[tortoise]

Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces just arrived about an hour ago, and I'm immersed in my first listen as I type. Far too early for any coherent impressions, but so far the closest comparison I can come up with is a deeper, more dynamic Atmospheric Conditions.

The packaging is gorgeous as well, with a hard black slipcase holding 2 double digipacks, both of which are identical in form to the Well of Souls digipack, with 2 different variants of the coiled nautilus design seen at the top of this thread.

 

[tortoise]

This is just after a few listens to the entire set (after all, it's 5 hours total, and there are only so many hours in the day), but... Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces is easily the closest I've ever come to a sound-induced mind-altering experience. It's not exactly ground-breaking work, as he and others have used a similar sound palette before, many times... but here he simply goes much deeper than he's ever gone before. MS&SS is without a doubt the largest, most complex, most completely realized soundworld that I've ever experienced. Even at this early date I feel completely confident giving it my very highest recommendation.

Has anyone else pre-ordered the set? If and when you do get it, please feel free to share your impressions here.

 

[tortoise]

 

[Guardian]

Wow. You've got me very, very interested. I'm not familiar with Roach at all. I'm also only just getting into ambient, with stuff like Brian Eno and (ambient to an extent) Labradford. I don't even know what deep ambient is, actually. But this sounds fantastic.

 

[tortoise]

Eno and Labradford are also favorites of mine. I'm almost hesitant to recommend Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces as a first introduction to Steve Roach, though, simply because it might be a bit overwhelming. Well, that and the fact that it's $35, which, while being a bargain, is a bit of a gamble.

So, for someone completely new to Roach, I might suggest the following. Each will give you a hint of what is to come on Mystic Chords, and although none of them delve quite as deep, they are all excellent:

1. Darkest Before Dawn
2. Atmospheric Conditions
3. The Magnificent Void
4. Dream Circle[/list=1]
   The above represent what I consider to be the best of his "deep ambient" work, which has culminated in the opus MS&SS. He also has done excellent work in other genres (desert ambient, tribal ambient, pure electronic, etc.), and he has collaborations galore, but the above list is a great starting place.

 

[Guardian]

Excellent! Thank you very much. Incidentally, I'd heard of dark ambient before, but never 'deep'. How would you characterize the speciality of deep, tribal, and desert ambient within the ambient genre overall?

 

[tortoise]

Hrm... I don't know if "deep ambient" is an official genre, really, it's just how I classify some of this stuff in my head. In fact, Steve himself calls most of his "deep ambient" work "atmospheric space music." I like the atmospheric part of that, but I don't think of ALL of it as "space music," which to me is a very specifice genre.

Generally speaking, the stuff I call deep ambient is pure drifting "clouds" of sound, without easily discernible form or melody. It's often, though not always, dark. I love a lot of dark ambient stuff, too, but deep ambient lacks the gothic/industrial undertones that come to mind when I think of dark ambient (i.e. much of the Projekt catalog, Cold Meat Industry, etc.).

Tribal and desert ambient, as they relate to Roach, are in some ways easier to recognize, though the boundaries between the two can be blurry. They both include the use of a lot of acoustic instruments, some of them quite primitive (didgeridoo, rainsticks, shells, all sorts of ethnic percussion). His work with Suspended Memories is a great example of this, as are Origins and Artifacts on Fortuna. Dreamtime Return was his first foray into this direction, and it's still considered a milestone by most ambient fans, so it would probably be a fine place to start. Other favorites of mine are Earth Island by Suspended Memories and Vine Bark & Spore with Jorge Reyes.

 

[archosman]

Is this out yet or only available from steveroach.com?

 

[tortoise]

You can order it from projekt.com as well. Here is the official info from the steveroach.com website:

Quote:

The much-anticipated Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces four-disc box set is now available -- long before its official store release date in June. The full release is offered for a limited time as a hard-boxed set of four CD's at a special price, exclusively at steveroach.com and projekt.com. The official store release in June will include only the first two discs, in a double-Digipak without the box. The full Mystic Chords experience can only be completed online! You also have the option to mail-order just the first two discs, or just the last two discs. These are the same double-Digipaks as in the box set. You can complete the set later by buying the box itself separately.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I just ordered it from projekt.com -- prices seemed to be about the same once shipping was added for the two (Mystic Chords and Sacred Spaces and Darkest Before Dawn), but projekt was packing a free Sam Rosenthal CD with the boxset, and orders over US$40 come with a free sampler, so I went there (also added a few other things I've been meaning to pick up: Unto Ashes, Android Lust, a Dorobo various artists compilation).

