by J.F. Uccello (9dragons), Hypnos Forum
May 7, 2007
Been enjoying FEVER DREAMS III very much lately. If Fever 1 is the induction, and 2 is the explosion, then 3 is the exploration or tour phase. It feels like a bizarrely cinematic (jump cuts between tracks being quick camera-like scene shifts) documentary of biomechanoid levitation. And the second disc, "Melted Mantra", is the full-on miasmal downriver flotation session, complete with mutated tribes drumming languidly on the shores. Steve Roach is in for the long haul on this one. He doesn't give a shit if you get bored, he wants you to really listen, to really get down in it and pay attention (or pay such attention that you go into a trance and are just channeling imagery from your own higher mind). It is safe to assume that that man must live in a world where sound is everything. His hearing must be maniacally honed. The second disc of FEVER DREAMS III is a dream delusion, the incessantly repetitive beats forcing you to focus in, really hear what the hell he is saying. I appreciate that element of artistic discipline.
P.S. I think my "doesn't give a shit if you get bored" statement may have come out sounding harsh or critical, when the opposite was intended. What I meant by saying that "he doesn't give a shit if you get bored", is just a facile way of saying that, if he has a musical statement or effect that he wants to get across, he doesn't limit himself in the expression of it, even if it means making a "difficult" or obscure album. I like musicians or artists who are willing to take this stand, to focus fully on the work and not think about the final product or its superficial appeal. I was referring to the idea that modern people can have short attention spans, or not really give a deep and intent listen to a piece, and will quickly write it off, because it is minimalistic or seemingly repetitive. And Steve Roach happily defies being easy or obvious, is not afraid to offer something that is not easily entertaining (though his music is obviously very enjoyable and beautiful) but instead chooses the more meaningful and ultimately more rewarding route. I probably should not have phrased it that way though, but I hate using the word "difficult" to describe art or music that requires intense focus and contemplation to get into.
 
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Steve Roach 2007 Timeroom Editions 18 (CD) Reviewed by Electroambient Space, Hypnagogue, Hypnos Forum, Tokafi Psychoactive music for the body, mind and soul. This conclusion to the FEVER DREAMS series expresses a craving to dwell within the places in-between, at the borderland of undefined perceptions and amber-colored emotions. Started two years ago, this episode of the Fever evolved simultaneously with the Immersion project, growing into a double CD. The languid, sensual and hypnotic aspects of the first two editions of the FEVER DREAMS series are distilled to a frothy surreal brew. The interplay between a rhythmic Möbius strip-like sensation fused with organic atmospheres and soundworlds offers up a fascinating sense of emotional, psychological, and physical space nearly impossible to define. This conclusion resolves with disc two: "Melted Mantra", a disc-long groove-soundworld mantra that gives full resonation to the words "hypnotic" and "mesmerizing".
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