Robert Rich: Inner landscapes

ric-il.jpg (11k) Robert Rich: Inner landscapes
(Hypnos - 1999)

In yet another ambient "celebrity" coup for Hypnos Recordings, Robert Rich has re-released a live, improvisational concert from 1985; Rich edited this 74-minute version of Inner landscapes from more than two hours of tape, yielding a distilled mixture of only the finest flavors and textures. This beatless potion of synths, flutes and lap steel has only improved with the years.

With tranquil layers of activity atop a swelling drone, Part 1 is accented with a continual insectoid hum; it grows sparser becoming the spacey void which leads into Part 2; occasional subsonic ripples flow through the faint, electrified atmosphere soon overtaken by higher sheets of synth shimmer... which grow stronger and much denser, becoming an almost impenetrable surge. Toward the end of this section, things again "space out" into quietness, allowing the deeper tones of Part 3 to drift in like a spreading fogbank. A soft, brassy wall of sound rises from the mist, again accompanied by tiny, bug-like chitters.

Multileveled tones intertwine in slow motion during Part 4 (13:25); low grumbles ground the activity, while abstract symphonics waft overhead; some of the higher registers approach shrillness in spots. Softer, Part 5 features sustained gusts overlain by birdlike cries. Serpentine flute wails meander through thick, rolling waves. The quiet, pillowy soundclouds of Part 6 (2:21) are infused with faint ripples and a thinly thrumming atmosphere. A most vaporous zone, despite its brevity.

After a spaciously droning intro, the incoming flute passages of Part 7 pile up, their translucent layers overlapping, leaving half-audible ghost images which trail away as the piece slowly moves on, and fades out to become Part 8; delicate synth-strings and ethereal hiss form an entryway through which less primitive flute sounds enter to shimmer and unfold, like a warmly fluctuating sunbeam, which eventually dissipates.

Whether as an introduction to Robert Rich's organically ambient soundworlds, or a re-visitation to his earlier improvs, Inner landscapes covers timeless ground, suitable for most any listener. The entities which occupy this particular slice of aural real estate are too amorphous to sound dated, and will provide many hours of immersive ear-trekking. 9.0! 9-0.gif
This review posted June 25, 1999

AmbiEntrance © 1999-97 by David J Opdyke (except CD cover art, rights retained by original owners).