Customer Reviews

Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces (part 1)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces is truly among the creme de la creme of Steve's work. It is an astonishing series of recordings. At times I found myself facing the darkest of the dark in the collective unconscious. Just as I thought I had reached the edge of where I could go in my voyaging, a tonal shift would occur and carry me into a delicious and heart-achingly beautiful space of unparalleled hope and faith. These recordings are both initiatory, and a veritable soul-retrieval in this time of widespread soul loss. In essence, this is healing sound.

Arranged as a collection of four discs: "Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces", "Labyrinth", "Recent Future", and "Piece of Infinity", each disc is a stand-alone musicscape experience. Yet, as a full collection Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces is nothing short of initiation, each disc building upon the energy of the previous one, opening out into vast domains and vistas, carrying us deep into subterranean realms of luminosity.

As a listener you will be guided through a potent inward journey of four soundworlds, each of which is rich, powerful, and distinct, yet woven together Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces becomes a profound sonic voyage of purification, gestation, birth, and culmination. On such a voyage we encounter the archetypal themes of death and rebirth, creation and transformation, the moist domains of inner earth, and the spinning fractal cathedrals of the celestial worlds beyond. There is an expression that says "the soul is a feathered thing." Imbued with ancient memory, while simultaneously blazing new trails into the uncharted hinterlands of mind and space, Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces is where the feathered-soul finds her wind.
If this is your first exposure to the genius of soundcurrent maestro Steve Roach, prepare yourself for a stirring ride - a series of memorable visits to parallel worlds; a multi-textured mosaic of images, sensations, and quickening feelings. These recordings are not mere "tunes" or "songs." Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces is a vibrant topography, a map leading us to the dwelling places of sentient and divine energy.
Good Journeys--Frank MacEowen, author of The Mist-Filled Path, and the forthcoming The Spiral of Longing

Once again, the master of ambient music has woven his web of intricate patterns, deep resonate drones and subtle counterpoints to create an amazing sonic journey.

On disc 1, (titled Mystic Chords and Sacred Spaces), we hear five long, expansive pieces that immerse the listener into a quiet yet satisfyingly complex environment devoid of rhythm, melody or harmony. All that is left are gorgeous, lush tones that wash over and through you in relentless waves of pure beauty.

Disc 2 is appropriately titled Labyrinth, and it has quickly become one of my favorite discs in all of the massive Steve Roach catalog of works. On this disc, Roach combines his distinctive musical talents with atmospheric sounds and gentle rhythms to carry the listener through his fantastically expansive and complex maze. In this labyrinth, you will actually twist and turn, doubling back on your path to hear echoes of places you've already visited and catch glimpses of what lies ahead on your journey. Repeated listening to this disc will reward you with a richer experience as the echoes and foreshadowing become more evident.

If you are able to find the complete four disc set, disc 3 (Recent Future) will present you with 13 connected tracks of shorter thematic pieces. Disc 4, (Piece of Infinity) is a single, 74 minute track of floating in boundless space; not dissimilar to Roach's Timeroom release: "Darkest Before Dawn" CD.

If you are a fan of the ambient genre, you can't help but be pleased with these wonderful, surreal sonic landscapes.

In the autumn of 2002, the indefatigable Steve Roach carved a new path in his ambient explorations with Darkest Before Dawn, a barren, pitch-black soundscape which sounded alternately like a slow-motion journey to the edge of the universe and a sonic portrait of an aged post-apocalyptic landscape here on Earth, clearly his finest ambient composition since The Magnificent Void (Fathom, 1996). It's also one of the most brilliant uses of a melodic or, in this case, textural set of electronic drones since his 1984 work Structures From Silence, where the title track looped a 3 to 4 minute melodic figure for 30 minutes, creating a highly rarified meditative sound space that was both soothing and at times unsettling.

In many respects, the mammoth 4-four volume Mystic Chords and Sacred Spaces (which by the way took 4 years to complete) follows the same tenents as Structures and Darkest Before Dawn, yet proceeds to do so on a truly monumental scale. With this recording, the single biggest endeavor in his 25-year recording career thus far, Roach has also greatly expanded on the widescreen spacescapes of the The Magnificent Void and simultaneously stripped away virtually any melodic and rhythmic reference points in the process. For decades now, Roach has persistently proceeded along an astutely carved pathway constantly leading him toward a truly contemplative form of electronic music. This is the first true "symphony" of the 21st century, be it acoustic or electronically-generated, and as such with great artists, if Steve Roach hasn't been listed yet with the greatest minds in late 20th and now early 21st century music, it's time to do so.

For the purposes of retiring to a desert island: if you could only take 5 of Roach's recordings with you I would suggest Structures From Silence, Dreamtime Return, Origins, The Magnificent Void...and Mystic Chords and Sacred Spaces.

(Note: Keep in mind that Part Two of this set is only available through Roach's website [www.steveroach.com] and Projekt Records)

I always thought of Steve Roach as the "deserts and digeridoos" sort of guy, which has never really been my cup of tea, but anyway I came across this disc and purchased it on a whim. Upon first listen I was digging the textured ambience and churning synths of disc one- all the while waiting for the clay drums and chaka flukes to bust in. But they never did. In fact, the entire disc droned away for more than an hour without even a hint of percussion. Just the hum, the throb of LFOs to keep the time.
So, I figured, OK... Disc two will be all about the percussion and hypnotic rhythms. Again, no dice.

