Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Ambient Australia: Music, Meditation And Tourist Places, Christopher Gibson, John Connell

Chris Gibson

This chapter examines how music informs the creation of tourist places in Australia. It discusses one genre-ambient music-and the way it is related to geography both symbolically (in terms of cultural representations), and literally (in terms of links to musical and touristic activities in particular towns). The rise of ambient music has contributed to the imaginative representation of a touristic Australia of "natural" physical and cultural landscapes, where indigenous people are particularly significant. Designed to encourage relaxation and even sleep, in its cover art, its sounds and lyrics (where they exist), ambient music has emphasized "special" places both generic and …