Space age pop orbachelor pad music is a subgenre ofeasy listening orlounge music associated with American and Mexican composers, songwriters, and bandleaders in theSpace Age of the 1950s and 1960s.^[1] It drew on contemporary fascination with technology, outer space, and "exotic" locations, exploiting new audio technology such asstereophonic sound,multitrack recording, and earlyelectronic instruments.^[2][3][4]Irwin Chusid identifies the heyday of the genre as "roughly 1954 to 1963—from the dawn ofhigh-fidelity (hi-fi) to the arrival ofthe Beatles."^[5] Major artists in the genre includeJuan García Esquivel,Les Baxter,Enoch Light,Henry Mancini,Dick Hyman, andJean-Jacques Perrey.^[4][6]

Among the major influences on space age pop wereImpressionist composers such asMaurice Ravel andClaude Debussy,big band jazz,Hawaiian music, and contemporaryLatin American styles such assamba,mambo, andcalypso.^[7] There is much overlap between space age pop and contemporaryexotica,surf music,beautiful music, andeasy listening, and it may be regarded as a precursor tospace music or other forms ofambient music.^[2][6] Space age pop albums often have titles and covers related toscience fiction, featuring rockets, outer space vistas, andmid-century modern design, or emphasizing its intended audience of affluent, stylish bachelors incocktail bars and lounges.^[2][8]

The genre saw a revival in interest in the 1990s, hand in hand with the contemporaryswing revival andtiki revival which drew on related styles and aesthetics.^[9] Contemporary bands that took inspiration from the style were mixed in their approach, with some, such asCombustible Edison, seeking to revere and faithfully revive the style,^[10] while acts such asMr. Bungle andStereolab updated it with contemporary influences and offered postmodern commentary on easy listening styles' perceivedOrientalism and celebration ofconspicuous consumption.^{[11][12][13][14]}

• The Space Age pop-music page
• Gallery of Space Age pop album covers

• 1950s introductions
• 20th-century music genres
• Pop music genres
• Easy listening music
• Space Age
• American styles of music
• Mexican styles of music

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata