the project

This CD brings together selections from Steve Roach's first two recordings, Now and Traveler. The fourteen selections featured in this collection were composed between 1979 and 1983. Although they hail from the days before samplers and MIDI advancements, many of these pieces sound as if they were created in the digital age. Roach's early releases, however, were created entirely through an inventive combination of analog synthesizers and imaginative recording techniques. Nearly a decade later, this music is filled with a freshness and emotional urgency, indicating just how far ahead of his time the California–born composer really was.

First released in 1982, Now is an entrancing journey through darkness and light, from the ancient past to the eternal present, a powerful statement of birth, growth, transition, and rebirth into the living moment. With the release of Traveler, Roach continued his sound quest through a series of interlocking pieces that venture through evocative landscapes, both familiar and strange. Although Roach depicts a vast array of emotions and experiences in his music, the overall effect remains that of unresolved searching. Now and Traveler are the first two chapters in an ongoing story of musical and personal discovery that continues to unfold in his music today.

the artist

Steve Roach is recognized worldwide as one of the leading innovators in contemporary electronic music. His range of musical expression runs the gamut from the introspective soundscapes of Structures from Silence (17024) and Quiet Music (Complete Edition) (18043) to the explosive sequencer music of Empetus (17036). Roach masterfully combined these two aspects of his style on the double album Dreamtime Return (18055), considered by many critics to be a landmark in the new music genre.

biography

discography

tracklist