Ambient is the umbrella term for electronic music that prioritises atmosphere, texture, and tonal colour over rhythm or melody. Brian Eno's 1978 Music for Airports is the genre's defining manifesto; he coined the term to describe music "as ignorable as it is interesting." Ambient covers a wide stylistic range, from the beatless drift of Stars of the Lid and William Basinski to ambient-techno hybrids (Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works, Biosphere) to dub-influenced ambient (Pole, Deepchord). The form is closely tied to IDM, glitch, and modern classical, and is increasingly a touchstone for contemporary electronic producers seeking a non-club register. Labels like Kompakt (via Pop Ambient), 12k, and Touch continue to drive releases.