Terraform

TERRAFORM is the first full collaborative album for longtime friends Steve Roach and Loren Nerell. The two composers met in LA in 1981, back in the early days of the electronic music scene. It was a time when like-minded musicians who understood the importance of emerging technology were coming together in local clubs and performance venues to share what they knew and learn from one another. After years of friendship and occasional musical collaboration the two decided to convene in a relaxed setting to see what they could distill from a blending of their collective talents and individual styles to accomplish common aims. TERRAFORM emerged from their mutual desire to create an organic, surreal and deeply ambient environment of langorous humid soundscape enviroments. Through a labyrinth of studio techniques, a kind of audio terraforming was developed. Heavily textured and mood altering, the long uninterrupted flow seemingly slows time down by way of the surreal dark ambient soundforms found in much of Roach's work. Nerell brings the steamy, evanescent blend of his mutated Indonesian sources, a signature sound that defines his previous releases for Amplexus, Side Effects and Soleilmoon. Loren Nerell has studied gamelan music for the last 25 years, expanding and fine-tuning his mastery of Indonesia's unique indigenous musical traditions through performances and field work. During this time he has accumulated a large number of field recordings, many of which he uses in his compositions. This has evolved from simply using the material as-is, to an elaborate processing technique in which the material is taken to a point so far from its original source as to be unrecognizable. Along with their collaborative efforts Steve produced, mixed and provided art direction on this special release. The limited edition of TERRAFORM is presented in a tall (DVD-style) Digipak, with three postcards and cover photographs by Brian Parnham. The regular edition comes in a jewel pack. Initial impressions from several listeners have referenced Brian Eno's seminal "On Land" recording.