Dreamtime Return

Steve Roach

album cover

Deep Space Swirls

Steve Roach's 1988 double-disc, inspired by visits to the Australian outback and the Aboriginal concept of "dreamtime," has been hyped as one of the pivotal works of ambient music. You may wonder why: It begins with the generic whooshing you'd expect from a NASA training film, and as it evolves acquires similar sounds typically used by film scorers to connote open planetary vistas. That's ambient music for you: To some, one minute its sweeping sounds evoke a great metaphysical vastness, to others that same material can seem a tired cliché.

Stick with Dreamtime Return, because after its garish opening segment, the music travels less expected pathways, with slow-moving textures luring listeners into evocations of tribal ritual. In Aboriginal mythology, "dreamtime" refers to a state of being in which the past, present, and future are experienced simultaneously. Dreamtime's tales address the earth's origin, and the role of humans in it (the Aboriginal people believe every human event leaves a "record" in the land).

Inspired by these stories, Roach used a combination of synthesizers and ancient instruments, most notably the dumbek drum and the didgeridoo (that two-toned wind instrument native to Australia, played here by David Hudson), to create shape-shifting, constantly evolving atmospheres. Dreamtime Return is among a handful of pioneering works of what's sometimes called "Ethno-Ambient," though its rhythms are more aggressive than most music carrying that label. Moving from solemn, ceremonial beats to unmoored, tempoless explorations, Roach scatters tones and colors into brilliant arrays, and evolves them, ever so slowly, into a majestic long-distance journey. It may only be a simulation of dreamtime, but it's dazzlingly hypnotic all the same.

Genre: Electronica
Released: 1988, Celestial Harmonies (Reissued 2005, Projekt)
Key Tracks: "The Other Side," "The Ancient Day," "Looking for Safety"
Catalog Choice: Trance Spirits
Next Stop: David Byrne and Brian Eno: My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
After That: Michael Brook: Cobalt Blue
Book Page: 649

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Comments:

#1 from Frank Owen, Ridgeland, MS - 11/17/2008 7:55

I couldn’t agree more, Tom.

Dreamtime Return was where it all started for me as a Steve Roach listener in 1988. And, while I make brief forays into other genres, the vast, prolific sound worlds of Steve Roach (and some of the fellow sound wizards with whom he collaborates) is generally where I “live” as a listener.

My recommendation to readers/listeners: start with Dreamtime Return from 1988. It is a classic. Then, listen to something more recent, such as:

Stream of Thought (Steve Roach and Erik Wollo)
http://www.steveroach.com/store/store.php?item=409

Then, prepare yourself for what will undoubtedly be a lifetime of sonic journeys. Visit the following link where you can listen to most of the tracks as MP3 samples (or REAL Audio).

http://www.steveroach.com/discography

visit the online store of The Timeroom where you can browse music by genre:

http://steveroach.com/store/

To the sound current,

Frank

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