The "neoambient" term--a sub-genre label connected to ambient music, was the first 'tag' created by zerofish9 @ Last.fm in 2006, and has since spawned a myriad of other sub-tags, lingo, and groups like ambiOfusion. The tag is now recognized by many music labels and listeners as a way to define some of today's newer artists and styles of ambient music. Similar in the way "New Age" defined a new way of thinking behind the "high tech classical" of the 90's, neoambient is linked to a new time period and new progression of thinking that's been shaping itself over the last decade, moving us still into new auditory landscapes.
In context, The "Neo" prefix here is generally associated to new artists, creating new forms of music, but it's 'tagged' to mainstream ambient as well--it simply depends on the artist's style and their vision, and like most genres the lines are becoming blurred. Even ambient icon Steve Roach (while not new to the scene) fits well in the neoambient realm--due mainly to his perspective, and the radiance his music evokes on the human psyche...and how it seems to center you back into "the great void". His music reflects the long and continual quest for us to connect with our inner self. .
