Kiva
by Darren Bergstein, Muze
Roach rounds out the final part of this wonderful triptych, here collaborating with fellow space music maven Michael Stearns and Native American musician Ron Sunsinger. As ominous electronic spirals unwind and writhe behind the disc's eerie chants and naturally realized sounds, it derives its latent power from, and heartily champions, the desert's ceremonial legacy. All three musicians have trodden down these paths before, but, as on "Mother Ayahuasca," the addition of pulsating analog blips and mutated whistles lend just the right degree of strangeness that both contradicts the sacred charms of the unfolding compositions, yet is most integral to their development. Though it's difficult to say which of the three participants are responsible for the disc's broad textural hues, ultimately the merging of sensibilities, concepts and direction makes KIVA quite the compelling listen.
by Darren Bergstein, Muze
Roach rounds out the final part of this wonderful triptych, here collaborating with fellow space music maven Michael Stearns and Native American musician Ron Sunsinger. As ominous electronic spirals unwind and writhe behind the disc's eerie chants and naturally realized sounds, it derives its latent power from, and heartily champions, the desert's ceremonial legacy. All three musicians have trodden down these paths before, but, as on "Mother Ayahuasca," the addition of pulsating analog blips and mutated whistles lend just the right degree of strangeness that both contradicts the sacred charms of the unfolding compositions, yet is most integral to their development. Though it's difficult to say which of the three participants are responsible for the disc's broad textural hues, ultimately the merging of sensibilities, concepts and direction makes KIVA quite the compelling listen.
 |
Steve Roach, Michael Stearns, Ron Sunsinger 1995 Hearts of Space HS11056 (CD) Reviewed by i/e, Inner-Views, Muze True shamanic music: Actual peyote and ayahuasca ceremonies provide the foundation for this collaboration with Ron Sunsinger and Michael Stearns. Not for the weak at heart. The four directions provide a symbolic symmetry to this extraordinary recording. The artists also combine recordings they made together within a labyrinth of caves in New Mexico, adding yet another ingredient to the broth.
|