Customer Reviews

Dreamtime Return

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have A LOT of music by Steve Roach, not that this is something too difficult to acheive. The man is VERY prolific. To my mind, however, this double CD (re-released here) is one of the best sonic atmospheres ever written. The music evokes the dreamtime of Australian Aborigine fame, and uses sounds and musical instrumentation of the Australian Outback as a basis for the entire concept. When I first heard the music, I was living in Northern Canada, about as far from the Australian desert as one cen get. It didn't matter. The music is about an inward journey of thought and discovery that may have been inspired by one type of environment, but applies to the world as a whole. I have played this music for friends from accountants and lawyers to teenagers and death rockers, and it is always a hit. You do need to take the time to listen to the music and to get involved. Since this is a double CD, don't expect to rush through in less than two hours. If you take the time, you will be rewarded. Originally released in 1988, this music provided a foundation for many of Mr. Roach's environments which followed. The other music, including "Australia, Sound of the Earth" and "Origins" explored similar spaces, but this CD remains the masterpiece.

Before you begin to think that the title I've entered in is an exageration, try to remember the first time you listened to something which was so unusual that it truly tested the limits of your vocabulary. Much of the music from the Western classical tradition often produces such states of mind, as well as powerful performances of exotic forms of music. This recording by one of the most important musicians/composers of the past century also belongs in this lofty arena.

By the mid-1980s, Steve Roach had successfully digested the bones of European electronic music; equal measures of Klaus Schulze, Vangelis, and to some extent Tangerine Dream. Towards the end of 1987, Roach was invited by Floridian photographer David Stahl to accompany him to Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia to assist in the filming of Art of the Dreamtime, a documentary which was produced for PBS. The experience, which for Roach was a culmination of a childhood dream, was to alter both the course of his life as well as his music.

Dreamtime Return was the great turning point of Roach's career, a line of demarcation separating the Berlin school-inspired electronic music he created since 1979 from a new primal, tribal-percussion based music rooted in his first experiences in the Australian Outback. The employment of electronic textures and structures can still be heard loud and clear, but it was now more organically-rooted and the emphasis on sampling becomes evident for the first time. Roach's influences at the time encapsulated everything from the piano-based soundscapes of Harold Budd to the Eastern/North African-influenced trumpet compositions of Jon Hassell, the latter being a former pupil of the German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen.

Throughout the 14 highly original compositions on this album, Roach brilliantly brings into focus what the ancient "Dreamtime" period in Australian Aboriginal prehistory may have been like, based both on Aboriginal legend as well as the latest geological data. From approximately 176,000 to roughly 20,000 years ago, the aborigines of Australia lived in a so-called "Garden of Eden" filled with Ice Age mammals and temperate rainforests and grasslands. There were a series of severe droughts occuring from roughly 30,000 to 20,000 years ago which resulted in widespread devestation throughout the continent and a resulting decline in the quality of Aboriginal life in general.

The opening track "Towards the Dream" is a powerful sequencer-based piece that easily rivals the best efforts of Froese and Schulze. The following track "The Continent" is an ambitious and rock-solid expression of ardor--one can imagine flying high above the surface of the Earth observing the extraordinary landscapes of the Outback, but this may have been Roach's attempt to express what he felt when he got off the plane in Queensland and took his first glimpse of Australia.

From these "daytime" pieces, Roach quickly moves into darker, deeper territory, from the aggressive("Songline") to the wistful ("The Other Side") to the somber("Truth In Passing"). The first disc concludes with one of the greatest compositions of his career: the near-melodic waltz "Australian Dawn: The Quiet Earth Cries Inside", six minutes of utter genius. Never has there been a single piece of music outside of classical music which seems to epitomize the entire breadth of human emotion as in this one composition. The carefully-choosen synthesizer chords which arch and undulate here seem to express the decline of an ancient culture more perfectly than anything that Roach has created since, as well as a yearning for its return, hence recalling the album's title.

The second disc opens with the 30-minute "Looking For Safety", a sublime meditation on the peak of the Dreamtime. Here Roach interpolates DAT recordings of bizzare bird calls echoing off of canyon walls with a complex melody emphasizing hope over despair. "Through a Strong Eye" is the most experimental work from the album, with rich, convoluted synth textures cascading among one another in a dance of primal awe. "The Ancient Day", a piece co-composed with Robert Rich, prominently features the dumbeck alongside Roach's ebb and flow of broadstroke synth colors, sequing to "Red Twilight with the Old Ones", which incorporates authentic recordings of aboriginal songmen by Percy Trezise. Perhaps the most sparse composition, "Red Twilight" recreates the eerie glow of a nighttime ceremony designed to conjure up Dreamtime ancestors and spirits. "The Return" provides a reaffirming conclusion to this monumental recording, with a resounding final chord that tests the limits of your sound system.

