TRANCE SPIRITS

Being that there is no Progressive/Ambient category,Steve Roach co-exists obscurely in the Electronic tagging. Some others are also in this "limbo", not exactly being "electronic" or a bit worse, when they as Steve Roach (or Alio Die, by the way), aim for the electronics serving the acoustics, blend of music expression. Of course there are electronics here & there, but which music nowadays is not electronically recorded or engineered? Anyway, the attractive part of this work, is precisely the clash of both worlds. What needs to be electrified goes, as what not. This trance-like battle is subdued brilliantly, by the great balance, musically speaking, of the musicians involved in this "Projekt ", and by the astounding drumming performances of both Jeffrey Fayman and Momodou Kah, both playing on real african drums, not electronically processed, alongside both Steve Roach (Guitar & Synth Soundworlds) and Robert Fripp's (Soundscapes on 3 tracks) providing the atmospheres as backgrounds and fronts of the whole experience. So, to make it clear, this is closer to trance-like african music than electronic -prog, as such. What makes it a 5 star effort, for me, is the way they manage to escape all the cliches usually involved in this kind of works, to make the whole experience, be something different in taste and intention, to pure african drumming (which of course is great itself). Of course, Steve Roach has been thriving all through his career, to blend both primitive and modern music worlds, to survive, in one or as one. So he, by the time this record appeared (2002), had already walked through this kind of road, he knows perfectly this field of action. Jeffrey Faymans, biggest contribution resides (apart of his great performance of course), in the never ceasing intensity felt through the whole record. Mr. Fripp brings along some dark and mysterious "Soundcapes" that act as the night does for the day. So, for those familiar with the very, very vast, Steve Roach discography, this effort is one of his best (with other musicians) efforts. For those who are not familiar with thismusician, consider this to be one of his most accomplished, "opposites worlds" work. When there is balance and sweat, you will PROBABLY achieve what you aim for. This record does. One of a kind, 5 ***** PA Stars!

A pretty unique album for the Progressive Electronic sub-genre (and Steve Roach, as well) in that there is a quite domineering presence of some very powerful Ekome-like African tribal drumming.

1. "Taking Flight" (10:36) atmospheric synths mixed behind/with very dynamic African large-group percussion. I keep waiting for the keening voice of Peter Gabriel to break in! Also a bit of Steve's inspiration must have come from Jonathan Goldman's Trance work from the 1980s. (18/20) 2. "Trance Spirits" (16:44) opening with some more complicated polyrhythmic group drumming than the previous song, the electric atmospherics that accompany the drumming are thinner, less dense in instrumental involvement than "Taking Flight" yet the song is full of twists, turns, tempo and dynamic shifts from the drums while the electronics maintain their creepy, watchful presence in the background--at least until the middle when creepy jungle/swamp spirit sounds enter and take over. The "spirits" do not relent but instead dominate and repress the return of the human drummers for the entire second half of the song. (27/30) 3. "Off Spring" (8:10) bleeding over from the previous song, it takes a minute for the new motif to establish itself--to, in effect, wash away the aquatic jungle spirits. Downstream we come across a waterfall where there is a new tribe on the banks of the river waiting, watching, playing their pacifying drum rhythms as the PBR silently presses onward. A soft, almost relaxing drum pattern becomes supportive from the background--as if from a distance--while Steve plays with new sprite-like "spirits" in the foreground. The spirits start to darken, grow more malignant, in the third minute, conjuring up some Blade Runner-like feelings of fear and insecurity. The song feels more like a Bar-do-like waiting room between songs/themes. Some angelic strains seem to be trying to infiltrate during the final 90 seconds. (13.375/15) 4. "Seekers" (7:20) more eery, slow moving jungle-scenery riverboat music with some electronic "hybrid grooves" that predict the ever-present threat of clandestine river-side indigens. (13.25/15)

5. "The Calling" (5:47) tribal drumming as if from inside a land-based party/celebration (feast). Steve's jungle spirits are now watching from deep in the woods as the listener sits (inside his prison/cage?) listening to the drug-induced rager going on around him. Very cool drum rhythms until the very sudden and unexpected stop at 3:52. (8.875/10)

6. "Year of the Horse" (13:34) bleeding over from the previous song, a new drum pattern slowly emerges from the jungle--like a processional--enhanced by the accompanying joinder of electronic waves of Fripp and Roach chords, loops, and scapes. The drum pattern is rather synthesized and almost Celtic ("Lord of the Dance") dance-like in its stringent form and mathematic constancy. In the seventh minute something finally gets added to the rhythm track but then shimmer-scampers off (though it does return in the eighth and then gradually settles into the mix with the rest of the percussive sounds--making them sound more horse-gallop like--variations of which persist until the song's end). Interesting! (26.25/30)

7. "In The Same Deep Water" (11:42) more-layered synth scape that is quickly joined by a more complex, multi-layered and multi-instrumental group drum pattern. This one sounds most like the opening song. The electronics are not dynamic enough to be of much interest but the drumming goes through several polyrhythmic shifts within specific strands of weave over the course of the song, making this the more interesting aspect to tune into. In the sixth and seventh minutes the pitch range of the electronic sounds begins to shift to incorporate more low-end options into the spectrum. It seems that a long and very subtle fade begins in the eighth minute with the drums cutting out permanently at the 9:10 mark while the trance spirits seem to slowly fade back into the jungle, downstream on the river, as the listener watches on. (18.25/20)

Total Time 74 min

As alluded to many times in my commentary, this sounds like a soundtrack to the eery travels of Willard's Navy river patrol boat up river on his mission to find and "terminate" ("with extreme prejudice") the command of insane-gone- rogue Colonel Walter E. Kurtz in Apocalypse Now. Quite an enjoyable and very cinematic listening experience.

B+/4.5 stars; an excellent and refreshing adventure in cinematic music using Steve Roach's ever-creative mind and his progressive electronic creds to pull it off.