Early Man
by Chuck Van Zyl, Star's End
EARLY MAN by Steve Roach begins with a soundscape from the churning storm of consciousness lying beneath the thin veneer of personality. Grinding rocks, shifting tides, concealed drumming and dense clouds are the ingredients for Roach's primordial soup. To draw us along on his journey to within, Roach leads the listener to and from the prehistoric swamp of the mind with a steady and subtle rhythmic element. Contrasting his meticulously crafted soundworlds, Roach's travelling patterns seem improvisational and the result of experimentation rather than contemplation. It is this pulse, living within us all, that slides EARLY MAN away from the cerebral, towards the emotional and back again.
by Chuck Van Zyl, Star's End
EARLY MAN by Steve Roach begins with a soundscape from the churning storm of consciousness lying beneath the thin veneer of personality. Grinding rocks, shifting tides, concealed drumming and dense clouds are the ingredients for Roach's primordial soup. To draw us along on his journey to within, Roach leads the listener to and from the prehistoric swamp of the mind with a steady and subtle rhythmic element. Contrasting his meticulously crafted soundworlds, Roach's travelling patterns seem improvisational and the result of experimentation rather than contemplation. It is this pulse, living within us all, that slides EARLY MAN away from the cerebral, towards the emotional and back again.
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Steve Roach 2001 Projekt PRO111 (CD) Reviewed by Jim Brenholts, All Music Guide, Alternative Press, AmbiEntrance, CD Services (UK), Incursion, Ink 19, Ink 19, Muze, Outburn, Sonic Curiosity, Star's End, StarVox, The Raging Consciousness Desk, Tower Pulse! Best described as primeval innerspace deep ambient. EARLY MAN brings into form an ancient landscape of bubbling pools and steamy marshlands, verdant arroyos and monolithic rock formations. Cave paintings and ancient memories come to life in a slow soul-dance of evolutionary magic. The accolades from press and listeners alike tell that EARLY MAN belongs to Roach's classic body of work which includes DREAMTIME RETURN, ORIGINS, THE MAGNIFICENT VOID and last year's quietly successful MIDNIGHT MOON.
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Steve Roach 2000 Manifold (CD)
limited edition, packaged between two slabs of real slate |