Ironomi and how ambient music changes our lives ten-fold

When you ask someone what their favourite genre of music is, they’re very unlikely to say it’s ambient/instrumental. This is fair, because when there is more expressive, dynamic music out there with more texture and lyrics, people are naturally going to be more interested in that because it’s more fun. But ambient music does hold a wide range of benefits for our health, focus, and happiness in life, like all art does. This story aims to explain the benefits of ambient music in a world of constant stimulation and keeping our brain busy, and the perfect starter artist to listen to who has been running ambient music perfectly for 20 years at the end.

Stress and anxiety reduction

A recent study from Yale concluded that listening to music during mindfulness and quiet times during the day was proven to reduce stress and alter the brain’s state of consciousness. 38 Community participants were invited to the BLOOM Community Centre in New Haven to watch the New Haven Symphony Orchestra perform while hooked up to mobile heart rate and EEG monitors while engaging in music mindfulness sessions with a live facilitator and musician. Not only did it reduce stress and alter consciousness, but the results signified that music mindfulness may even be able to contribute to the treatment of anxiety and depression symptoms.

Better focus/concentration

Journalists and scientists from the University of Maryland also concluded that listening to instrumental and ambient music while studying can help block out distractions, improve the brain’s concentration and maintain attention, especially during study sessions. Many students across high school and university have found it as “the perfect medium between listening and not listening to music”, Schempp writes. 

Phyllis Medina, Phd and portfolio director of psychology at UM Global Campus, says variety and preference are also great to establish. “One needs to think about what music they enjoy. For example, traditional classical is not for everyone, but soundtracks from Destiny or Skyrim might do the trick”.

No lyrical engagement means no distraction

Staying on the topic of focus, ambient & instrumental music is also extremely helpful for activities that require focus such as studying, reading, and even gaming, not just due to their ability to block distractions and increase focus, but also due to the absence of lyrics. This is because since they contain no lyrics, it prevents the listener from having to switch attention and be drawn between the lyrics of the song and the words that they are reading or writing.

Ironomi: at the center of it all

Ironomi is a Japanese ambient and neo-classical duo who have undoubtedly become a staple of ambient music over the past 20 years. Starting in 2008, the two have released over 90 fully instrumental songs which consist of no lyrics and are known for their peacefulness and connection with nature. The name “Ironomi” literally translates to “fruit of colour” in English, and has been confirmed to be an aesthetic hint tied deeply to the colours and shifts of Japan’s four seasons. Their diverse use of instruments at the right moments, peaceful core, absence of lyrics, and mostly optimistic tone is what makes them the perfect choice for a wide sport of activities such as mindfulness, studying, walking, and even sleeping, all of which will improve your health, and when your brain associates music with these activities, it will be more inclined to do them.

Creators of Ironomi, Junya Yanagidaira (Left) and Yu Isobe (Right), standing in a deserted country area. 

(Photo: Kitchen Label)

In summary, ambient music is extremely optimal for our health due to its ability to lower stress levels, increase focus, and associate healthy activities like studying, exercising, and mindfulness with the good dopamine associated through music. Ironomi has proven to be the perfect example of this; a duo whose music lowers stress, allows focus, and rejects lyrics is the perfect example of the kind of ambient music that improves our life.