Drone Meditation
tagStarted 1975Peak 1980–presentLast big hit still active
Located in 1 route
Drone Meditation relies on sustained tones, harmonic beating, and long-duration tuning relationships rather than melody or pulse. It is one of the most physically immersive contemplative styles, because small shifts in overtone color become the “event,” encouraging extremely focused listening.
History
The subgenre links meditative Western ambient to much older drone traditions and to late-20th-century electronic minimalism. Robert Rich’s sleep concerts, Steve Roach’s slow-space works, Eno’s sustained-process pieces, and various healing/entrainment recordings all fed its development; later wellness culture simply recontextualized the drone from avant-ambient object to practical meditation tool.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Robert Rich on *Somnium* and sleep concerts
- Steve Roach official materials
- ambient-listening scholarship
- artist discographies centered on long sustained works