Steve Roach – Dynamic stillness

3 reviews for Steve Roach – Dynamic stillness

1. 

   Matt Howarth / Sonic Curiosity – 2022-11-22

   This 2009 CD offers 146 minutes of extreme tranquillity.

   Languid textures unfurl into sonic structures of expansive proportion, filling the sky with their moody definition. As these drones undergo gradual pulsations, additional tones enter the panorama to season the flow with subtle fluctuations.These tenuous electronic formations are subject to continuous progression, steadily evolving in ways that are often too gossamer to readily discern. Long passages ensue in which things do not seem to change. You space out at one point, only to surface later and find yourself cocooned in ambience of a completely different certification.
   As these complacent electronics drift and commingle, territories of vast potential are generated. The ethereal harmonic layers are constant in their elusive quality, maintaining a sense of intense fragility.A gritty character lurks deep within some of these soundscapes, an edginess immersed in the severe tranquillity that serves to goad consciousness from its vacuity and instill a peaceful alertness.
   While excruciatingly minimal in constitution, these compositions possess definite body and verve. Their sparse nature tends to seep and saturate, expanding inside the head into lavish auralscapes of psychic vitality.

   This music foreshadows momentous revelations ahead, but the epiphanies are not found in the tuneage. They lie within the listener’s own capacity; the soundscapes serve as the trigger to unlock depths beyond introspection.

   2009. Matt Howarth / Sonic Curiosity

2. 

   Kristian Persson / Sweden – 2022-11-22

   I have been a long time Steve Roach fan since the beginning of his career, and I have to say that this CD is one of the best out there since the release of ‘Structures From Silence’. This is it!Imagine standing on the top of a mountain, observing the landscapes ahead of you, taking a few deep breaths while listening to this phenomenal CD. Imagine seeing the past, the present and what the future holds. Reach out for the abstract matters of life and try to feel what’s close but not touching. Only then you will find the real truth of what life on this planet is all about.

   The music on this disc makes dreams into reality before you know it, and it also evokes your deepest inner feelings and let’s all your sensations and emotions come to life. At least that’s how I felt when I got indulged by this masterpiece!.The music is mysteriously beautiful, almost like taking the best from both worlds in terms of good and bad, bright and dark. Steve certainly knows how to create imaginary landscapes with slow-motion terraforming structure and rhythmless soundscapes. Think of this album as a slightly darker ‘Structures from Silence’ and you have a good recipe of what to expect. With it’s strong subtle messages, It feels that this CD has more to offer to the listener, a deeper meaning than his previous releases. And the flow of the dramatic sequences that can be heard throughout is simply stunning!. You will be able to explore subtle messages through a deserted landscape in no time.

   I consider this album to be a must have in any SR fan’s collection. And for those who are not so familiar with Steve Roach, I have only one thing to say to them…You will not be disappointed!
   My deepest atmospheric recommendations!!

   2009. Kristian Persson / Sweden

3. 

   Matt Rowe – 2022-11-22

   There is something musically beautiful and utterly captivating within the 2 discs that make up the latest release in Steve Roach‘s vast ambient catalogue. Dynamic Stillness is best characterized as being sounds of a lone location where emptiness abounds in a very powerful, but immensely beautiful way. As the music progresses from piece to piece, they change to reflect the completeness of this genesis as it comes alive.

   The album begins with a 40+-minute work called Birth of Still Places.” It starts with a noised stillness that is full of an unimagined power. It progresses to uncover simple melodies sounding much like Roger Eno‘s miraculous ambient masterpiece