Ambrosia is the attempt to fill a niche – an expose of the ins and outs, the highs and lows of a culture, a genre of music, a way of life: Electronica.

I applaud James Cummins for his attempt to approach a by-and-large un-academic (perhaps even anti-academic?) area academically. Few would be acquainted both with the underground movement and also disparate, in this case often philosophical, sources that could serve to explain the essence of electronic music.

This is Cummins’ fourth book and his second on the topic of electronica. He begins by defining a plethora of terms such as the sub-genres of electronica and the major roles played within the industry.

He goes on to discuss the culture that surrounds this music – drug use, dance and light shows – and proceeds to examine their past, present and future realities. It’s a survey that is both interesting and informative. Often after finding myself questioning why such-and-such an issue hadn’t been addressed (spiritualism, escapism), I’d happily encounter it later in the work.

The overall intention seems to be to establish electronica as a force to be reckoned with, or the herald of a new era. Cummins attacks many misconceptions with statistics and anecdotes.

It’s obvious that a great deal of research was conducted in the making of this work – interviews with hundreds of people with opinions on the subject, including the founders (so the author insists, though his insistence suggests that this is a major point of contention) of the entire movement. Occasionally, however, the relevance of these opinions appears questionable.

The philosophical exploration of the subject is interesting and often captivating, but just as often, the relevance is unclear. Most would have difficulty understanding the relevance of philosophers like Kierkegaard or Schopenhauer and those that would be sympathetic to this attempt at philosophical explanation, would find the work lacking in depth and clarity.

The point being made requires clarification and distracting typos need to be fixed. Even metaphors, though sometimes apt, often seem contrived and superfluous, such as this passage:

“Each art form embraced a wave of change … that wave crashed on the shores of every major city worldwide. The bulge of pent-up expression spilled over and then knocked down the dykes that had been built around the norm. The flood just swept away any person who tried to put any of their 10 fingers in the way.”

After reading this book, I am better informed on the subject of electronic music, but I am still unable to properly distinguish between subgenres.

I also remain unconvinced that electronica is as holy as the author suggests and certainly not that it is “the purest form of sanctity.”

Published in Volume 64, Number 4 of The Uniter (September 24, 2009)