AMBIENT AMERICANA
TUNING INTO A MOMENT
Deeplistening and cosmic pastoral
Deep thinker: Pauline Oliveros, June 2012
P
AULINE OLIVEROS had already established herself as one of the most important avant-garde composers of the 20th century long before she developed the concept of deeplistening, but that idea remains arguably her most prominent legacy. As she wrote in her 2005 book on the subject, “Deep listening is listening in every possibly way to everything possible to hear no matter what you are doing.” That practice dovetails with ambient music, which invites (but doesn’t demand) close attention and intense immersion, andit’s proved especially influential to cosmic pastoral artists.