Steve Roach -- On This Planet

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Released
1997

Reviewed by
Kim Alexander

Label

Visit
Hearts of Space

Contact
Fathom Records
P.O. Box 31321
San Francisco, CA
94131

Visit
Steve Roach

For Booking:
sdquest (at) ix.netcom.com

Last Edit/Update
20 February, 1998

Steve Roach

On This Planet

Track Listing

1. Heart of the Tempest (4.36)
2. Journey of One (3.38)
3. The Nexus Place (7.05)
4. Trilobite (3.33)
5. Void Memory 4 (5.36)
6. Cloud Watching with the Toolmaker (5.41)
7. The Ecstasy of Travel (4.59)
8. Remember it Now (10.36)
9. A Darker Star (13.19)
10. On This Planet (14.06)

Total Time: 72:56

          This is an incredible cd. It is composed, performed and produced by Steve Roach. It's his finest work to date. Steve's guests on this release include: Patrick O'Hearn, Roger King, Omar Faruk Tekbilek, and Linda Kohanov. Instruments and vocals included within these compositions are: various analog and digitial synthesizers, samplers and sequencers, rattles, didgeridoo, Northern Sonoran Dreampipe, grinding stone (matae), bass guitar, pulse bass, bandir, darbuka, baglarma, clay water pots, Udu drum, prehispanic flutes, assorted percussion, effects and processors with vocals by Linda Kohanov. The live material presented here was performed [in part] in "Tuscon, Spring of 1997 at a sell-out concert with an audience ranging in age from 15-55". (Fathom Promo Material).

         "Rather than assemble a collection of concert excerpts, my aim was to absorb the on-the-edge atmosphere, take what I considered peak moments and most profound musical discoveries, steep myself in the feelings and shape them over time." -- Steve Roach (Promo material, Fathom Records 1997)
And so he did with: On This Planet.

          Dark sounds of thunder begin the cd, an appropriate means to involve the listener in what becomes a most pleasant voyage through the ancient soundscapes on this release. Quite frankly I have never heard a better CD than this.
          This composition has dark atmospherics and long drones which are mantra like -- they seem to pierce to my very core of being, it's hypnotic, life flowing and senusous music. If a person could give feeling to the use of machines in the creation of music, it would be Steve Roach. Ambient in texture, soft yet strong rhythms weave themselves throughout the tracks and give way to a sonorous waxing and waning of dreamy droning and harmonics, interjected with quiet rattles and drums and occasional vocal-lyrical samples.
          There is a hovering of mystique in the means by which Steve Roach envelops the listener with the various synthetics and harmonics he incorporates into the pieces. The textures are smoothe and flowing -- an unrelentless aura of atmospherics prevade an optimistic yet timeless interlude...
          This is the type of music you can play as background music, or for the descriminant listener during those more peaceful moments of the day.
         If you are a true lover of ambient/experimental, this release belongs in your collection! You can't get any better than On This Planet. Other compositions by Steve Roach not to miss are: The Magnificent Void and Halcyon Days.

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