Reflections in Suspension [16:46] Quiet Friend [13:23] Structures from Silence [28:34]

product info

Remastered, with beautiful new cover artwork by Steve Roach. While the term "classic" is used freely these days, Structures from Silence has earned the "classic" status in the years following its release in 1984. The breathing suspended embrace of atmospheres and serene melodies on this breakthrough release introduced a new sound for its time, generating an abundance of feedback via cards and letters from listeners long before the dawn of email. Structures from Silence is a living example of the true healing quality that music can hold. Now, for 2001, Projekt gives you the chance to rediscover the music for yourself and reintroduce the music to your friends. 2001. Press information

review

"For several months before actually committing the title track Structures from Silence to tape, I would live with the music throughout my daily activities. Often I would sleep and wake with the music playing (since it is stored in the computer memory, it can play indefinitely). This gave me the opportunity to fine tune the piece to a very sublime level. At the time I did not listen to any other music. I also spent much time in silence, a beautiful place. Feeling the music move through that space was vital in its development . . . For me the essence of this music is what is felt when it ends, a returning to the silence." 1984. Steve Roach

review

Reissue of ambient classic that set the standard for everything that followed. | 9 out of 10 | Back when ambient and deep-space music were called New Age, and amid so many now-forgotten releases from anyone with a synthesizer and an index finger, there appeared an instant classic by a rising star. Steve Roach had just begun to make a name for himself with a series of sequencer-oriented albums when he released Structures From Silence in 1984. Over three deceptively simple tracks, Reflections in Suspension, Quiet Friend and the still unequaled title piece, Roach forged innovative sounds. Over the years, many listeners have praised the album's therapeutic and meditative qualities, but Structures From Silence remains foremost a work of the heart, with tracks like Quiet Friend forever evoking an aura of melancholic solitude. Whatever Brian Eno may have set in motion with his landmark Ambient series, Roach took a step further by creating something with a resounding sense of humanity and emotion. 2001. Mark Burbey / Alternative Press Magazine

review

One of the pioneers of the American spacemusic scene, initially inspired by German synthesists such as Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream, Roach has explored styles from quiet contemplation to raging sequencer storms, from organic tribal grooves to twitchy electronic rhythms, frequently pointing the way for others to follow. One of his most influential works is the 1984 release Structures from Silence. This recording is a soothing, enveloping soundscape, ideal for quieting the mind and calming the body. The gentle ebb and flow of warm synthesizer textures are based on the rhythm of breathing, and entrains the listeners' own respiration to its serene pace. It's useful: for setting a tone in a room, for aiding in meditation, for easing the transition to sleep, but it's also sensually pleasing. 2002. New Age Voice. No #4 in top 25 of Ambient albums.

review

This recording turns out to be the reissue of a classic ambient recording that has stood the test of time. It was originally released in 1984 to some extremely positive reviews. In fact, it has been a consistent seller ever since and is Steve Roach's 3rd best seller of all time. The December 2000 issue of "Yoga Journal" voted it one of the top 10 CD of all time for yoga uses. Not bad for being 16 years since it was originally printed! The promo material claims that it is "one of the ultimate soundtracks for contemplation, relaxation, and focused creativity" and it certainly is one fine ambient recording. When I opened the package from Projekt, I was surprised to be hit with a strong pleasant fragrance.To my surprise, inside I noticed a wrapped incense stick accompanying the CD. This baffled me at first until I read in the liner notes that the music was "originally created with the burning influence of Blue Pearl-Classic Champa incense". I then realized that the sinuous design on the cover (also designed by Roach) could be seen as smoke flowing from incense. The music for that matter drifts along in that mode as well. The recording is definitely layered. As you give it multiple listenings, new melodies and tones float out from the slowly pulsing drones and chords. There are three songs on this hour long CD, and one of them takes up about half that time. Obviously, they aren't in any hurry to resolve! Themes unobtrusively build up out of the calm and then slide away into the soothing infinite. This music is certainly a contrast to other more recent work Roach has done. For example, his The Serpent's Lair had percussionist Byron Metcalf to move the music along, and his Midnight Moon that was a guitar album of sorts. This, however, is his early work showing where he came from and something of a high water mark in the genre. Loren Bacon

review

I don't consider myself a huge Roach fan. His tribal/ambient more recent output never managed to grab me. But Structures from Silence is definitely an ambient music masterpiece. What sets it aside from his other works is the use of harmonic structures, there's even room for melody something that Roach rarely uses in his composition method, maybe that's the reason why he likes to be called a "sound sculptor", like Brian Eno himself likes to be called "non musician". Anyway this pretends to be a review not an ambient music forum. Structures from Silence sounds to my ears even more human than some of Eno's ambient work. Roach's synth chords sound alive and organic. Structures is American music response to the ambient music scene, not only Eno but some german musicians too. 2004. Manuel Brum / Portugal