Roach, Steve

Artist: Steve Roach
P: 1998 / 2018
LTD 500
Roach once again shows that less is more. After repeated listenings the mind opens up, time slows down, and previously-hidden colors come into new light. Slow Heat captures the desert atmosphere, isolation, and calming stillness as only Roach can. The first of Roach's new Timeroom Editions, "Slow Heat" follows in Roach's ever-evolving ambient style that has produced recent memorables "The Magnificent Void" and "The Dream Circle." Sporting a dazzling cover by digital artist Andy McIntyre, the CD consists of one 71-minute atmospheric piece designed to be played in continuous playback mode.
"Slow Heat" resonates with Roach's desert impressions. It does have a very warm feel to it, reminding me of shimmering desert mirages and hot, quiet summer days. As Roach reflects in the booklet, "there are certain times of the day when everything falls silent, as if the birds, cicadas, and even the trees are under the spell of the heat." This feel is effectively reproduced in the atmospheres, an environmental ambience that swelters and recedes, a wide pallet of sounds that varies lazily over the CD's course. Since "Structures From Silence," Roach continues to produce longform work of very high quality, and "Slow Heat" is perhaps his best yet. The sounds echo the vastness of open spaces, the hum of nature, and the placidity of peace and solemnity; the complex polytonal chords give rise to intense human emotions; and the dynamics range from undercurrent to thunderous.

Artist: Steve Roach 
P: 2012
Steve Roach's artistic medium is sound. Every true artist finds their original voice in their tone. Through Steve's innate sense of rich tonal color and complex harmonic creation comes his unique signature voice.
From the inside-outwards, this quality is his inherent soul tone. Over the span of several decades the tone has evolved and yet feels connected to a constant source. This sonic genesis is one of the original promises of electronic music in Steve's hands. It is fully alive and present on all of his releases. His signature voice is one of creating hand-made sounds from which the music emerges. SOUL TONES is an evolving expression of expansive breath. Rich color blends into into dark space. Massive sheets of harmonic meditations filter down to the edge of silence. Like a visual painter, Steve chooses his musical spaces as his canvas and blends his sounds -- his paints -- to connect to a higher need.
SOUL TONES is the wing of the gallery where pieces like A DEEPER SILENCE, AFTERLIGHT, and "Piece of Infinity" would be found. Like all of his long-form pieces, Steve lives the music, playing it and listening to it many hours of the day and night, shaping it into its mercurial form over months or even longer.
This release is the first of a three CD series, each disc arriving about four months apart. This offers a different perspective: inner-connected pieces with space and time between each. It encourages full absorption by the listener. FLOW STATES is the second part of the series and is scheduled to be released on Projekt in the spring of 2013. The third part will be released a few months later.

Artist: Steve Roach
P: 2003    
SPACE AND TIME offers a unique overview of the nearly 20 years of groundbreaking recordings from ambient pioneer Steve Roach.
Excerpting tracks from his thirteen Projekt CD's, Roach selected and mixed these pieces into a perfect flow which serves as an ideal insight into his vast recorded history. "Space" and "time" are two themes that run constant in all Roach's music. Rich with emotion and nuance, his sound creations evoke a strong sense of space and atmosphere while simultaneously altering the perception of time within that space. From the expansive, time-suspending landscapes reflected in releases such as 1984's STRUCTURES FROM SILENCE and 2003's MYSTIC CHORDS & SACRED SPACES to the fire breathing, rhythmic-shamanic expressions woven from all things electric and organic on 1989's DREAMTIME RETURN and 2000's THE SERPENT'S LAIR, Roach has earned his position in the international pantheon of major ambient-atmospheric-electronic artists. Fueled by his prolific nature and uncompromising approach, SPACE AND TIME invites the listener on a 74-minute journey into the extraordinary soundworlds of Steve Roach.

Artist: Steve Roach
P: 2013
On SPIRAL MEDITATIONS, Steve Roach captures sacred geometry in motion. Seven shimmering, spiraling, gravity-defying musical mandalas create a kind vibrancy and energy that feeds the senses in a way that only nuanced, emotion-filled sequencer-based music can. At the same time, an overall atmosphere of tranquility permeates the listening space as each spiral meditation unwinds into the elegant beauty of the next piece, revealing delicate lattice-like melodic and rhythmic strands woven into intricate patterns. Created in the Timeroom in 2013, this is music to invigorate the heart, mind, spirit -- and imagination.

