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| Steve Roach & Vidna Obmana - Live Archive |
 Released: 2000 Label: Groove Unlimited Cat. No.: GR038 Total Time: 63:51 | |
Reviewed by: Stephanie Sollow, July 2000 As the title says, these are live performances of Steve Roach and Vidna Obmana together at various venues. The opening track, "Verucchio Invocation," contains didgeridoo and the sound of thunder. From that first thunder crack, the temperature where I was dropped, and suddenly I could smell moist earth and the dampness of a storm (it's July and hot as I write this). Sure, it's more me than the music, but Roach is so good at setting mood and atmosphere that it's 50% of that, too. But, of course, it isn't all Roach here - Obmana provides percussion and processed vocals. This track, and the whole Live Archive itself, has an earthy and organic feel about it. As I've said elsewhere, whether Roach is alone or with someone, each pieces takes you on a journey. There is always movement in his music, even those passages that evoke stillness. Here at least for the first part of the album, it is a palpable movement - a living, breathing entity - the pulse of life and communication. You can feel the dynamics of each performance, the give and take between the two artists. What makes this album a stunning achievement is that several of the tracks have been stitched together from various performances. "Verucchio Invocation" "Soundworld Collage" are the two such tracks, and you'd hardly notice that parts were recorded in Italy, parts in the USA, and parts in The Netherlands. They are so cohesive and flowing. Sure, studio wizardry accounts for a lot, but you have to master those tools, too. So credit Obmana with that, as he's credited with the processing. The production is great. Add in the fact that, as Roach writes in the liner notes, "Although we briefly discussed the structure of each concert, the music simply came alive when we took the live performance map outside any form of logical preparation..." Although electronic instruments are used, the overall effect is acoustic. There are subtle sounds that echo the sounds of nature, making the music even more alive...most noticably in "Soundworld Collage," where the instrument list reads: flute loops, primordial magma, deep trance grooves, brain rattle, and harmonic waves. Oh, and there's that most natural instrument of all - voice; in this case belonging to Obmana. So inviting, so enveloping are the loops of sound, the warm (very warm) tones of the didgeridoo…deep and resonant…the sound at the core of your being… that when the disk ends, the silence is startling. Like being suddenly thrust into the cold, naked. I will add that some of the "atonal atmo" that Roach provides on "Tribal Perspective" comes across initially as strange, and maybe a little shrill… but it's hardly a blemish on this fine release. More about Live Archive: Track Listing: Verucchio Invocation (7:21) / Common Ground (7:38) / Two Reptiles (12:20) / Dreampipe Dialogue (3:54) / Soundworld Collage (9:19) / Ascension (6:57) / Tribal Perspective (7:38) / Divine Innermission (12:15) Musicians: Contact: Website: www.steveroach.com Discography (Roach)
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