Celtic legends or the realm of Faerie.

History[link]

New Age music was influenced by a wide range of artists from a variety of genres, for example, folk instrumentalists John Fahey and Leo Kottke, classical minimalists Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass, synthesizer performers Pink Floyd and Brian Eno, and impressionistic jazz artists Keith Jarrett, Paul Horn (beginning with 1968's Inside) and Pat Metheny.^[3] Many different styles and combinations of electronic experimental and acoustic New Age music was introduced in the 1970s including music from Asia, such as Kitaro and Yellow Magic Orchestra.

Steven Halpern's Spectrum Suite, released in 1975, is generally credited as the album that began the New Age music movement.^[4] New Age music was initially produced and sold only by independent labels. The sales reached significant numbers in unusual outlets such as bookstores, gift stores, health food stores and boutiques, as well as direct mail. In 1981, Tower Records in Mountain View, California added a New Age bin.^[5] By 1985, independent and chain record retail stores were adding sections for New Age music and major labels began showing interest in the genre, both through acquisition of some existing New Age labels such as Paul Winter's Living Music and through signing of New Age artists such as Kitaro and jazz crossover artist Pat Metheny, both signed by Geffen.^[5]

On Valentine's Day in 1987, the former Los Angeles rock radio station KMET changed to a full-time New Age music format with new call letters KTWV, branded as The Wave.^[6] During The Wave's New Age music period, management told the station employees to refer to The Wave as a "mood service" rather than a "radio station". DJs stopped announcing the titles of the songs, and instead, to maintain an uninterrupted mood, listeners could call a 1-800 phone number to find out what song was playing. News breaks were also re-branded and referred to as "wave breaks".^[6] KLRS (Colours) in Santa Cruz began a New Age format around the same time.^{[citation needed]} Stations in other cities followed this lead and in 1988, Stephen Hill's radio show Music From The Hearts of Space was picked up by NPR for syndication to 230 affiliates nationally.^[6] Other New Age music specialty radio programs included Forest's Musical Starstreams and John Diliberto's Echoes. Most major cable television networks have channels that play music without visuals, including channels for New Age music, such as the "Soundscapes" channel on Music Choice.

By 1989, there were over 150 small independent record labels releasing New Age music, and New Age music and adult alternative programs were carried on hundreds of commercial and college radio stations in the U.S., and over 40 distributors were selling New Age music through mail order catalogs.^[7]

Definitions[link]

New Age music is defined more by the effect or feeling it produces rather than the instruments used in its creation; it may be electronic, acoustic, or a mixture of both. New Age artists range from solo or ensemble performances using classical music instruments ranging from the piano, acoustic guitar, flute or harp to electronic musical instruments, or from Eastern instruments such as the sitar, tabla, and tamboura.

There is a significant overlap of sectors of New Age music, ambient music, classical music, jazz, electronica, world music, chillout, space music and others. The two definitions typically associated with the New Age genre are:

• New Age music with an ambient sound that has the explicit purpose of aiding meditation and relaxation, or aiding and enabling various alternative spiritual practices, such as alternative healing, Yoga practice, guided meditation, chakra auditing, and so on. The proponents of this definition are almost always musicians who create their music expressly for these purposes.^[8] Prominent artists who create New Age music expressly for healing and/or meditation include Paul Horn, Deuter, Steven Halpern, Dean Evenson, Lawrence Ball, and Karunesh.