EDIT: PS Speaking of long pieces, have you ever heard of Robert Rich? He did something called "sleep concerts" (6 and 8 hour pieces), one of which, Somnium was released on DVD (although I don't think it's live), similar to DAD, except at a "normal" bitrate of 16/44.1 (or maybe 16/48) for a total of about 7 hours (divided into pieces of about 2-2.5 hours each). One of these days, I'll pick it up and listen to it...

 

[archosman]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dusty Chalk EDIT: PS Speaking of long pieces, have you ever heard of Robert Rich? He did something called "sleep concerts" (6 and 8 hour pieces), one of which, Somnium was released on DVD (although I don't think it's live), similar to DAD, except at a "normal" bitrate of 16/44.1 (or maybe 16/48) for a total of about 7 hours (divided into pieces of about 2-2.5 hours each). One of these days, I'll pick it up and listen to it...

I've got it. Highly recommended. Funny thing is you should watch "Pitch Black" before you listen to it. Rich was a sound designer in the movie and when you listen to Somnium you'll here the creatures in the background at one point. Nice touch, Robert!

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by archosman I've got it. Highly recommended. Funny thing is you should watch "Picth Black" before you listen to it. Rich was a sound designer in the movie and when you listen to Somnium you'll here the creatures in the background at one point. Nice touch, Robert!

Actually, I have seen it, but not recently, I may have to refresh, but suspect I would recognize it, as that movie is not easily forgotten.

Cool factoid!

 

[tortoise]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dusty Chalk EDIT: PS Speaking of long pieces, have you ever heard of Robert Rich? He did something called "sleep concerts" (6 and 8 hour pieces), one of which, Somnium was released on DVD (although I don't think it's live), similar to DAD, except at a "normal" bitrate of 16/44.1 (or maybe 16/48) for a total of about 7 hours (divided into pieces of about 2-2.5 hours each). One of these days, I'll pick it up and listen to it...

Oh yes, I have virtually everything that Robert Rich has done. Luckily, he's not quite as prolific as Steve Roach, else I'd be flat(ter) broke(r). I haven't picked up Somnium yet, though, because my DVD player is currently doubling as my laptop, which would not make for an ideal "sleep music" experience. Soon, though, I am going to pick up an actual DVD player that I can hook up to my home stereo system, and Somnium will be my very next purchase thereafter.

My favorite Rich release is actually a compilation of his compilation cuts and other "rarities," aptly titled A Troubled Resting Place. Generally speaking, Rich's work for compilations (and collaborations, a la Stalker with B. Lustmord) has been darker and more experimental than his usual solo full-length fare, and this is reflected brilliantly in ATRP. It's ethereal, atmospheric, and more than a bit disturbing in spots. It also flows together amazingly well as an album, a consistency that is unexpected given its piecemeal origins.

 

[archosman]

Quote:

Originally posted by tortoise Oh yes, I have virtually everything that Robert Rich has done. Luckily, he's not quite as prolific as Steve Roach, else I'd be flat(ter) broke(r). I haven't picked up Somnium yet, though, because my DVD player is currently doubling as my laptop, which would not make for an ideal "sleep music" experience. Soon, though, I am going to pick up an actual DVD player that I can hook up to my home stereo system, and Somnium will be my very next purchase thereafter. My favorite Rich release is actually a compilation of his compilation cuts and other "rarities," aptly titled A Troubled Resting Place. Generally speaking, Rich's work for compilations (and collaborations, a la Stalker with B. Lustmord) has been darker and more experimental than his usual solo full-length fare, and this is reflected brilliantly in ATRP. It's ethereal, atmospheric, and more than a bit disturbing in spots. It also flows together amazingly well as an album, a consistency that is unexpected given its piecemeal origins.

Fissures with Alio De is probably my favorite.

 

[tortoise]

Yes! Fissures is absolutely brilliant, another great example of Rich stretching his boundaries through collaboration. "The Road to Wirikuta" is a definite epic, easily one of his best songs.