New Age music, is a style of music originally associated with some New Age beliefs. It has its basis in the work of various 1960s European and American electronic and acoustic musicians, and is generally characterised as being primarily instrumental and repetitively melodic in nature. Recordings of naturally occurring sounds are sometimes used as an introduction to a track or throughout the piece.
Partly due to some artists' open affiliation with various New Age beliefs, other artists and bands have specifically stated that they do not consider their own music to be New Age - although their work may be labelled that way by record labels, music retailers, or radio broadcasters.
New Age music is largely typified by modal and consonant harmonies, usually in conjunction with patches of sound effects or nature samples. New Age music includes both electronic and instrumental forms, frequently relying on sustained pads or long sequencer-based runs; and acoustic forms, featuring instruments such as flutes, piano, acoustic guitar and a wide variety of non-western acoutsitc instruments. In many cases, high-quality samples are used instead of natural acoustic instruments. Vocal arrangements were initially rare in New Age music but as it has evolved vocals have become more common, especially vocals featuring Sanskrit, Tibetan or Native American-influenced chants, or lyrics based on mythology such as Celtic legends. Very long songs, up to 20 minutes and more, are frequent and generally expected. Some of these characteristics could equally be said to describe the closely related genres of Ambient music and Space music.
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. Other influences are early electronic music, classical music, ethnic music and world music
Source: Wikipedia