• Music which is found in the New Age section of the record store.^[8] This is largely a definition of practicality, given the breadth of music that is classified as "New Age" by retailers who are often less interested in finely-grained distinctions between musical styles than are fans of those styles. Music which falls into this definition is usually music which cannot be easily classified into other, more common definitions, but often includes well-defined music such as worldbeat and Flamenco guitar. Musicians as varied as George Winston, Vangelis, Mars Lasar, David Arkenstone, Paul Winter, Will Ackerman, Ray Lynch, Suzanne Ciani, Jim Brickman, Bradley Joseph, Deuter, Karl Jenkins, Era, Enya, Jean Michel Jarre, Enigma, Jean Ven Robert Hal, Kitaro, Sandeep Khurana, Yanni, Kevin_Kern, Yiruma, Danny White, Andreas Vollenweider, Mannheim Steamroller, Suzanne Doucet, Mike Oldfield, Peter Gabriel, Steve Roach, Constance Demby, Patrick O'Hearn, 2002, and Singh Kaur are typically classified as New Age, although they may have divergent styles.^{[citation needed]} It also includes expressly spiritual New Age music as a subset. There are retail outlets, that specify subcategories such as Nature Sounds, Healing, Piano, Chants, and so on. Amazon includes also Celtic, Meditation, World-dance, and Relaxation, and iTunes Store includes Nature, Environmental, Healing, and Travel, besides other subgenres. The German new-age site Silenzio lists almost 70 subgenres.

Influences and themes[link]

From 1968 to 1973, German musicians such as Edgar Froese (founder of Tangerine Dream), Holger Czukay (one of the founders of Can and a former student of Karlheinz Stockhausen), Popol Vuh, and Ashra released a number of works featuring experimental sounds and textures built with electronics, synthesizers, acoustic and electric instruments which were referred to as cosmic music. This experimentation provided early foundational influences for the ambient music and New Age music genres. In the late 1970s Brian Eno's defining explorations in ambient music further influenced the formation of the New Age music genre, as developed in the styles of musicians such as Robert Fripp, Jon Hassell, Laraaji, Harold Budd, Cluster, Jah Wobble (of post-punk band Public Image Limited).

In 1973, Mike Oldfield's unconventional progressive rock album Tubular Bells became one of the first albums to be referred to under the genre description of New Age music.^[9] Other influences are early electronic music, classical music, ethnic music and world music. The minimalism of Terry Riley and Steve Reich (Indian influenced in the former case) can also be cited as an influence, along with artists like Tony Conrad, La Monte Young who utilized drones since the early 1960s. Connected to the creation of New Age music is the resurgence of interest in Gregorian chant during the second half of the 20th century. Now, New Age music has branched out and also includes chanting of "spiritual" or ancient languages, and includes, but is not limited to Sanskrit, Latin, Gaelic, Hebrew and Gurmukhi. Popular artists in this genre include Krishna Das, Deva Premal, Bhagavan Das and Snatam Kaur.

The solo ECM performances by artists like Keith Jarrett (especially his record The Köln Concert), Ralph Towner (especially his records Blue Sun and Solo Concert) and Lyle Mays's first eponymous album, are usually thought to be an influence on Ambient/New Age music. The acoustic solo and group performances by the early Windham Hill artists such as William Ackerman, Alex de Grassi, George Winston, and Michael Hedges were called New Age for much of the last 30 years.

Popular themes in New Age music include space and the cosmos, environment and nature, wellness in being, harmony with one's self and the world, dreams or dreaming and journeys of the mind or spirit. Titles of New Age albums and songs are frequently descriptive: examples include Shepherd Moons (Enya), Straight' a Way to Orion (Kitaro), Touching the Clouds (Symbiosis), and One Deep Breath (Bradley Joseph).

Alternative terms[link]

As described in this article, the borders of this genre are not well defined; however music retail stores will include artists in the "New Age" category even if the artists themselves use different names for their style of music. Here are some other terms used for "New Age".

Contemporary instrumental

This is a term that may be used most often,^{[citation needed]} and can include artists that do not use electronic instruments in their music, such as solo pianist David Lanz.^[10] Similarly, pianists such as Yanni^[11] and Bradley Joseph^[12] both use this term as well, although they use keyboards to incorporate layered orchestral textures into their compositions.

Contemporary adult instrumental

This term was suggested by Steven Halpern in the June 1999 issue of New Age Voice as an alternative catch-all label for music which is classified by retailers as "New Age", but which is not expressly spiritual in nature.

