There's a worldwide analog modular synthesizer resurgence in full swing. Pioneering electronic musician Steve Roach taps into the zeitgeist on SKELETON KEYS, a 74-minute album recorded using the Synthesizers.com large format analog modular synthesizer­/sequencer-based system. These are eight emotional and mind-expanding spiraling mandalas-of-sound made from interwoven tapestries of melody, rhythm, tone and musical space.

"SKELETON KEYS connects directly to my first love in electronic music," Steve Roach explains. "This form of music creates a living portal to a unique place in consciousness, emotion, body awareness and expansion of perception. It's a place that can only be reached by way of this genre and these instruments, in particular the sequencer: a tool common within electronic music since early in its inception. I have been obsessed with the sound this instrument facilitates since my arrival as a composer in the late 70's."

With the availability of a new era of hardware instrument builders to draw from, in early 2014 Steve set out to create his ideal large format modular synthesizer­/sequencer-based system.

"My intention was single-minded," Steve says, "to make these 'Keys' in particular. The instant this system was in place, the compulsion to create was unleashed. Each piece on this release is an aural skeleton key providing entry through these arcane doors to what awaits inside. In addition, the momentum of my life's experience was vital in helping turn the skeleton key to open these doors at this precise moment."

Steve's artistic path is filled with new discoveries, both nuanced and dramatic. He brings to the table years of dedication and experience exploring sound via hands-on synthesis.

With the sense of an artist working in three dimensional space, Steve's skill set creates an album that breathes power, passion and vital life energy. On SKELETON KEYS Steve connects to the European EM masters at the roots of his electronic heritage while simultaneously mapping the soundworld of today's contemporary technology-based music. The result is warm and engaging retro-futurism, a continuing evolution upon the musical structures Steve has unlocked in the restless pursuit of his soundquest.

1.	The Only Way In	MP3	7:15
2.	The Function Inside The Form	MP3	5:45
3.	It's All Connected	MP3	9:28
4.	Outer Weave	MP3	5:12
5.	Symmetry And Balance	MP3	9:35
6.	Saturday Somewhere	MP3	10:50
7.	Escher's Dream Is Dreaming	MP3	9:48
8.	A Subtle Twist Of Fate	MP3	13:24

Shipping note for international orders including the vinyl LP: shipping will be charged at actual cost, based on actual weight of your full order. If paying by Paypal, wait for a personal email with your revised order total before sending payment.

The spiraling music of SKELETON KEYS is perfect for the vinyl experience that has resurged in recent years. On this LP version, three tracks from the CD and one track exclusive to the LP are featured. Includes a download code for the LP version from Bandcamp.

There's a worldwide analog modular synthesizer resurgence in full swing. Pioneering electronic musician Steve Roach taps into the zeitgeist on SKELETON KEYS, recorded using the Synthesizers.com large format analog modular synthesizer­/sequencer-based system. These are emotional and mind-expanding spiraling mandalas-of-sound made from interwoven tapestries of melody, rhythm, tone and musical space.

"SKELETON KEYS connects directly to my first love in electronic music," Steve Roach explains. "This form of music creates a living portal to a unique place in consciousness, emotion, body awareness and expansion of perception. It's a place that can only be reached by way of this genre and these instruments, in particular the sequencer: a tool common within electronic music since early in its inception. I have been obsessed with the sound this instrument facilitates since my arrival as a composer in the late 70's."

With the availability of a new era of hardware instrument builders to draw from, in early 2014 Steve set out to create his ideal large format modular synthesizer­/sequencer-based system.

"My intention was single-minded," Steve says, "to make these 'Keys' in particular. The instant this system was in place, the compulsion to create was unleashed. Each piece on this release is an aural skeleton key providing entry through these arcane doors to what awaits inside. In addition, the momentum of my life's experience was vital in helping turn the skeleton key to open these doors at this precise moment."

Steve's artistic path is filled with new discoveries, both nuanced and dramatic. He brings to the table years of dedication and experience exploring sound via hands-on synthesis.

With the sense of an artist working in three dimensional space, Steve's skill set creates an album that breathes power, passion and vital life energy. On SKELETON KEYS Steve connects to the European EM masters at the roots of his electronic heritage while simultaneously mapping the soundworld of today's contemporary technology-based music. The result is warm and engaging retro-futurism, a continuing evolution upon the musical structures Steve has unlocked in the restless pursuit of his soundquest.

1.	The Only Way In	MP3	7:15
2.	The Function Inside The Form	MP3	5:45
3.	Escher's Dream Is Dreaming	MP3	9:48
4.	Inner Weave at The Outer Edge		6:52

Presented on 180 gram vinyl; limited edition (400x); 4. vinyl-only bonus track. Shipping note for international orders: shipping will be charged at actual cost, based on actual weight of your full order. If paying by Paypal, wait for a personal email with your revised order total before sending payment.

This collection of new and previously unreleased pieces tracks the origin of Skeleton Keys. The first five tracks, recorded in 2005, set the idea into motion of creating a project of pure analog synth/sequencer-based music. I wanted to place the attention directly on these pure kinetic forms, intentionally stripped down to the essentials. The focus remains on the purity of the analog sound and the interweave of the patterned melodic strands and the ever-present pulse. Those elements all work together to create the keys for opening into a place of perception only obtained though this form of music.

Analog modular creation is all about spontaneous hands-on interaction and the visceral connection in the body and mind as the sound is spiraling forth from the speakers. No second guessing here: the priority is engaging with the immediacy of live electronic music on hardware instruments. Feel it, go with it, shape it by hand, record it, move on.

After orbiting around this project for several years, I continued to return to the original 2005 recordings, still feeling the growing desire to explore the "essence of the sequence" direction.

By early 2014, I built a large format analog system on the synthesizers.com platform. This was essential in giving me the tools to unlock the passages that would become the definitive SKELETON KEYS release. Once this album was complete, the momentum remained at a high point. All I could do was keep capturing peak live moments in the studio. By February 2015, tracks 6, 7, and 8 arrived. Including these on this album felt like a perfect perspective on the tracks that started the SKELETON KEYS project a decade ago. It's all here now.

1.	The Skeleton Key	MP3
2.	Climbing Escher's Stairs	MP3
3.	Fantastic Elastic	MP3
4.	The Right Membrane	MP3
5.	All Is Good	MP3
6.	Off the Spool	MP3
7.	Something For Now	MP3
8.	The Joy of Sequence	MP3

Shipping note for international orders including the vinyl LP: shipping will be charged at actual cost, based on actual weight of your full order. If paying by Paypal, wait for a personal email with your revised order total before sending payment.