There are those who've described Steve Roach as the Bach of electronic music. This recording more than any other he's made would provide the best proof to this claim.

There are certain things we all encounter that we never forget: the day you get married, the day a loved one or friend passes away, the assassination of an admired political leader, just to name a few. For me, it was the day I purchased Dreamtime Return, an album that altered the course of my life. I was just two months away from graduating from high school (March 19, 1989) About a year and half earlier, I was blown away by Klaus Schulze's X album (produced in '78), and I had a similiar experience with Dreamtime, as if Roach had somehow peered deep into my subconscious in order to produce the music---I've heard other people have had similiar experiences. I now write and play my own electronic music thanks to this one album. It probably still is his very best work, but Origins and The Magnificent Void are both fabulous works as well! Simply put, Dreamtime contains over two hours (on CD) of some of the most beautiful and profound music created by a modern artist in many years

To get maximum listening enjoyment out of this album you must buy this album on CD as opposed to cassette. As there is 38 more minutes of music on the CD. Now about the album. If your looking for an album that you can chill out to or dream off to sleep with "Dreamtime Return" by Steve Roach is an album you should buy. "Dreamtime" has lots of lush flowing synth sounds mixed with the Australian instrument the didjeridu. (The didjeridu is a hollowed out branch of a eucalyptus tree). The track on the album that is my favorite is on the first disc, track # 5 "The Other Side". This track was recorded with another artists that I would also recomend Kevin Braheny. Another track that is good, especally to chill out to is the very last track on the album (Disc 2, Track # 5) "The Return". But just take my word for it this is a real good album if you like ambient/electronic type music. Buy it and hear it for yourself.

I strongly agree with the other 5 star reviews on Dreamtime Return and hope we can push it to 5 full stars average: This is the Steve Roach album people should start with. It grows with every iteration and has almost become a sacred treasure in my collection (among others, I own almost all Steve Roach CDs).

As a word of caution though: The first 10 times or so I could not really find access to this record, since it is more a subtile painting of moods than something that catches your attention for active listening. But this is one of the few records that become better each time (in this regard similar to Peter Gabriel's UP or Klaus Schulze's Timewind).

It must have been in '91 when it first came out that I heard excerpts from 'Dreamtime Return' featured on 'Music From the Hearts of Space'. I not only made a note of the title, I decided not to buy it - not until I could afford a CD player. Clearly a masterpiece of modern music, it deserved a stereo I did not yet own to be played upon. It was some time before reaching this goal (good CD players were very expensive back then), and of course 'Dreamtime' was my first purchase, and it remains today my favorite CD. I swear this is a true story.

What kind of music is 'Dreamtime'? Thanks to the sound-clips provided by amazon.com, it's unnecessary for me to describe it with words - you my hear for yourself! An elderly instrument maker I once worked with described it succinctly though. I had made a cassette of the album for personal enjoyment and while listening to it I encountered this gentleman in the halls one afternoon. I must have had that 'Space Music' zombie look on my face, and he asked what I was listening to. I handed him my headphones and he cautiously listens for a moment. Suddenly, he tears them from his ears and pushes them back to me exclaiming, "Voodoo music!" and hurried away. It was all in fun of course, but his description was very apt.

No, it's not really Voodoo music, it's inspired by Australian Aboriginal themes - the 'Dreamtime' is in fact a time and place from which the Aboriginals believe their universe originated. It is their 'Eden'. Steve Roach has created a lovely work which does justice to the abstract and alien 'Dreamtime'.

Words cannot do this work of art any justice with this review. Spanning two-CDs, Steve Roaches 1988 magnum-opus "Dreamtime Returns" is arguably my favorite release of his to date even though I've since gotten other albums by him as well.

I first heard this album when browsing through a local public library already having his "Dreaming Now Then" compilation. I felt it would be great to try this one out but I never expected it to be this wonderful. Though I can argue about some other songs from his previous and subsequent releases, there is a transcendance that is found on "Dreamtime Returns" that I don't think is as strong on his other albums. DR had me entranced the moment I first started playing it.

