''Structures from Silence'' is the third studio album by American
ambient musician
Steve Roach. It was released on July 15, 1984 by Fortuna.
Background and recording
The title track, ''Structures from Silence'', took Steve Roach a few months to compose. He would play the song using an
Oberheim OB-8 and
Oberheim DSX sequencer day and night, adjusting it until it sounded right to him. Finally, he went to a recording studio and recorded the song in a single 30-minute long pass, using his own gear along with a second OB-8 as well as a
Lexicon
A lexicon (plural: lexicons, rarely lexica) is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Greek word () ...
224 digital reverberator.
Release
A remastered version of this album, with a different cover, was released in 2001 by
Projekt.
A 30-year anniversary edition was released by Projekt in 2014. The album was remastered in 24-bit/96 kHz from the original analog mixes.
There is both a single-CD edition, and a 3-CD deluxe edition that includes two bonus discs created in 2013. Both editions use the original cover art.
The remastered original album (but not the two bonus discs) was made available as 24-bit/96 kHz digital downloads.
Video release
In 1987 a
VHS video titled ''Structures from Silence'' was released. It featured imagery created by Marianne Dolan set to the album's title track. This video was also released on
laserdisc
LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...
under the title ''Space Dreaming''.
[
]
Music
Andy Beta of ''Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
'' described the sound on ''Structures from Silence'': "The three extended compositions that comprise ''Structures'' arise out of such quiescence; the loops and gentle melodic refrains spire upwards and suggest vistas. With just a few cycling elements and floating chords, 'Reflections in Suspension' and 'Quiet Friend' exude a peaceful calm, while the title track is a half hour of contemplative bliss, full of purring drones and high notes that shimmer and fade. Like a desert mirage, these structures hover forever at the horizon
The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...
, an oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment[AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...]
said: "Though Roach's approach changed and explored many new directions, there's a core aesthetic
Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,'' , acces ...
still at work, that of contrasting a variety of loops and repeated motifs with subtle melodic exploration. The interweaving of the two approaches, to the point where it's never quite clear what predominates at what point -- especially on opening track 'Reflections in Suspension' – makes for music both cyclic and open-ended."
The influence of Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the grou ...
and Vangelis
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (, ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; , ), was a Greek musician, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He composed ...
is apparent on the album.
Reception and legacy
In late November 2014, Steve Roach was selected as Echoes Radio's #1 Artist and ''Structures from Silence'' was voted as the #2 album.
''Fact
A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...
'' listed ''Structures from Silence'' as the tenth best album of the 1980s, calling it a "thoughtful, slow-paced study in synthesizer" and one of the most important ambient albums of all time. They listed the 2014 reissue as the fourth best reissue that year, commenting that "it's a perfect time to return to this classic album – still spellbinding, three decades on."[ In 2016, '']Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
'' listed it as the 33rd best ambient album of all time.
Ted Raggett of ''Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
'' gave the album a perfect score, saying: "Widely considered his breakout album where he found his own voice, it even made a list of Top Ten releases published in a magazine dedicated to yoga
Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...
. Whether a listener uses it for that purpose or not, it does have to be said that ''Structures from Silence'' is a lovely effort indeed. Its chief allure remains its transcendence of time -- while one can surmise, based on the sound of the record, its early-'80s vintage, it is not an obviously dated album in and of itself. ..''Structures from Silence'' is its own notable peak, the first of many astonishing highlights for Roach."
Track listing
30th anniversary bonus discs
Personnel
Per liner notes.
* Steve Roach — performer, producer, recording engineer
* Michael Stearns — spatial enhancements
* Kevin Braheny — spatial enhancements
* Richard Bailey — cover art
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Structures From Silence
1984 albums
Steve Roach (musician) albums
Projekt Records albums
Space music albums by American artists