Roach, Steve

Artist: Steve Roach
P: 2013
AT THE EDGE OF EVERYTHING documents a peak moment in Steve Roach's live concert odyssey in Europe over a ten-year span. Recorded at the E-Live festival in The Netherlands, 2000, it represents the zenith of that period in his deep organic / tribal ambient sound, fused with a vibrant core of trance grooves and sequencer passages, shamanic electronic and atmospheric soundworlds. The entire concert is taken to the next level with guests Vidna Obmana on fujara (overtone flute) and Jeffrey Fayman on frame drum. The interaction on "Apparition Collaboration" especially shows the spirit of riding the edge, with Steve on didgeridoo and Vidna Obmana on fujara in full bloom. AT THE EDGE OF EVERYTHING is volcanic in its expression of the power of sound and the spontaneous, focused energy drawn from the moment. Equally impressive is the dynamic serpentine set as it emerges from what feels like the near future. Truly music for the time of now, as we are at the edge of everything.

Artist: Steve Roach
P: 2019
On ATMOSPHERE FOR DREAMING, Steve Roach presents a masterfully realized immersive habitat that is instantly transportive, organic and alive. The verdant environment of hovering, sustained earthbound atmospherics comingle with a surreal processed Australian outback ambience resulting in a sonic ecosystem of tranquility and renewal. This 74 minute long-form immersion zone is an evolution of the pre-concert soundworld that quietly permeated the performance venue before the start of the 2018 "Return to the Dreamtime" shows in Tucson and Santa Fe, and experienced on the SomaFM concert broadcasts. This release also shares its intention and spirit with the longform classic THE DREAM CIRCLE, which was also born as a pre-concert atmosphere before evolving to its current state. ATMOSPHERE FOR DREAMING is designed for infinite looped playback.

Artist: Steve Roach 
P: 1999
"Atmospheric Conditions" by Steve Roach was inspired and later compiled from several experiences in the concert setting, further proving the value of a gathering of listeners centered around a musical performance. "Atmospheric Conditions" evolved out of Roach's travels and concerts in such diverse places as the beautiful hills of Tuscany and the urban setting of the studios where STAR'S END radio originates.
"Atmo" is one lengthy piece, moving slowly between four movements. The studious fan of subterranean soundworlds will find several reference points throughout this recording. After a stormy beginning, the clouds slowly part and we embark on a steady, subtle section of soft percussion and new rhythm patterns. The CD closes with a gentle track evocative of the reverent Deep Listenings weekend where the piece was recorded.

Artist: Steve Roach 
P: 2012
BACK TO LIFE is a masterful expression drawing from the deep end of Steve Roach's mythic imagination; an enveloping experience of vast beauty and mystery.
Described by Steve as a new phase of his long-form symphonic ambient works, this direction has been evolving over the course of the benchmark releases THE MAGNIFICENT VOID, MYSTIC CHORDS & SACRED SPACES, DYNAMIC STILLNESS and SIGH OF AGES. The symphonic comparison comes from the presence of movements and passages along with reoccurring themes created from sounds and textures. These harmonically rich, multi-layered pieces breathe with an elemental ebb and flow, and seem to contain an energy from within that builds with each listening experience.
BACK TO LIFE speaks directly to the the multi-nuanced, non-verbal portion of our perception. The pieces draw nourishment from the essence of nature, the timeless expressions of the human experience in art and music, the sharing of life's beauty in wordless wonder-filled reflections and reveries in the amber light of the waning sunset. Back to the subtle beauty of life, indeed.
In early 2011, Steve returned to the studio to place complete focus on composing, creating new sounds, and "hitting the reset button on the foundation of my life beyond music." Through this personal reset, Roach forged deeper into his devotion to the rarified soundcurrent connection that runs constant through all of his work and that is recognized and appreciated by his audience worldwide.

Artist: Steve Roach
P: 2019
Handmade music cultivated on analog tools continues to be a staple of Steve’s sound. He reflects, “This 4-part suite engages the listener in the spontaneous process in which the music evolved; it captures the sense of urgency and the direct transmission of pure emotion I felt at that moment in my Timeroom studio. Working this way, the infinite detail and visceral sonic impact of the large format and eurorack analog modular synthesizer systems feeds the mental states this music activates — hyper-alert, expansive and kinetic, yet suspended and calm at the center. The album title itself draws inspiration from the patterns of symmetry and organic beauty found in nature, while on another level there’s awareness of the unfoldment that modular-based music is seeing worldwide.”
A unique petal on this bloom is the track “Synesthete” which relates to the idea of synesthesia: a sensation produced in one modality when a stimulus is applied to another modality, such as when the hearing of a certain sound induces the visualization of a certain color. Steve recently discussed this concept with Psychology Today: “This new release embraces the fusion of being both a synthesist (one who creates with a synthesizer) and synesthete. This is clearly about the correlation of the sound-color-taste-texture and three-dimensional sound activation and immersion experience I strive for in my work. This is more than just my own relationship with this trait throughout my life, for years listeners have reported their own experience of synesthesia in my work. This release will celebrate this aspect of our perception.”

