LONG THOUGHTS is ambient music master Steve Roach's first long-form electronic release on Projekt since 2012. In an era where a constant deluge of overstimulation from all directions challenges and fractalizes our attention span into smaller and smaller packets, this 73-minute sanctuary provides solace; a soul-renewing immersion in the deeper end of the self-reflection pool. Roach first imagined the foundation of this release in early 2016, and over the last fifteen months he lived and slept listening to evolving versions of the album. This extended timeframe with LONG THOUGHTS supported a subtle, developing sense of the energy within the piece. A consummate evolution is important to Steve's fully-immersed micro-to-macro-soundsculpting approach. When experienced in looped infinite playback mode, the album creates a sense of constant, sustained nourishment to realign, reset, and soften the edges of modern life's quantized thought process. LONG THOUGHTS is part of a larger body of acclaimed long-form pieces from Roach's vast catalog. "To the Threshold Of Silence" (from WORLD'S EDGE), THE DREAM CIRCLE, SLOW HEAT, BLOODMOON RISING and the six hours of the Immersion series are all part of the sonic DNA contained in LONG THOUGHTS. Roach's pioneering approach to the soundscape-drone-ambient artform draws from a rich harmonic tapestry of chordal interweaves and original sound design. Moving beyond the static form of drone music, Roach's work in this area breathes and sighs with an organic wave that exists in its own dimension yet feels intimately familiar. The music presents the listener with many ways to create their own Long Thought zone: gazing into the summer night sky, endless loop mode in the home at a low volume, direct engagement at a louder volume, used as a sleep environment, or for "holding of the space" as a kind of aural incense burning gently through the day and night.
As Roach enters his fourth decade as an artist of visionary soundworlds, his dedication to this artform presents a vital sanctuary of deep resonance and reflection.
