Brand, Steve

Artist: Steve Brand
P: 2011
Avatara is Sanskrit for "descent" in the sense of a deity's descent from heaven to earth. Avatara is inspired by the various avatars of various ages and cultures...Yeshua, Quan Yin, Buddha, Brigit, Krishna, Saint Germain, White Buffalo Calf Woman, and others. I’m fascinated by the idea and the various stories in various ages and cultures of humans becoming "ascended masters," or avatars, non-human beings that still are attached to humans and choose to returns to Earth to assist them. The stories vary, and almost every culture has its masters, but one thing is consistent throughout each of their stories, they've realized a more expanded expression of being and awareness, of what we are and what we are capable of, and return to assist other human beings.Steve Brand got his start releasing experimental music under the name "Augur," and more recently switched over to releasing music under his own name (both solo and in collaboration with such artists as Ishq and Disturbed Earth) on the Atmoworks, Hypnos Secret Sounds and Relaxed Machinery labels. He's quickly established himself as one of the more interesting and distinctive artists working in ambient music, and having released two albums Bridge to Nowhere and Children of Alcyone on Hypnos Secret Sounds in 2008 and 2009, we're very excited to follow up with Steve Brand's new album Avatara on the main Hypnos imprint. This album has a ritual feel common to many of Brand's recordings, though Avatara is more ambient and less percussive. The recording starts out in a place of low-key contemplation and evolves through distinct stages and moods, though it is always gentle and meditative.

Artist: Steve Brand
P: 2003
Brand's work has always had a ritualistic element, and sound sources include: medicine drum, udu, rattles, various flutes, bells, conch shell, thumb piano, cora, Indian fiddle, found, natural and handmade objects, voice, field recordings and keyboards. Bridge to Nowhere is a spacious, slow-breathing exploration of a meditative state, and nowhere in Brand's work is the ritualistic element more present than in this case.
Ambient music in general is often considered to be "spacy" or conducive to altered states of consciousness in general, but this music specifically seems exploratory, meditative, and even a bit "druggy" and strange. As fans of this music ourselves, we particularly love it when an artist seems genuinely to have tapped into a reality outside our own -- to have slowed down the world or distorted it, or viewed things through a prism or kaleidoscope. The work of Steve Brand functions in this way, and we're pleased to be able to deliver this incredible, no-side-effects sound trip, to Hypnos listeners!

Artist: Steve Brand
P: 2009
Children of Alcyone demonstrates the characteristic otherworldly quality of the artist's best work. Generally quite simple, at times singlemindedly minimal, this work is nonetheless possessed of a depth and complexity that are revealed upon repeated listening. Stretched-out drone structures combine with subtle tribal/ethnic elements to create very effective atmospheres for almost hypnotic relaxation.
Though we're tempted to call Brand one of our favorite "new" artists, in fact he has been active as a recording artist for quite some time, having released many recordings under the name Augur, along with a handful of solo and collaborative works under his own name this past year.
"A supra-terrestrial theme also runs through Children of Alcyone, the second release by Steve Brand (who's also issued recordings under the Augur name) to appear on Hypnos Secret Sounds. The inspiration for the work came from the writings of Barbara Marciniak whose books supposedly channel information from the Pleiadians, distant ancestors of ours from the Pleiades constellation (Alcyone, incidentally, the name of the constellation's 'central sun'). Initial sound sketches for the recording were produced in September 2007 during a master class taught by Steve Roach and were refined subsequent to it at Brand's studio. The material on Children of Alcyone is minimal, even simple, by design but is alluring nonetheless. Lonely tones whistle to one another across immense expanses, and a melancholy spirit shadows the four calming meditations. A brooding epic of long tones and ringing percussive flourishes, 'Outside the Grid of Tim' forcefully draws the listener into its murky depths, but the recording's coup de grace is the stirring 'Light Age' where minimal synthetic tones unfurl gracefully for an entrancing twenty-three minutes. Showing a deft and pitch-perfect touch, Brand skilfully weaves the elements into hypnotic form, never hurrying the material along nor slowing it down too much either. The result is that rare thing: ambient music that's both artful and moving."

