This album is the third entry of Eno’s Ambient series, which began in 1978 with Music for Airports followed by The Plateaux of Mirror.

The first three tracks are variations on a theme named "The Dance", and are delivered in a fast, hypnotic, Gamelan-like, rhythmic pace on a hammered dulcimer.

The final two tracks ("Meditation 1 & 2") are different; more in keeping with the "ambient" style featured on the rest of the series.

These are slow, meandering beatless compositions performed on the zither, with the dulcimer adding the odd highlight.

Eno's tactic in these two pieces is mainly to electronically highlight the zither's naturally long decay-rate, creating a highly ethereal sound.