Stokes, Saul

Artist: Saul Stokes
P:  2001
Cutting edge, original ambient sound, created almost exclusively through homemade gear. Another very successful sonic outing for Stokes. Sixth release for artist Saul Stokes and his first for Green House Music! This is a collection of 3 years of concert recordings with his latest multitrack atmospheric works. Original artwork and design by Saul Stokes.

Artist: Saul Stokes
P:  2003
Saul's solo album FIELDS has been very hotly anticipated by those who have heard parts of it (one track appeared on the Atmoworks compilation PORTRAITS), as it represents at once a revisiting of the familiar Stokes sound, as well as a venturing into some very new territory. Each of his releases on Hypnos has shown growth and development over the previous recordings, and FIELDS is perhaps the greatest leap yet. A prominent radio producer who heard the album predicted FIELDS would be the best album of this year. This is modern electronic music with an individual artist's unique personality clearly expressed throughout.

Artist: Saul Stokes
P:  2018
Saul Stokes is a musician from Oakland California. Described as one of today's most eclectic electronic musicians, Stokes has been producing and releasing his own angle of electronic music for over 16 years. Stokes creates music using an array of modular hand-forged electronics to achieve his signature sound. Recorded between 2016 and 2017 in Oakland California, the backbone for each song on Local Crowd was sonically sketched outside of Sauls studio using a Novation Circuit: "I composed pieces while travelling on planes, staying in hotel rooms, hot nights in my backyard, cold nights in front of a fire. I then transferred each sketch to my studio to to develop further. While composing, I often looked at imagery and maps of the Southern California coast line. I’ve always been fascinated by the dreamy mixture of hazy sun, palm trees, and urban bustle. Local Crowd was composed using the following music instruments and equipment: Novation Circuit, Yamaha TX817, Moog Slim Phatty, Analog RYTM, AKAI MPC 1000, PAIA dual spring reverb, akai s2000, Korg volca sample, korg volca bass, numerous BYOC effects pedals, Delta Lab Effectron2, T.C. Electronics M3000, Ableton Live, Max for Cats, Spektro Audio, Waldorf Largo, and of course my homemade synthesizers Abstractor and Circle 16 along with a homemade Buchla touchplate keyboard.

Artist: Saul Stokes
P:  2001
The primary sound sources on all Saul Stokes recordings are several vintage-style analog modular synthesizers built by Stokes himself. But don't mistake this to mean Stokes is working in a retro or "classic E-music" style, because this is definitely not the case. Perhaps no artist in the ambient/experimental music scene possesses a sound as distinctive, fresh and modern.
Those who have seen Saul's much-acclaimed live performances in Philadelphia during the past year can attest to his challenging and dynamic sound. It's world music for the mid-21st century, way ahead of its time. Ambient atmospherics blend with riveting electronic experimentalism, guided by an artistic savvy and grace all too rare in this tech-oriented genre.

Artist: Saul Stokes
P:  2003
Radiate is a startlingly bright and beautiful album, with sonic washes both warm and experimental. It also offers newcomers their best glimpse at the two modes of Stokes's work , willful improvisation and chilled ambient-techno.

Artist: Saul Stokes
P:  2011
Saul Stokes makes Electronic Music that sounds like it is coming straight out of the wall outlet. Over the years he has become known for his concerts of sonic improvisation and albums of complex atmospheric energy. His work has always been, and continues to be, based on crafting original sonic elements and forms into beautiful realizations of texture and consonance. More recently Stokes has been embracing his internal contrasts. On Sleek Nucleus (54'42") he produces music that registers in both the body and in the mind. Sleek Nucleus is front-loaded with catchy, engaging tracks - but although this CD's songs may be easier to grasp, this accessibility in no way represents a scaling back of ambition. While overlapping rhythms push Sleek Nucleus to the dance floor, for all its heat and beats the most interesting elements transpire quietly. His one-of-a-kind aural ideals bring a unique aesthetic to the field. This album is full of infectious rhythms, kinetic throbbing and subliminal pulse, but the thoughtful listener will also find grainy tones, chirping modulations and fascinating timbres amidst Stokes' melodic sound designs. Never succumbing to formula, Stokes uses ideas and imagination as maps. He is the musician who speaks most directly to our contemporary condition, but has always been too far out there and unclassifiable to gain the following he deserves. Not one of his works are less than perfect.

- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END

Artist: Saul Stokes
P:  2008
Villa Galaxia is a hyperfusion of sonic exploration seeded in Stokes’ seminary music past, while arcing into a completely new genre defining collection of songs. Stripping away any notion of ambient drone or chill out labeling, Villa Galaxia surfs its own ocean of contemporary electronic music culture with eccentric listenable experimentalism wrapped in catchy lyrical orchestras of electronic fireworks.