Artist: Steve Brand
P: 2011
Coniunctio is the joining of two longform ambient works. Pale Blue Orb is very celestial,spacious,glowing in the warmth of enveloping light and consciousness while The Beginning of Days is more terrestrial,Earthy.Pale Blue Orb includes the sounds of the human voice,bells,didg and cosmic expanses of orchestral and choral washes that overlap,revealing and moving away again into obscurity. The majority of Pale Blue Orb was improvised during,and energized by,a very active electrical storm in one evening. The composition includes bell sounds contributed by Matt Hillier/Ishq.
The Beginning of Days includes the sounds of cicadas,processed flutes and breath sounds,and tectonic rumblings. While working on this piece,Steve became aware of channeled information regarding prophesies made around the year 2012. While the media presents 2012 as a time of fear and chaos,Steve found from his research that the true message of this period is of hope,fundamental change and empowerment on a scale that we have never witnessed before as a species. There was a huge disparity between the two visions,and the title is his answer to all the “end of days” spook stories presented in popular media.The idea of releasing the two albums together came as part of Steve’s longtime interest in sacred symbols. About 2 to 3 years ago,he became aware of the one of the simplest and oldest sacred symbols,the “+” sign. He came to learn that the “+” symbol (among other meanings) is one of the oldest symbols for the coming together,intersection or union of Earth and the heavens/Spirit,encompassing the horizontal line of the Earth,with the vertical line representing the celestial or Spirit. He saw a connection between these two musical compositions (a very terrestrial one,and a very celestial one),and this symbol. Once that connection was made,he resolved to release them together as one bundled release.

Artist: Steve Brand
P: 2019
The sessions of “Graduated” began in mid-2017 and leverage some of the live techniques and approaches that I utilized in my recent “Near Series,” but is much more of a studio album in terms of it’s deliberateness and thoughtfulness of approach. On a more personal level, central themes for these pieces are, completion or finality, moving on, passage, trascending old barriers, renewal, transformation, growth and the ever present nature of change. Recently, I stepped back a bit from my music and began to notice a story arc, or narrative thread, in the tone and titling of my albums that seem to foreshadow changes in my personal life. So, I decided to actively engage with this prognosticatory dialogue by naming this album something I felt was aspirational and appropriate to the story arc I was intuitively telling others and myself, and I quickly arrived at the title, Graduated. Making this title even more salient, over the past 4 or more years, I’ve had recurring dreams where I find myself having moved on from, or graduated from, school, a job, a relationship, or a way of life, and ready to move on to something new, yet completely clueless about how to take that next move, while still anxiously anticipating whatever may come next. For me, this set of songs reflect all of these insights and emotions..

Artist: Steve Brand
P: 2012
Our True Nature” consists of two 35 minute drifting, atmospheric ambient soundscapes titled, “True Nature” and “Genuine Nature.” Inspired by my mentor, Nadja, and by events in my life that continue to demonstrate to me that our lives are always about the process of unfolding, gradually revealing our true nature. O.T.N., was originally conceived as a companion piece to the 2012 rerelease, “Sunprints,” and is constructed primarily with keyboards, bells, flutes, zither, whistles, rattles, rainstick, field recordings and voice.
 

Artist: Steve Brand
P: 2011
SoulSpiral is the first in a series of re-mastered,re-worked,re-releases and special releases to come on Steve Brand's label, Pioneer Light.
SoulSpiral offers two complementary long pieces highlighting the twin strengths in Steve Brand’s music:the ethereal and the earthy. These soundworlds are intense,thrilling and richly textural. The sum is a shamanic journey of discovery,letting go and renewal. Along the way we experience,like breezes on our skin,echoes of starlight and angelsong,the beckoning of voices and possibilities – full of light,acknowledging the shadow without fear. We are challenged to leave our comfort zones behind,for the exhilaration of rebirth,of discovering our true selves. That quest takes us across galaxies,eons,deep into our own heartbeat,breath and tears – leading to that ageless truth which every soul must embrace. Using synths,voices,didgeridoo,Tibetan horns,African kora,drums and bells,SoulSpiral beautifully embodies the yin-and-yang of Steve Brand’s musical aesthetic:exploration and introspection,stillness and ecstacy,ritual and revelation.

Artist: Steve Brand
P: 2011
"Upwelling", released in association with Relaxed Machinery, is a collection of epiphanies, experiments, singular moments, remixes and re-discoveries.
Some of the music for this collection like the re-workings/remixes of "Forgotten Feast" and "Morning Glory" were completed while working on previous albums, some, "Selves Like Facets of Diamonds" and "The Language of Moon and Tide," where accomplished in moments of inspiration and depth of feeling, and still others, "Upwelling" and "The Web," are remixes and rethinkings of tracks

Artist: Steve Brand
P: 2018
Steve Brand about this album: "Upwelling: Emergence,” like it’s predecessor, “Upwelling” (2011), is collection of epiphanies, experiments, singular moments, re-workings, remixes and re-discoveries. Tracks were recorded between 2009 and 2017. Some of the music for this collection, like “Innervoice” and “Krater Of Earth" were completed while working on previous albums, but eventually set aside for various reasons. Some like, “Black Rock Temple” and “Womb Of Earth” were improvised in moments of inspiration and depth of feeling. Still others, “Names That Cannot Be Spoken” and “Host,” are remixes and rethinkings of tracks that were originally released on compilations. “Near Earth” was created exclusively for this compilation and is an extension of my recent “Near Series…” trilogy.