Steve Roach - Emotions Revealed (2016)

A delayed transmission from the early 80s. Discovered serendipitously in 2015, these lost tracks created just prior to the Structures from Silence era represent two then-emerging sides of Steve’s artistic muse. “Emotion Revealed” is a mesmerizing, yearning sequencer exploration connected to the German school of electronic music. “Firelight” was his first long-form atmospheric composition of emotional introspection — stillness, silence, and solitude. Two essential touchstones of Steve’s sonic origin.

Track one – Emotion Revealed – was recorded live in 1983 at the Timeroom, Culver City, California, soon after Steve’s premiere solo cassette NOW (1982) was released. This piece presents a classic recording of the sound that defined the early years of Steve’s work showing the influence of the European Electronic Music of that era. The approach of capturing the emotions of the moment in the studio live is a through-line that continues into his work today.

Connected in contrast, the second track – Firelight – is informed by the stillness of the southwest desert experience: externalizing the feeling of these serene and austere expanses, evoking the introspection these isolated environments provide. This influence continues as an inspiration today and can be considered a soul tone in Steve’s work. This recording is the birth of Steve’s contemplative voice; the awakening of this space-location immersion style is clearly alive within this expression of sonic solitude. Considering the musical and cultural climate of the early 80s, “Firelight” had no audio peer or point of reference; this is the first recorded document in which Steve breaks away from the European influences, exploring a style that went on to become a genre all its own.

These two recordings are a rediscovery of an essential period from Steve’s catalog that could just as easily be a future transmission from 2083.