See also[link]

• List of New Age music artists
• Meditation music

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008)

New Age spirituality often makes references to mythological representations of the Earth, Moon, and outer space; the term New Age refers to the coming astrological Age of Aquarius.^[1]

The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational psychology, holistic health, parapsychology, consciousness research and quantum physics".^[2] It aims to create "a spirituality without borders or confining dogmas" that is inclusive and pluralistic.^[3] It holds to "a holistic worldview,"^[4] emphasising that the Mind, Body and Spirit are interrelated^[1] and that there is a form of Monism and unity throughout the universe.^[5] It attempts to create "a worldview that includes both science and spirituality"^[6] and embraces a number of forms of mainstream science as well as other forms of science that are considered fringe.

According to author Nevill Drury, the origins of the movement can be found in the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly through the works of the esotericists Emanuel Swedenborg, Franz Mesmer, Helena Blavatsky and George Gurdjieff, who laid some of the basic philosophical principles that would influence the movement. It would gain further momentum in the 1960s, taking influence from metaphysics, self-help psychology, and the various Indian gurus who visited the West during that decade.^[7] The New Age movement includes elements of older spiritual and religious traditions ranging from atheism and monotheism through classical pantheism, naturalistic pantheism, pandeism and panentheism to polytheism combined with science and Gaia philosophy; particularly archaeoastronomy, astronomy, ecology, environmentalism, the Gaia hypothesis, psychology and physics. New Age practices and philosophies sometimes draw inspiration from major world religions: Buddhism, Taoism, Chinese folk religion, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism; with strong influences from East Asian religions, Gnosticism, Neopaganism, New Thought, Spiritualism, Theosophy, Universalism and Western esotericism.^[8] The term New Age refers to the coming astrological Age of Aquarius.^[1]

History[link]

Origins[link]

The author Nevill Drury claimed there are "four key precursors of the New Age," who had set the way for many of its widely held precepts.^[3] The first of these was Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772), a Swedish scientist who after a religious experience devoted himself to Christian mysticism, believing that he could travel to Heaven and Hell and commune with angels, demons and spirits, and who published widely on the subject of his experiences. The second person was Franz Mesmer (1734–1815), who had developed a form of healing using magnets, believing that there was a force known as "animal magnetism" that affected humans. The third figure was the Russian Helena Blavatsky (1831–1891), one of the founders of the Theosophical Society, through which she propagated her religious movement of Theosophy, which itself combined a number of elements from Eastern religions like Hinduism and Buddhism with Western elements. The fourth figure was George Gurdjieff (c. 1872–1949), who founded the philosophy of the Fourth Way, through which he conveyed a number of spiritual teachings to his disciples. A fifth individual whom Drury identified as an important influence upon the New Age movement was the Indian Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902), an adherent of the philosophy of Vedanta who first brought Hinduism to the West in the late 19th century.^[9]

The term New Age was used as early as 1809 by William Blake who described a coming era of spiritual and artistic advancement in his preface to Milton a Poem by stating: "... when the New Age is at leisure to pronounce, all will be set right ..."^[10]

Some of the New Age movement's constituent elements appeared initially in the 19th-century metaphysical movements: Spiritualism, Theosophy, and New Thought and also the alternative medicine movements of chiropractics and naturopathy.^[1][5] These movements have roots in Transcendentalism, Mesmerism, Swedenborgianism, and various earlier Western esoteric or occult traditions, such as the hermetic arts of astrology, magic, alchemy, and Kabbalah. The term New Age was used in this context in Madame Blavatsky's book The Secret Doctrine, published in 1888.^[11]