"Songline" is almost pure Aboriginal paradise with mostly traditional drums and a spine-tingling didjeridou, a strong contrast to the rest of the album. "Circular Ceremony" is so beautiful that it worked up a tear or two in my eyes. The song has a haunting, minor note melody combined with rain sticks to give a sense of stillness near an approaching thunderstorm.

As the concept of "fourth world" music was inaugurated by Jon Hassell and indigenous music was embraced by the record industry, Steve Roach was visiting Australia and gathering together the sonic food he needed to cook up this incomparable recording. With this double disc set (containing over two hours of music), Roach reached a plateau both in his musical evolution and within the genre that has yet to be eclipsed. Reveling in a near-seamless blend of organic and electronic sound worlds, Roach constructs a number of mini-epics that sonically reflect the Aborigine mystique, filtered through a collage of didjeridus, incongruous samples from the deep outback, and all other manners of unidentifiable electronic textures. Cloaked in the infinite tempest of ancient ritual, tracks such as "A Circular Ceremony" and "The Other Side" suggest not just primordial riddles or sacred ceremonial rites, but rather touch on emotions that resonate across all cultural and ethnographic boundaries. Atmospheres suggest uncategorizable flora and fauna developing their own febrile environments. Grooves percolate from hand-struck drums that are in turn programmed into multi-sequenced events, while samples of mysterious origin sparkle and flare out of vast, twilight regions. Undoubtedly, Roach's first true masterpiece.

Steve Roach's "Dreamtime Return" is the first ambient soundscape album I purchased back in 1988. Unfortunately, I was too young to appreciate its brilliance until my mind could fully realize the true diamond of pure ambience I had "stumbled" upon. Initially, I was attracted to the cover, but failed to realize the timeless harmonies I had acquired, as evidence by its sustained price. Roach was never able to duplicate the timeless, totally agreeable and mystic collection of tracks, all recorded in Australia with naturally made instruments, including the ubiquitous didgeridoo, pleasantly cast against a backdrop of cave echoes, water drops and indescribable, reverbial twangs that only Steve Roach could create.

Included in this massive, 140-minute ageless collection are sounds of the Aborigines whom Roach befriended during his time in Australia recording "Dreamtime Return," and their haunting, yet pleasant vocals burst forth on "Red Twilight with the Old Ones," a track that could never be duplicated with such originality, such respect for the oldest civilization on earth. I've found that the year doesn't matter. I drop the attitude, close the door, put on the headphones with REPEAT ON, and drift off to a time and place from which I sometimes never want to leave. Roach has struck gold with "Dreamtime Return," and its perfectly balanced waveforms are nothing short of theraputic. Stress, impatience, frustration, rage--all negative emotions--completely dissolve with even one uninterrupted session of "Dreamtime Return," either Disc 1 or Disc 2 on its own or in tandem. "Dreamtime Return," in my book, can even cure insomnia with its matchless blend of pure musical frequencies, like dessert for the brain. No other ambient album comes close, except perhaps "Quiet Music," which caught the coattails of "Dreamtime Return", having very similar qualities, yet distinctly different patterns.

But we must be clear on one thing: "Dreamtime Return," or any other album that Steve has produced has nothing to do with "New Age," and would probably be offended at such a label. No. Soundscape is the proper term, if the genre must be pegged, because it is exactly that. Mr. Roach takes his sounds and shapes them in unison with the landscape. No other artist of our time understands his own work better. I'm sure that if I would have somehow missed Roach's recordings, either through neglect or indifference, the quality of my life and well-being would have suffered. "Dreamtime Return" is the pure essence of what ambient soundscapes were meant to be, and it will never leave my collection. It's as good today as it is tomorrow. I feel sad for those listeners who fail to realize that.

Roach's style has changed a lot. A lot of new ambient artists have come along since this release, such as Stars of the Lid, Deepspace [...]
and Vidna Obmana, and yet this stands near the top of the field. His style is more complex and layered now, but elements of this recording are still evident in some of his newer stuff, like mantram, and new life dreaming.

Roach became a bit obsessed with the Australian Outback at one stage in his career, and you can hear that he nailed the feeling of the place quite well. Having lived in Australia most of my life, I can hear what he was trying to do-the sense of starkness, and impenetrability in the deserts here is very tangible. Very impressive Mr. Roach.