Artist: Saul Stokes
P:  1997
"Washed in Mercury, the first disc from (Saul) Stokes, also treads in extraterrestrial territories and metaphorical dreamstates, but the incorporation of rubbery beats provides earthly anchors. For verification, experience the perambulating "We Found It At Io," akin to the feel of a moonride in a vehicle with a flat tire, your equilibrium becoming upset and out of sync as unidentifiable galactic detritus whizzes by. Stokes's deft use of color, timbre and rhythm is remarkably cohesive -- the spacefunk throb of "Kasei" essentially renders some of its better known European equivalents moot, as it seductively marries the pulse of digidub to the science fiction aspects of space music, minus the genre's familiar vocabulary. Rinse off the mercury and await Stokes' further exploits with fervent interest."
--Darren Bergstein / i/e Magazine

Artist: Saul Stokes
P:  1998
On "Zo Pilots," he retains his recognizable sound even as he branches out into new sonic and compositional territory. The arrangements are more confident, the rhythms more open and off-kilter, the soundscapes deeper and richer.
With two albums to his credit and represented on several compilations, Saul Stokes is already recognized as one of the leading voices in modern Electronic Music. Described as "fresh and inventive", Stokes brings together elements of Space, Ambient, Industrial and Intelligent-Techno, forging a sound all his own. Performing on custom designed, hand built synthesizers, Stokes creates a sonic landscape somewhere between the floating textures of Vintage Spacemusic and the focused rhythms of Modern Ambient.

Chuck van Zyl

Artist: V/A
P: 2003
New and unreleased material , compiled by Databloem and mastered by Ron Boots.

Artist: Vir Unis, Vidna Obmana, Saul Stokes u.a.
P: 2003
"The latest release from Foundry Records, "sub.terra" is a fascinating compilation based around the concept of creating a series of pieces using only a trumpet as source material. the artists all started with a set of trumpet recordings and from there processed and treated the tracks until they came up with the works contained herein. and a very impressive collection of works it is! featuring tracks by Vir Unis, vidnaObmana, Saul Stokes, Michael Bentley and Interstitial, "sub.terra" provides not only an excellent group of challenging pieces, it also serves as an introduction to some of the best artists in the field of electronic music today. with each of the artists contributing their own interpretations, each adding their own particular sounds and flaours, "sub.terra" crosses a range of styles and ideals. from the dark drones of Interstitial, through the percussive groove of Vir Unis, the space and movement of vidnaObmana, the hypnotic chilled electronics of Saul Stokes, and the dark deep-space explorations of Michael Bentley, "sub.terra" is an excellent collection, and well worth checking out." rik maclean

Artist:  Vidna Obamana, Ron Boots
Alpha Wave Movement, Jeff Pearce, u.a.
P: 1998
This double CD features 142 minutes of previously unreleased material by musicians exploring the non-physical realm. This 2-CD set released on the Hypnos label is a must for devotees of drifting space synth music.

Artist: Saul Stokes, Vir Unis, James Johnson u.a.
P: 2002
All new titles, each artist was asked to create a self portrait in sound.

Artist: Vir Unis + Saul Stokes
P: 2002    
This CD 2002 offers 68 minutes of flowing electronic music. In this collaboration, Stokes is responsible for hand-forged electronics, sampling and rhythms, while Vir Unis handles synthesizers, treatments, grooves and manipulations.
Textural layers play a more prominent role here than in the above releases, serving as ethereal foundations for lively electronics and compressed rhythms. The main electronics are softer too, existing as surging sweeps which are embellished by additional sounds. Rotary noises often surface and ebb, as if striving to break through and infect the tunes with more agility. A pronounced liquid quality renders the songs with a softness that attributes them a remote demeanor. This soothing mien is also found in a variety of the sounds, like the fuzzed nature of numerous pulsations (an effect that stands in direct inverse to energetic crispness of those sounds). This coexistence of sharp and soft imbues the tunes with a distinctly entrancing appeal. Suppressing hyperactive chords in this way results in a slushy resonance, one that is highly attractive in its basic novelty.
The rhythms tend to be rather frantic, yet they are muffled so that the tempos flow instead of propel. The beats are highly synthetic, and are often actually non-impact sounds utilized in a rapid succession. Meanwhile, viable impacts sound more like slaps than hits.
These compositions pursue a lovely blend of ambience and animation, crafting melodies that flow in a relaxed manner while laced with prominently agile layers.

2009. Matt Howarth / Sonic Curiosity