A weekly journal of Christian liberalism and socialism titled The New Age was published as early as 1894;^[12] it was sold to a group of socialist writers headed by Alfred Richard Orage and Holbrook Jackson in 1907. Contributors included H. G. Wells, George Bernard Shaw, and William Butler Yeats; the magazine became a forum for politics, literature, and the arts.^[13][14] Between 1908 and 1914, it was instrumental in pioneering the British avant-garde from Vorticism to Imagism. Orage met P. D. Ouspensky, a follower of Gurdjieff, in 1914 and began correspondence with Harry Houdini; he became less interested in literature and art with an increased focus on mysticism and other spiritual topics; the magazine was sold in 1921. According to Brown University, The New Age "... helped to shape modernism in literature and the arts from 1907 to 1922."^[15]

Development[link]

Popularisation behind these ideas has roots in the work of early 20th century writers such as D. H. Lawrence and William Butler Yeats. In the early- to mid-1900s, American mystic, theologian, and founder of the Association for Research and Enlightenment Edgar Cayce was a seminal influence on what later would be termed the New Age movement; he was known in particular for the practice some refer to as channeling.^[16] The psychologist Carl Jung was a proponent of the concept of the Age of Aquarius.^[17] In a letter to his friend Peter Baynes, dated 12 August 1940, Jung wrote a passage: "... This year reminds me of the enormous earthquake in 26 B.C. that shook down the great temple of Karnak. It was the prelude to the destruction of all temples, because a new time had begun. 1940 is the year when we approach the meridian of the first star in Aquarius. It is the premonitory earthquake of the New Age ..."^[18][19] Former Theosophist Rudolf Steiner and his Anthroposophical movement are a major influence. Neo-Theosophist Alice Bailey published the book Discipleship in the New Age (1944), which used the term New Age in reference to the transition from the astrological age of Pisces to Aquarius. While claims of racial bias in the writings of Rudolf Steiner and Alice Bailey were made,^[20] Bailey was firmly opposed to the Axis powers; she believed that Adolf Hitler was possessed by the Dark Forces,^[21] and Steiner emphasized racial equality as a principle central to anthroposophical thought and humanity's progress.^[22][23] Any racial elements from these influences have not remained part of the Anthroposophical Society as contemporary adherents of the society have either not adopted or repudiated these beliefs.^[24][25] Another early usage of the term, was by the American artist, mystic, and philosopher Walter Russell, who spoke of "... this New Age philosophy of the spiritual re-awakening of man ... Man's purpose in this New Age is to acquire more and more knowledge ..." in his essay "Power Through Knowledge," which was also published in 1944.^[26]

Contemporary usage of the term[link]

This barrel house was the first dwelling constructed at the Findhorn Ecovillage.

The subculture that later became known as New Age already existed in the early 1970s, based on and adopting ideas originally present in the counterculture of the 1960s. Two entities founded in 1962: the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California and the Findhorn Foundation—an intentional community which continues to operate the Findhorn Ecovillage near Findhorn, Moray, Scotland—played an instrumental role during the early growth period of the New Age movement.^[27]

Widespread usage of the term New Age began in the mid-1970s (reflected in the title of monthly periodical New Age Journal) and probably influenced several thousand small metaphysical book- and gift-stores that increasingly defined themselves as "New Age bookstores."^[28][29] As a result of the large-scale activities surrounding the Harmonic Convergence in 1987, the American mass-media further popularised the term as a label for the alternative spiritual subculture, including practices such as meditation, channeling, crystal healing, astral projection, psychic experience, holistic health, simple living, and environmentalism; or belief in phenomena such as Earth mysteries, ancient astronauts, extraterrestrial life, unidentified flying objects, crop circles, and reincarnation. Several New Age publications appeared by the late 1980s such as Psychic Guide (later renamed Body, Mind & Spirit), Yoga Journal, New Age Voice, New Age Retailer, and NAPRA ReView by the New Age Publishers and Retailers Alliance.