Artist: Steve Roach 
P: 2016
The sound of life, interconnected and unfurling... The spiral, a visual symbol of eternity, is a reoccurring metaphoric theme in Steve Roach's pioneering electronic work. Interpreted into musical form, these six spiraling sonic experiences offer a living activation that connects with a sense of the infinite. Roach's long history and love of analog sequencer-based styles reveal a continuing, evolving awakening within SPIRAL REVELATION's 63 minutes. Using only analog and hardware instruments to focus the mind's ear upon a filigree of intricate patterns woven with a direct hands-on approach, the artist sculpts and caresses sound into being in real time. An emotional through-line brings life to these pieces as the unfurling of time's windings connects to the vivid present and illuminates with anticipation a life-affirming future. A masterful expression of an artist who has infused his soul into the art form of electronic music.

Artist: Steve Roach 
P: 2020
LTD 500
These two long-form immersions were created within a week's time in mid-December 2019. Both present a sumptuous landscape of sonic nourishment, serenity and soft shadow with each piece contrasting each other perfectly, shifting from light to darker hues of deep sonic color translated into sublime delicate emotion. Perfect for infinite looped playback through the day into night, and into the realm of sleep as well. These soundworlds present Steve creating at the top of his skills and speaking in the language that he has innovated over four decades.

Artist: Steve Roach 
P: 2006    
For an uninterrupted 45 minutes, Steve Roach captivated the NEARfest audience in 2005 with a hyper-charged set designed to create an exhilarating ride through the many worlds found in his sonic landscapes. Fire-breathing primal-voiced synths, pulsing rhythms and haunting didgeridoo passionately intertwine as STORM SURGE progresses to an emotional climax. This is a well-timed release, as those who are experiencing the KAIROS DVD can hear first-hand one of the many concerts that helped shaped the outcome of the DVD. This abbreviated set was supported by visuals that were part of the developing KAIROS project. STORM SURGE: LIVE AT NEARFEST is presented just as it occurred, with no edits or post studio fixes; the sound of the hall and the audience is all a part of the impact of this powerful live document.

Artist: Steve Roach
P: 1989 / 1999    
STORMWARNING takes you to the outer edges of Steve Roach's music where he engages in a driving high-energy sound first explored on albums EMPETUS, and NOW / TRAVELER. In the live performances of STORMWARNING, Roach unlocks the synchronous perfection of sequencers, creating elaborate, interlocking patterns that weave into infinite, Escher-like designs, set against Roach's skyscraping synthesizer fury.STORMWARNING has been brought back to life as a release on Steve's Timeroom Collector Series. Since the original was only 51 minutes long, "Day Three", a 21 minute sequencer piece of epic proportions has been added. This piece was recorded on Steve's first tour of Germany, and definitely feels like a missing piece to the puzzle in terms of its musical content and energy. Those who love the high-energy dramatic sequencer era of Steve's work will love this rare piece recorded in the land of its stylistic origin. 24-bit remastered and over 70 minutes total playing time.

Artist: Steve Roach 
P: 2002
Steve's continuing evolution of atmospheric processed guitar-based zones provides a harmonically rich world full of nuance and subtlety, built from webs of melody and pure texture. STREAMS & CURRENTS is imbued with an ephemeral quality that seems to linger at the edge of conscious perception, creating an introspective, enveloping flow of mood-altering pieces. The album progresses into deeper, darker, warmer, and quieter zones, towards a beautiful submerged ending. The mercurial ebb and flow found within STREAMS & CURRENTS creates a sanctuary that is rarely found in today's music. Recommended for continuous playback.

Artist: Steve Roach
P: 1984/ 2001    
While the term "classic" is used freely these days, Structures from Silence has earned the "classic" status in the years following its release in 1984. The breathing suspended embrace of atmospheres and serene melodies on this breakthrough release introduced a new sound for its time, generating an abundance of feedback via cards and letters from listeners long before the dawn of email. Structures from Silence is a living example of the true healing quality that music can hold. Now, for 2001, Projekt gives you the chance to rediscover the music for yourself and reintroduce the music to your friends.
Remastered, with beautiful new cover artwork by Steve Roach.