Sundaze 1319

Hello, ever heard of Ray Kurzweil ? He was the principal inventor of the first CCD flatbed scanner, the first omni-font optical character recognition, the first print-to-speech reading machine for the blind, the first commercial text-to-speech synthesizer, the first music synthesizer capable of recreating the grand piano and other orchestral instruments, and the first commercially marketed large-vocabulary speech recognition. In 2002 he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, established by the U.S. Patent Office. He has received nineteen honorary doctorates, and honors from three U.S. presidents. He's written bestsellers like "The Age of Spiritual Machines".

Impressive indeed, he's been called a genius but there's this inevitable mad aspect to him, his irrational fear of death. His big ego has driven him to finding a path to immortality inside a machine, as the indestructible  materialist dogma tells him that copying our brains into a machine will be achieved by 2045. He'll be 103 by then and probably wise enough then to see how foolish he was. That said, it's likely there's plenty of usable spin off of his research, one of which will be machines recognizing commands in our thought patterns, you wont be using Google glass but a bionic eye, but to whose benefit ? The data obsessed machine masters? Or will there be an AI running the planet ?

Meanwhile our bodies maybe far from perfect, the big elephant in the genetics room, has been left unmentioned so I remind you here, our bodies are not a godproduction or even come about thru evolution, we are riddled with genetic defects, unseen in nature. Somebody messed with our not very smart predecessors (hardly any progress in a million years) as to who and why I point to the work of Sitchen, anyway here we are in imperfect bodies with a brain that can do remarkable things , yet most of us are superstitious and or materialistic and are still held back from the truth, could it be those aliens are still controlling our path ?

In the years that followed our man  developed a complex range of sounds founded upon the seamless integration of electronic, electric, and acoustic instrumentation, and the exploration of complex tunings. He's made dozens of albums these past 30 years even if this is my 3rd posting on him there's plenty left to come back to him in the future but for now ..... N'Joy

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A California native, Rich began experimenting with electronics in the late '70s before attending Stanford University, where he completed a degree in psychology. While at Stanford, Rich's involvement in the university's prestigious Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics expanded his interest in electronic composition, as well as bringing him in contact with a wide range of nontraditional, non-Western musical ideas. In 1987, he released an album titled Numena. This was the beginning of a new sound for Rich. It was his first album to explore complex rhythmic patterns, a wider range of acoustic instrumentation, and just intonation. It was also his first album to be released on CD originally. Rich's performance of several all-night "sleep concerts" during this period also helped solidify an aesthetic focus on psychoacoustics, perceptible in early recordings such as Geometry and Trances/Drones.

Rich's more mature works such as Rainforest and Propagation have sought to combine that interest with more recognizable electro-acoustical elements (Rich plays a wide range of instruments, from synths and effects racks to hand drums and flute), but the influence of digital sound manipulation has also moved increasingly to the fore. Inspired by the more textural works of artists like SPK and Throbbing Gristle, Rich's interest in the edgier side of electronic composition has also earned him a reputation among fans of gothic, industrial, and dark ambient, made most obvious by his collaboration in 1995 with Brian Williams of Lustmord. .

In 1992, he formed a new group called Amoeba. The group has released three albums featuring ex-Urdu members Rick Davies and Andrew McGowan at different times. In 2001, he released an album titled Somnium, a 7-hour album divided into three tracks on one DVD video. This album was a recreation of the sleep concert environment he created during the 1980s at Stanford. Although not officially recognized, many people believe it to be the longest artist album of all time.

In 2004, he released an album of piano solos titled Open Window. This album documents his improvised piano style that has been part of his live concerts for decades. It was recorded on a 1925 vintage A.B. Chase baby grand piano. On March 11, 2005, Robert suffered a hand injury. He was cleaning a glass jug and accidentally slipped and fell on top of it. During the recovery process, he continued to record new material and tour. He also constructed end-blown flutes from PVC pipe that are more easily played with limited right-hand dexterity.