Several key events occurred, which raised public awareness of the New Age subculture: the production of the musical Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical (1967) with its opening song "Aquarius" and its memorable line "This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius";^[30] publication of Linda Goodman's best-selling astrology books Sun Signs (1968) and Love Signs (1978); the release of Shirley MacLaine's book Out on a Limb (1983), later adapted into a television mini-series with the same name (1987); and the "Harmonic Convergence" planetary alignment on August 16 and 17, 1987,^[31] organized by José Argüelles at Sedona in the U.S. state of Arizona. The claims of channelers Jane Roberts (Seth Material), Helen Schucman (A Course in Miracles), J. Z. Knight (Ramtha), Neale Donald Walsch (Conversations with God) (note that Walsch denies being a "channeler" and his books make it obvious that he is not one), and Rene Gaudette (The Wonders) contributed to the movement's growth.^[32][33] Relevant New Age works include the writings of James Redfield, Eckhart Tolle, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Christopher Hills, Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, John Holland, Gary Zukav, Wayne Dyer, and Rhonda Byrne.

While J. Gordon Melton,^[34] Wouter Hanegraaff,^[35] and Paul Heelas^[36] have emphasised personal aspects, Mark Satin,^[37] Theodore Roszak,^[38] Marilyn Ferguson,^[39] and Corinne McLaughlin^[40] have described New Age as a values-based sociopolitical movement.

Spirituality[link]

While the New Age lacks any unified belief-system, many spiritual practices and philosophies are common among adherents of the movement—sometimes referred to as New Agers.

Lifestyle[link]

New Age shop in St Albans, UK

New Age spirituality has led to a wide array of literature on the subject and an active niche market, with books, music, crafts, and services in alternative medicine available at New Age stores, fairs, and festivals.^[73][74]

Demographics[link]

People who practice New Age spirituality or who embrace its lifestyle are included in the Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) demographic market segment, currently in a growth phase, related to sustainable living, green ecological initiatives, and generally composed of a relatively affluent and well-educated segment.^[75][76] The LOHAS market segment in 2006 was estimated at USD$300 billion, approximately 30 percent of the United States consumer market.^[77][78] According to The New York Times, a study by the Natural Marketing Institute showed that in 2000, 68 million Americans were included within the LOHAS demographic. The sociologist Paul H. Ray, who coined the term Cultural Creatives in his book The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World (2000), states, "What you're seeing is a demand for products of equal quality that are also virtuous."^[79][80]

The New Age is strongly gendered; sociologist Ciara O'Connor argues that it shows a tension between commodification and women's empowerment.^[81]

Community[link]

Definitions of sustainability often refer to the "three pillars" of social, environmental, and economic sustainability.^[82]

Some New Agers advocate living in a simple and sustainable manner to reduce humanity's impact on the natural resources of Earth; and they shun consumerism.^[83][84] The New Age movement has been centered around rebuilding a sense of community to counter social disintegration; this has been attempted through the formation of intentional communities, where individuals come together to live and work in a communal lifestyle.^[85]

Holistic health[link]

Practitioners of New Age spirituality may use alternative medicine in addition to or in place of conventional medicine;^[74][86] while some conventional physicians have adopted aspects or the complete approach of holistic health.

Music[link]

New Age music is peaceful music of various styles intended to create inspiration, relaxation, and positive feelings while listening. Studies have determined that New Age music can be an effective component of stress management.^[87]

The style began in the 1970s with the works of free-form jazz groups recording on the ECM label; such as Oregon, the Paul Winter Consort, and other pre-ambient bands; as well as ambient music performer Brian Eno and classical avant-garde musician Daniel Kobialka.^{[citation needed]} In the early 1970s, it was mostly instrumental with both acoustic and electronic styles. New Age music evolved to include a wide range of styles from electronic space music (like Constance Demby's) using synthesizers and acoustic instrumentals using Native American flutes and drums, singing bowls, and world music sounds to spiritual chanting from other cultures.