Artist: Steve Roach, David Parsons,
A Produce u.a.
P: 2006
""Borealis"" is the first DVD release of Sausalito, CA-based light artist Lynn Augstein. ""Borealis"" is a one-hour music and light immersion featuring Lynn's transparent light waves accompanied by deep, cellular sound, from ambient music artists Steve Roach, David Parsons, Ranga, Om, A Produce and Dwight Loop. All images are made from halogen light sources. ""Borealis"" is experiential light projection art, drawing on a long tradition in the use of light and color as a creative medium. Also included in this deluxe DVD package is an 8-minute interview with the artist talking about her light art, giving insight into her inspiration and artistic development; an 10-minute preview of her upcoming DVD release ""Mandala"" and 10-minutes of footage from Lynn's various installations and concert collaborations.

Artist: Steve Roach
P: 2001 / 2017
LTD 500
Steve's 2001 solo release CORE has evolved into a dynamic convergence of his most essential organic, electronic, rhythmic and atmospheric elements and what could be his most elegant and powerful dynamic solo release in years. This summer has been a time of renewal as Roach turned away from all concerts, collaborations and other offers, directing the focus deep into the heart of this powerful journey, back to the core. 100% pure Steve Roach music.
All artists in electronic sound create music for very personal reasons. For some it's to be in close proximity to technology, for others it is a means of self expression or even as therapy, a meditation into their own subconscious lives. On Core, Steve Roach presents a work that is the result of these and other more mysterious motivations.
The arc of the album can be graphed out in a series of energy levels represented by the twists and turns Roach takes on his way up from the core. The music seems born out of stone and bubbles up like magma through smoky fissures in brittle crust. Roach's low-intensity trance rhythms may lead the listener to a false reference to the tribal movement in modern dance music. With closer listening we discover the trend to be more cerebral in origin. The ever-evolving motion of complex loop patterns slipping in and out of phase reveals the artist's master manipulation over the pulse of the music and the subtleties of mood. Becoming lost in Roach's circuits of beats is easy and desirable.
The essence of this music, carried up through the many contrasting layers of the underneath, eventually finds its way out into the coolness and light of the open air. Dancing arpeggiated notes, resonant analogue tones and interlocking percussion accents surge out of breathing synth swells.
With this emergence, the music sweeps off into the infinite regions above terra firma - a good place from which to look back on a convoluted sonic journey, one which ends in a place that is quite different from where it began.


 

Artist: Steve Roach
P: 2025
LTD 500
Steve says: “These 60 minutes of live electronic/ambient music were inspired by cosmic metal band Blood Incantation’s invitation to cross the bridge of genre limitations and unleash our sonic passions together on the same stage for the premiere of their new album; it was an opportunity to present my music to a new audience.
The set was built from elements of my 2024 US tour performed in large cathedrals and churches, compressing it into a hyperblending of constant shapeshifting.; from mystical deep ambience, to multilayered sequencer-woven trance, to tribal and acoustic-infused dreamtime realms.”

DECIBEL magazine’s Cosmo Lee writes, “This is beyond perfect! Metal band with mystical leanings befriends their synth spirit animal. Mystical friends play together in a mystical town literally a mile high. One of them is named Roach. Roach is a giant in new age/ambient music. I own 25 of his albums. I was curious how a 69-year- old with keyboards would come off live. He turned the theater into a cathedral. Serene desert sounds gave way to classic prog synths, then gentle tribal rhythms, then transcendental space.
The rousing response afterwards seemed to genuinely surprise him.”

Steve again:
“The moment I walked out on stage, I could feel the energy unleashing on all levels. An emotional sense of crossing into a hyper present state of focus – the place I love so much about the live experience. As the set unfolded, the response of the audience became fuel for the moment. It’s all here on this live recording like no other in my catalog as we cross the bridge together!”

Artist: Steve Roach
P: 2002    
The complete soundtrack to TIME OF THE EARTH.
This soundtrack release will contain classic tracks along with out-of-print and hard-to-find pieces woven together to tell the wordless story from the recent desert dreamtime DVD on Projekt. This release will also provide a comprehensive view of Steve's influential tribal-ambient and desert-ambient soundworlds. Like last year's PURE FLOW collection, the combination and sequence of the tracks along with the continuous presentation reflects a new perspective on the different eras of Steve's work.
Supporting the theme will be a hauntingly beautiful cover image that Steve has been saving for the right release, ever since 1987. This black & white image is from a remote part of Mono Lake in California, and taken by reknown nature photographer Jim Stimson. The image itself seems to emanate a world of sound that occurs on this day out of time.