textura

Albums
Bayaka Pygmies
Maya Beiser
James Blackshaw
Caffeine Patrol
Call Super
Andrea Carri
Causa Sui
Matthew Collings
Philip Corner
Crandell & Timson
Gareth Dickson
Dryft
Jordan Dykstra
Roman Flügel
Future 3
Graveyard Tapes
Hildur Gudnadottir
Mary Halvorson
Hecq
Idlefon
Yuta Inoue
Jacaszek & Kwartludium
Franz Kirmann
Lachrylic
Machinone
Null
Ocoeur
Octet Ensemble
Oliveros/Rothenberg/Hill
Glen Porter
Gabriel Prokofiev
Rob Reed
Steve Roach
The Sticks
Tangent
Tapage
Taylor | Grosse
Transllusion
Weathers & Chrisman
yMusic
Yokotsuka Yuuya

Compilations / Mixes
Calyx & TeeBee
Deetron
Total 14

EPs / Cassettes / Mini-Albums / Singles
Blu Mar Ten
Break / Fields
Elika
William Ryan Fritch
Andy Vaz

Steve Roach: The Delicate Forever
Projekt Records

It wouldn't be unreasonable to think that Steve Roach might have been cowed by the prospect of fashioning a follow-up to the recent thirtieth anniversary reissue of Structures From Silence, which Projekt issued earlier this year in a three-disc package that supplemented the earlier work with recently created material. But, in fact, instead of being intimidated, the revisitation process he undertook for the reissue helped inspire him. According to Roach, “The Delicate Forever maps out a new phase in my current work, reaching further towards a deeper ineffable experience.”

Like discs two and three of Structures From Silence, The Delicate Forever was created using primarily analog equipment during 2013 and 2014 at the Timeroom in Southern Arizona. Classic Roach, The Delicate Forever reflects his current obsession with tonality and colour, and is as refined an example of his time-suspending ambient-electronic artistry as one might hope to find. Though five tracks are indexed and separately titled, the seventy-four-minute sound painting unfurls without pause, its tones and washes gently rising and falling like the breathing rhythms of a peacefully sleeping infant. The indexing is justified, however, as there are distinct changes in sound design from one track to the next, even if Roach executes the transitions so gradually the changes could go unnoticed by the less attentive listener. There's a clear difference between the subdued title track and the one that follows it, for example, with “The Well Spring” illuminating its vibrant landscape with a synthesizer presence that's comparatively brighter and more emphatic than the opener's. The brooding ambiance and haunted character of “Where the Mysteries Sleep,” on the other hand, clearly distances it from “The Well Spring,” while “Perfect Sky” introduces a church-like quality in its emphasis on organ-styled tones.

Ultimately, The Delicate Forever doesn't offer some radical reinvention of Roach's style, but long-time devotees probably wouldn't want it any other way. The album's simply the most up-to-date example of the man's musical artistry and one that presumably the Roach fan will be eager to add to his or her collection.

October 2014