Dusty Henry with Martin Douglas — '20th Century Ambient'

Third Place Books welcomes KEXP's Dusty Henry, co-host of the podcast The Cobain 50, for the release of 20th Century Ambient. In this new installment of the popular 33 1/3 series, Henry's book walks through ambient’s ambiguous timeline to uncover not just the genre’s evolution but to understand why it resonates so deeply with the human spirit, from Erik Satie, Brian Eno and Alice Coltrane, all the way through modern artists spearheading ambient in the still early 21st century. Music journalist and Cobain 50 co-host Martin Douglas joins in conversation.

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Ambient music is a part of our daily lives, whether we all realize it or not. It’s the undercurrent in some of our favorite songs. It’s the mood-setting background music in our favorite movies and video games. We hear it in the placid music pumped through the speakers in department stores, on critically acclaimed albums from generational talents, and in synthesizer drones from the depths of Soundcloud. It’s present in the peaceful sounds of spa music, new-age chants, and wellness resources like the Calm app that purport ambient’s healing properties. You can find it on those strange, anonymous instrumental nature albums you can buy at Bed Bath & Beyond. It shows up in genres ranging from electronic and rock music to jazz and lo-fi beats. Ambient is everywhere.
20th Century Ambient details a crucial period in which ambient music became a fully realized idea and is secretly one of the most popular genres in the world. Ambient has existed debatably as long as music itself. It wasn’t until the 20th century that it became a defined genre. This book walks through ambient’s ambiguous timeline to uncover not just the genre’s evolution but to understand why it resonates so deeply with the human spirit. From Erik Satie’s classical compositions, hidden histories in blues and dub music, innovations by Brian Eno and Alice Coltrane, all the way through modern artists spearheading ambient in the still early 21st century.

Dusty Henry is a writer and editor based out of Seattle, Washington, USA. His work has appeared extensively at KEXP, a non-profit radio station and arts organization, where he oversees the station’s editorial work. He is the co-host of the podcast The Cobain 50 and helped produce, script, and conceptualize the award-winning podcasts 50 Years of Hip Hop and Fresh off the Spaceship: The Story of the Black Constellation. His work has also appeared in Stereogum, NPR Music, and Consequence of Sound, as well as featured at the Pop Conference. He also writes the newsletter Another Thought.

Martin Douglas has been a proper music journalist since 2010. He has written for publications such as Pitchfork, MTV News, and respected music blog Passion of the Weiss, as well as many others. Martin currently lives in North Seattle and works as a staff reporter for KEXP, where he authors the long-running Pacific Northwest music column “Throwaway Style" and served as co-host and co-producer of the Webby Honoree podcast Fresh off the Spaceship.

About Third Place Books

Founded in 1998 in Lake Forest Park, Washington, Third Place Books is dedicated to the creation of a community around books and the ideas inside them. With locations in Lake Forest Park and Seattle's Ravenna and Seward Park neighborhoods, Third Place Books is proud to serve the entire Seattle metro area. Learn more about their event series at thirdplacebooks.com/events.

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