A lesser-known and under appreciated form is growing in our midst. Its name is Ambient music. What is this music one cannot dance to? Why are there no hooks to sing out of key along to with the radio in traffic? Lacking the form or structure of Pop music, or even any other music, Ambient could be as simple as the sound of the wind or the sea. Though it is often interwoven with silky synthesised textures, melodic yet lyricless singing or sparse instrumentation.  

Ambient is a mood, a journey, a meditation if you will. First conceptualised and birthed by the mighty Brian Eno in an airport in Germany, it has grown a cult-like following of people seeking the mellow and the transportational aspects of music. Having been annoyed at the limbo he had entered waiting for his plane in Cologne Bonn airport he had the thought that there should be a kind of music to soothe the listener without it becoming the focus of the experience. He said, “It must be as ignorable as it is interesting”. And thus his seminal masterpiece: Music For Airports, and Ambient Music were born. 

Usually marginalised to meditation halls, long baths, individuals in dark rooms wearing headphones and visionary seekers on psychedelics, Ambient music has popped its mellow head up in the Cape Town music scene recently, and this writer couldn’t be happier for it. As you’d expect, the type of intimacy and quiet required for such an event often excludes it from most spaces and experiences live music performances usually resemble, as a typical ambient experience would usually be a solo one. So I reached out to Cape Town’s forerunning pioneer of mellow moods defying this norm. The one and only, peerless and aptly named Botanicas, or as I know him…Stephan. 

A curator of sonic storylines, luscious safe spaces and stunning installations. Stephan might also be the kindest, sweetest and most helpful being I’ve ever had the pleasure of befriending. Not only that, but I’ve literally seen him Mic up a delicious monster and make music out of a plant, how’s that for an instrument? With all that in mind, I sought him out from his sound cave and together we tried to pin down exactly what all this fuss I just made is all about. 

Tyla: “What is Ambient music?”

Stephan: “I feel that ambient is music that sets a tone, that without words speaks a sacred and hidden language only the listener can understand. It communicates to a part of the human experience where meaning isn’t directly stated, but rather what it feels like. Milieu. Through sounds and textures, a person is placed in a world or environment that mostly exists in their mind.”

T: “Why were you drawn to Ambient music?”

S: “I was moving through a lot of trauma through therapy and my therapist showed me some calming exercises. However, I was having difficulty doing them because they needed to be done in silence. I then happened upon a song called Birds of North America by Time Wharp which was exactly the same length of what my calming exercise should have been, instead of sitting in silence, I listened to this track to process it. The sounds really helped me calm my nerves in the gentlest way. The soft sounds preoccupied the parts of my body that were feeling tense and triggered, holding me in a sonic safety blanket while my mind could focus on moving through and processing those past experiences. That got me excited. That sound, when presented in a certain way, can evoke a certain kind of presence and calmness.”

T: “Can sound convey a message?”

S: “Most definitely, but I don’t think the message is necessarily as obvious or intentional. Opposed to a song with lyrics that projects ideas onto the listener, when listening to ambient music, to hear a message the sound travels into the listener and communicates with the listener’s inner self, which resonates. This resonance of ideas influenced by the sound mirrors the self in a way which creates a message that only the listener can hear. Much like a dream or a meditation.”

T: Ambient music is quite transportational, where are you taking us?

S: “I think when I started out my intention was to take the listener briefly to a place of sonic anxiety and overstimulation and then take them out of that into a more peaceful and relaxed place for a longer time. Then reintroducing the “anxious” parts again with diminished power because the listener is already in a state of calm. The reintroduction of an overstimulated environment back into a calmer environment really spoke to a lot of the internal things I am working through in terms of how anxiety is this pervasive feeling that boils up within and flushes out everything else. I think I try to play on that. One way I found to create this is to take the listener on a journey on a beach by the ocean and try to have the listener feel like they are tumbled and rolled around in the waves and pulled into the ocean, being submerged in water and stillness after that.” 

T: “You’re not strictly an Ambient composer but you seem to have a penchant for synthesis, why so?”

S: “Yeah I play synth in two bands (Sold Ash, Blue Vow) and I also have some unhinged stuff I release on SoundCloud. For me experimentation I think is the main focus. I do really love ambient music and enjoy composing it, but I mostly just enjoy creating and bringing together things that don’t seem like they belong together, and that have weird connotations. Synthesis really gives me the freedom to go in any direction I want, I can warp and change the sounds in such a way that they can change into something else completely. This versatility and flexibility is what I really love about synths.”

T: “Most people like Ambient music, but there aren’t many die hard fans. Have you begun to find other like-minded seekers of sound?”

S: “I got exposed to the experimental side of music when I went to a drone event and it was extremely uncomfortable for the first 30 mins, but after that the discomfort faded. The noise drones washed over me and I realised there is so much more to music. So I’ve been actively trying to grow the ambient community in Cape Town, trying to find people who enjoy engaging with music more intentionally. The other part is trying to encourage and inspire people to create. What would be amazing is if more people create weird and interesting things, and use sounds to tell a story. It doesn’t have to be big or impactful, but the act of creating something is so magical, I want more people to take part. Each person puts in their own magic, and showing people a few easy steps really can give insight into what the possibilities can be.” 

T: “Lacking an established “scene” or even venues catered to it, what’s it like to try to pioneer something new in an established space? One that is based on attentiveness and meditation rather than the normative spaces of socialising and intoxication.” 

S: “I think what really drives these spaces forward is the community and the support that the community gives these projects. I have received an overwhelming amount of support from people in Cape Town seeking alternative spaces, calmer spaces. Seeking venues has been challenging but I have received so much support from places like 196 Victoria and Our Local, and we have an upcoming event at Blind Tiger. These spaces welcome us to hold the space in the way we want, and that has been very powerful to get the message of what we are trying to do across. Going forward I really want to engage more with the city of Cape Town to gain access to venues like parks or swimming pools. I do try to stay away from popular show venues, as I think a space carries with it an expectation, and hosting a performance at a non-show venue, a lot of expectations but also behaviours are shifted.”

T: “I love your attention to detail for the other senses at your shows besides sound. How and why do you go beyond the medium of music to curate an experience?” 

S: “I really appreciate that you noticed that. I do try to put in a lot of effort. I think it has to do with setting that atmosphere and making the space accessible for people. When people attend an ambient show, I think it is important to provide a space where they can engage with the sounds without having to explain too much. Using lights, visuals, sights and textures helps distract people for that first part of the performance, as it isn’t always easy to reach the point of internal resonance. These sensory aids, I feel, guide the listener closer and closer to themselves. In addition they also provide a breather and break from all the internalisation without having to leave the space. I am also working on a few new things for this year in gallery spaces and more immersive art experiences, how they will look and feel will probably be a lot different than live events.”

T: “Any last thoughts or ruminations you’d like to leave us with to meditate on?”

S: “What I have learned is to let go of my expectations of myself, my delusions of grandeur and ambitions for success. Creating something and bringing it to life is such a pure form of expression and if that comes from a place of authenticity it can never be bad or wrong. Not everyone is going to like or enjoy what I do, and they don’t have to. As long as it means something to me, it will mean something to the people that love me.” 

If you are seeking an experience, a meditation for your mind and something that is not only unique but ephemeral, then I highly recommend Ambient music performances and the maestro Botanicas himself. Go ahead and follow him on Instagram under the handle: ambient plant music, and most of all don’t forget to support the talent in your city. That we may see it flourish and rise. That we may pioneer something beautiful and new.