During his 2006 tour, Rich performed in front of a film created by visual artist Daniel Colvin as a backdrop. After the tour he created a score for the film, which was released on CD and DVD in 2007 under the title Atlas Dei. In 2007 he also released the album Illumination, a companion soundtrack of a multimedia installation by Michael Somoroff, and a collaboration album with touch guitarist Markus Reuter.

One of Rich's other interests is food. He maintains a Web site of recipes and other food related topics called Flavor Notes. He also has a long list of recipes for wild mushrooms.

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The 74 minutes of music on Robert Rich's Inner Landscapes were culled and cut from over two hours of live concert material. The work that became Inner Landscapes, a 1999 Hypnos release, was taken from a live and wholly improvised set performed in 1985. With Inner Landscapes being released in 1999, there was a bit of a nostalgic feeling that allowed listeners to look back to where Rich came from and put in perspective his 14 years of work since this 1985 concert. This recording is full and diverse with its synth drones, flute sounds, and Rich's lap steel. It is a fine recording of recycled music, and one that is both complimentary and insightful. This is a must-have recording for fans of Robert Rich and any fan of early new age/space music circa the mid-'80s.

Robert Rich - Inner Landscapes ( flac 398mb)

01 Part 1 13:22
02 Part 2 11:20
03 Part 3 8:14
04 Part 4 13:25
05 Part 5 7:09
06 Part 6 2:21
07 Part 7 9:21
08 Part 8 8:43

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Geometry,  has a full history that gives it -- almost -- a life of its own. Rich composed and recorded the set in 1986 and 1987. Spalax released it in 1991; Linden released it in 1994; and Hearts of Space packaged it with Numena and released the double CD on their Fathom label in 1997. Rich and Steve Roach mixed the set at Roach's TimeRoom in Venice in 1987. The compositions explore the mathematical relationships between harmony, melody, timbre, rhythm and tuning. Rich used a unique intonation to apply a cutting-edge tuning to these pieces. This is some fairly heavy and heady stuff. The music is lush and beautiful -- and intelligent. The combination of improvisation and structure allows Rich to build deep atmospheres from acoustic and electronic sources. This soundscape is from early in his career. He is still using many of these techniques today and he still explores obtuse relationships.

Robert Rich - Geometry ( flac 310mb)

01 Primes Part 1 5:18
02 Primes Part 2 6:34
03 Interlocking Circles 8:33
04 Geometry Of The Skies 13:46
05 Nesting Ground 6:11
06 Geomancy 10:19
07 Amrita (Water Of Life) 6:59
08 Logos 9:56

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Robert Rich is a master alchemist at weaving exotic ethnic sounds onto an ambient electronic background tapestry. On Seven Veils, Rich takes from the Middle East desert tones that speak of slender minarets, ancient landscapes, and the wealth of forgotten nations buried in the fertile crescent. Adding to the richness of this offering, these melodies are not as often sampled as they are played on live instrumentation. Indeed, the instruments of diverse cultures are brought to bear on incarnating these pseudo-Arabic stylings. Guitar, played hauntingly and sparsely, as a flavoring instrument, is prominent. Rich himself plays the lap steel guitar throughout the album, and avant-garde journeyman experimental guitarist David Torn is present on two tracks. The melody is actually most often rising from Rich's bamboo and PVC flutes. Their warm resonance and the human sound of respiring they bring goes far to make this a warm and intimate recording. Subtle but diverse percussion is enhanced with rubber band marimba and dulcimer in setting a foundation for these tracks. The highlight is a 15-minute piece, "The Book of Ecstasy." Over three "chapters," the listener is taken from a lonely percussion introduction sparkling with ghost-like effected treble sounds of guitar and electronics to Torn's sonorous guitar solo. This Muslim psychedelia is a must for every shrinking world audiophile.

Robert Rich - Seven Veils ( flac 358mb)

01 Coils 6:03
02 Alhambra 10:09
03 Talisman Of Touch 4:52
04 Book Of Ecstasy 15:03
-----A Silken Thread 5:07
-----A Hungry Moon 4:00
-----A Veiled Oasis 5:56
05 Ibn Sina 8:33
06 Dissolve 5:34
07 Lapis 10:19

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