But wait... something is going on here, I thought. There is some real depth and texture to these drones, something memorable and substantive. This is no new age twaddle. This is pure sound hypnosis, like Eno used to do.

So, I keep going back. I fall asleep to this disc almost every night now. It has worked itself into my life. Something is going on with these discs that makes me want to listen all the time. I think there must be some buried messages or something.

The ambience of the music of Steve Roach belies the `background sound' aspect of the term - this is music that can be experienced on many levels. As with all of his releases, the music on these two cds is transporting and evocative - it's anything but aural wallpaper. Roach's spirit infuses all of his works with a sincerity and sense of the Quest that many of his peers seem to lack or even eschew - there is emotion here that reaches down to the depths of the mind (as opposed to the brain - and there IS a difference) in such a way as to resonate in the well of the listener's very soul.

The tracks on these discs - MYSTIC CHORDS & SACRED SPACES and LABYRINTH flow gently, but with an unmistakable power. Each composition has a mood of its own, but the transition from piece to piece is never jarring or inappropriate - there is a path that exists from track to track, as there is one within us from thought to thought and from one level of consciousness to another. It is when the barriers between these levels are broken down, and they can interact, that progress and healing can begin - Roach's music is, in a way, an aural parallel of those techniques.

Primal ambience? Steve Roach seems to have found the key to producing just that - let it carry you, both away from yourself and into yourself. This is one of his best works - and that's saying a lot about someone with such a huge catalogue of quality music to his credit.

This is easily one of Steve Roach's finest hours - well, 5 hours to be more precise, if you get the complete set (it is available in either a 2-CD or 4-CD version). Disc 1 of 4, Mystic Chords, is what I would call the "classic" organic ambient style of Steve Roach; Labyrinth is his dark ambient style; Recent Future is a tasty variety sampler platter; and Piece of Infinity is one of Steve's trademark minimal long-form works, perhaps the subtlest and softest he has ever done. My favorite is the first disc, 5 tracks running from nearly 12 to just over 20 minutes each. There are great highs and lows, wonderful deep drones and high shimmering tones, all richly layered in an organic primordial soup that touches a vibrant nerve for a thoroughly soothing listening experience. Reaching deeper still is Labyrinth, 10 tracks that plunge deep into "The Otherworld," a track which is representative of the intense darkness found at several moments on disc two. Though undeniably Roach, I'm also reminded here of old haunting Schulze numbers from the early 1970s. Disc 3, Recent Future, is still a little dark, but not as much as Labyrinth. Not a beat is heard, but the variety on these 13 tracks while retaining a cohesive quality is remarkable. Light, dark, simple, complex, visceral, elegant - all are apt adjectives to describe the music. Sample to your heart's delight, or better yet, play it through from beginning to end and hear the flow as Steve intended. Consider it time very well spent.

Ah, how the ignorant voice their lack of understanding of this masterpiece--anyone who does not recognize the sheer genius of this brilliant composition. Strangely reminiscent of Roach's previous works "Dreamtime Return" (1987) and "Quiet Music," (1989), pleasantly blended with the floating melodies of "Solitaire: Ritual Ground," (1991) it would be woefully inexcusable to miss this unique, inimitable recording. For a while Roach was digressing into the mysteriously haunting, utterly creepy sounds akin to Robert Rich's dark and gloomy "stalker" (which was so eerie I had to expunge it from my collection; it was like being trapped in the soundtrack to "The Blair Witch Project--thank God I EsCaPeD!). Since I first discovered them back in the 80's, I was hopelessly hooked on Roach. He presents a reprise into the subconscious, for which I now notice a new generation beginning to take notice of his musical magnificence. He has humbly dipped into his previous experience and brought back this ambience for us to enjoy that serves as a way in which to relieve stress, insomnia and as a cure for mood swings, anxiety, depression and short tempers. Face it, this album is therapeutic. It helps me to be a better person. Clearly it was meant to be enjoyed in private with a good pair of headphones, with repeat on--it functions fabulously as a circular ereathral composition, without beginning, without end, comprised of masterfully arranged waveforms that release the mind's inner desires to find peace in an unsettling, paranoid world. Steve, I want to party with you brother. A little less I talk now, a little more I listen to what you have created just for me--something that causes others to wonder what my secret was to a calmer, more energetic self.

This highly anticipated 4 disc opus 'Mystic Chords' never promised to re-invent the genre, rather he focuses on what makes his own style the best of the pack. Roach all but pioneered the heavy synth reverb drenched sound like the ocean tide that ebbs and flows gently that so many try to emulate and this disc is the prime example why he is the best. No one else can make this kind of music this good, period. The blissful synthscapes contained herein are beyond describing in words. And most certainly not 'new age', this is soul music for troubled times when everything is so 'in your face' , this music offers a chance for the listener to suspend themselves away from the world and enter the portal that Roach opens. And it's a good place to be!

Massive sounds. Evokes impressions of large gaseous clouds in space as you float through them. A nearly rythemnless journey through time, space and the inner being. Can let your imagination run wild while calming you at the same time. Good for traffic, studying, creating and voyaging. This is deeply textured ambient and will take several listens to identify each unique sound.

Plenty of gorgeous compositions here. One listening to this beautiful double cd is plenty in one days time, unless you plan to anesthesize your senses from a super stessful day at work. Premium etereal ambient Steve Roach for sure.