Reception[link]

Organized religion[link]

Mainstream religious institutions have been critical of New Age spirituality. Author Johanna Michaelson published her own experiences with various New Age practices in The Beautiful Side of Evil (1982); after concluding these activities were demonic, she converted to Christianity.^[88] Michigan attorney and activist Constance Cumbey offered the first major criticism of the New Age movement from a Christian perspective in The Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow: The New Age Movement and Our Coming Age of Barbarism (1983).^[89]

The Roman Catholic Church published A Christian reflection on the New Age in 2003, following a six-year study; the 90-page document criticizes New Age practices such as yoga, meditation, feng shui, and crystal healing.^[90][91] According to the Vatican, euphoric states attained through New Age practices should not be confused with prayer or viewed as signs of God's presence.^[92] Cardinal Paul Poupard, then-president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said the "New Age is a misleading answer to the oldest hopes of man."^[90] Monsignor Michael Fitzgerald, then-president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, stated at the Vatican conference on the document: the "Church avoids any concept that is close to those of the New Age."^[93]

Expressing agreement with the Vatican's position, Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention stated that many Baptists would regard New Age ideas as contrary to Christian tradition and doctrine.^[94]

Integral theory[link]

The author Ken Wilber posits that most New Age thought falls into what he termed the pre/trans fallacy.^[95] According to Wilber, human developmental psychology moves from the pre-personal, through the personal, then to the transpersonal (spiritually advanced or enlightened) level.^[96] He regards 80 percent of New Age spirituality as pre-rational (pre-conventional) and as relying primarily on mythic-magical thinking; this contrasts with a post-rational (including and transcending rational) genuinely world-centric consciousness.^[95][96] Despite his criticism of most New Age thought, Wilber has been categorized as New Age due to his emphasis on a transpersonal view,^[97] and more recently, as a philosopher.^[98]

Indigenous peoples of the Americas[link]

Some adherents of traditional disciplines, such as the Lakota people—a tribe of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, reject "the expropriation of [their] ceremonial ways by non-Indians." They see the New Age movement as either not fully understanding, deliberately trivializing, or distorting their disciplines.^[99]

They have coined the term plastic medicine men to describe individuals, from within their own communities "who are prostituting our spiritual ways for their own selfish gain, with no regard for the spiritual well-being of the people as a whole."^[99] The term plastic shaman has been applied to outsiders who identify themselves as shamans, holy people, or other traditional spiritual leaders, but who have no genuine connection to the traditions or cultures they claim to represent. The academic Ward Churchill criticised the New Age movement as an instrument of cultural imperialism that is exploitative of indigenous cultures by reducing them to a commodity to be traded. In Fantasies of the Master Race, he criticises the cultural appropriation of Native American culture and symbols in not only the New Age movement, but also in art and popular culture.^[100]

Goddess movement[link]

Followers of the Goddess movement have severely criticized the New Age as fundamentally patriarchal, analytical rather than intuitive, and as supporting the status quo, particularly in its implicit gender roles. Monica Sjöö (1938–2005) wrote that New Age channelers were virtually all women, but the spirits they purported to channel, offering guidance to humanity, were nearly all male. Sjöö was highly critical of Theosophy, the "I AM" Activity, and particularly Alice Bailey, whom she saw as promoting Nazi-like Aryan ideals. Sjöö's writings also condemn the New Age for its support of communication and information processing technologies which, she believes, may produce harmful low-level electromagnetic radiation.^{[101][102][103]}

See also[link]

	Ecology portal
	Sustainable development portal
	Culture portal

• 2012 phenomenon
• Eco-communalism
• Joachim of Fiore
• Higher consciousness
• Hippies
• New Age communities
• New Age music
• Paradigm shift
• Peace movement
• Philosophy of happiness
• Social conditioning
• Social equality
• Spiritual evolution
• Starwood Festival
• Transpersonal psychology
• Woodstock

	Spirituality portal
	Philosophy portal
	Astrology portal
	Environment portal

Notes and references[link]

Bibliography[link]

Further reading[link]

External links[link]

• New Age at the Open Directory Project
• The Wiktionary entry for New Age