Steve Roach – Structures from silence

3 reviews for Steve Roach – Structures from silence

1. 

   Mark Burbey / Alternative Press Magazine – 2022-11-22

   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

2. 

   New Age Voice – 2022-11-22

   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

3. 

   Manuel Brum / Portugal – 2022-11-22

   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”