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  magnify | Empetus
30th Anniversary Edition (Single CD)
Steve Roach
2017 Projekt PRO218 (CD)Roach's 5th solo album features sophisticated, energetic sequencer music, similar to his earlier NOW and TRAVELER, ending with a haunting, melodic piece, "The Memory," more akin to his floating ambient work of the period. EMPETUS' full blown sequencer-based music illustrates a further evolution in the visceral side of Roach's music. Nine precise pieces that still sound fresh today. A favorite of sequencer music lovers.
"This may be the most concise Steve Roach album, and came at the end of his sequencer phase, his last flame-out on Berlin school electronics. But he was already taking it somewhere new. Unlike Roach's usual CD long expanses, these are bite-size compositions that do their job, quickly, efficiently and with every moment counting. Roach leaves you breathless in a maze of synchronized spinning patterns only to pick you up and send you whirling again."
-- John Diliberto, Echoes
"EMPETUS is full blown sequencer-based music illustrating a further evolution in the visceral side of Roach's music. Nine precise pieces that still sound fresh today. A favorite of sequencer music lovers. Released in 1986, this recording of intricately-woven sequencer lines and buzzing synthesizers established Roach as the American answer to the pioneering European electronic masters of the '70s (Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream). Alternately thrilling and serene (sometimes within the space of the same track), EMPETUS' waves of energy rest upon labyrinthine patterns of interlocking notes and wildly cascading tonal clusters. Roach varies the moods from piece to piece as well: the bright, piercing electronics of "Seeking" contrast vividly with the starker, sweeping veils of sequenced notes and arcing waves of "Empowerment" or the turbo-charged synths that rev through "Conquest". It's all riveting, exciting stuff, and although Roach largely abandoned the style as he moved forward, EMPETUS remains an important, if largely unsung, statement documenting the course of modern American electronic music." -- Darren Bergstein, Muze
"On EMPETUS, Roach has created a masterpiece, done purely on synths and sequencers... a rhythmic / melodic tour-de-force of solid, totally compulsive synth music." -- Andy Garibaldi, Lotus, England
From the liner notes:
"EMPETUS emerged from the dynamic times of my early years in Los Angeles, circa the beginning of the 80's. This was an exciting time and place with the confluence of electronic artists, concert events, and instrument builders (like Oberheim). We were all in full stride and dreaming big. This created a sense of an emerging electronic sound and culture growing from the collective of these creative energies in motion. EMPETUS – a word I modified from the original impetus – is about infusing high emotion into the pieces, which were moving from longer forms into concise, interconnected meditations on energy, movement and dynamic flow." -- Steve Roach (2008)
The Early Years – a digital bonus:
The digital only bonus, entitled The Early Years, features two amazing long-form sequencer pieces circa 1982. The first piece, "Harmonia Mundi," was recorded live in the L.A.-based Timeroom with Swiss-born electronic musician Thomas Ronkin. At 45 minutes, this is one of the more possessed and intense analog sequencer trance pieces you're likely to hear. "Release" is a 24-minute solo statement of emotion and energy connected to the early years of Steve's evolution in sound, harkening to NOW and TRAVELER.
Single-CD 30th Anniversary Edition in Digipak with original artwork. Download "The Early Years" digital bonus from Bandcamp, and name your price! |
 magnify | | CD out of stock | | iTunes | | Bandcamp |
Empetus
2-CD Collectors Edition
Steve Roach
2008 Projekt PRO218 (CD)
Reviewed by e/i magazine, MusicTAP, Musique Machine, Sonic CuriosityThe rights to Steve's 1986 release Empetus reverted back to him, and this along with some recently discovered "lost pieces" inspired a 2-CD Collectors Edition. The second disc, "The Early Years", features two amazing long-form sequencer pieces circa 1982. The first piece, "Harmonia Mundi" was recorded live in the L.A.-based Timeroom with Swiss-born electronic musician Thomas Ronkin. At 45 minutes, this is one of the more possessed and intense analog sequencer trance pieces you're likely to hear. "Release" is a 24-minute solo statement of emotion and energy connected to the early years of Steve's evolution in sound, harkening to NOW and TRAVELER. By the time Empetus was released, the approach of these longer German School styles were morphing into a new sound heard on Empetus and beyond.
"Empetus is full blown sequencer-based music illustrating a further evolution in the visceral side of Roach's music. Nine precise pieces that still sound fresh today. A favorite of sequencer music lovers. Released in 1986, this recording of intricately-woven sequencer lines and buzzing synthesizers established Roach as the American answer to the pioneering European electronic masters of the '70s (Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream). Alternately thrilling and serene (sometimes within the space of the same track), EMPETUS' waves of energy rest upon labyrinthine patterns of interlocking notes and wildly cascading tonal clusters. Roach varies the moods from piece to piece as well: the bright, piercing electronics of ''Seeking'' contrast vividly with the starker, sweeping veils of sequenced notes and arcing waves of ''Empowerment'' or the turbo-charged synths that rev through ''Conquest''. It's all riveting, exciting stuff, and although Roach largely abandoned the style as he moved forward, EMPETUS remains an important, if largely unsung, statement documenting the course of modern American electronic music." -- Darren Bergstein, Muze
"On EMPETUS, Roach has created a masterpiece, done purely on synths and sequencers... a rhythmic / melodic tour-de-force of solid, totally compulsive synth music." -- Andy Garibaldi, Lotus, England
"Harmonia Mundi" with Thomas Ronkin |
| | CD out of stock | | Cassette out of stock | | Vinyl out of stock | | iTunes | | Bandcamp |
Empetus
Steve Roach
1986 Fortuna FOR036 (CD, Cassette, Vinyl)
Reviewed by MuzeFull blown sequencer-based music illustrating a further evolution in the visceral side of Roach's music. Nine precise pieces that still sound fresh today. A favorite of sequencer music lovers. "On EMPETUS, Roach has created a masterpiece, done purely on synths and sequencers... a rhythmic / melodic tour-de-force of solid, totally compulsive synth music." (Andy Garibaldi – Lotus, England).
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