Trance Archeology

Steve Roach

November 1, 2019

Ambient / Drone

Greetings Bandcamp friends Trance Archeology is an album I’ve poured every molecule of my being into over the past 2 years. Very excited about this journey that expresses the magnitude, beauty and mystery of life in all its fleeting glory. I want to share this release with as many of my friends of the music as possible, so it’s offered as a name-your-price digital release at Bandcamp this week. The CD is here as well. There’s also a beautiful T-shirt and 12x12 poster featuring the powerful cover image. All my best from the deep end of the soundcurrent. Steve Trance Archeology maps a dynamic topography of eight multidimensional interwoven pieces born from the pulse, breath and heartbeat of sonic archeology, tapping into a uniquely symbiotic relationship between rhythm and atmosphere. The elemental core alive in Trance Archeology transmits an experience born anew yet unearthed for the first time; simultaneously it connects the epochs of trance, ceremonial and sacred music expressed through the tools born of today’s technology. “I’m continuously fascinated,” Steve reveals, “by the juxtaposition of rhythm and atmosphere, space and place. It’s the counterpoint between psychoactive metagrooves with the diaphanous, immersive nourishment of the textural zones.” Metagrooves aptly describes the rhythms found on Trance Archeology. They engage the body and mind in equal proportion. This sonic alchemy drawn from the balance of dualities helps free the mind from a linear timeline. The continuous flow builds and transitions, morphing into the next present moment. This is constant across the 74-minute adventure. Trance Archeology evolved over the last two years simultaneously with a number of Steve’s other releases and concerts. Steve reflects, “Among all the projects, this album was running deeper. I’d leave it, come back to it, keep working at the site of the archeological dig, exploring, unearthing. The genealogy of the storyline referenced is not ancestral but the genealogy of my art form. When composing and recording, I’m looking to uncover sounds not heard before yet connected to my history. It feels like working at a dig site, compelled to brush away the effect of time and daily life that can conceal these essential elements. Over the years I’ve learned to recognize and extract these vital parts; there’s always a digging deeper or reaching towards something just out of grasp. This archeological metaphor has driven my work for years — this constant revealing and moving the music forward.” Trance Archeology expresses the genre-defying nature of Steve’s dynamic innovations that focus on a full engagement of the senses. Emotionally stirring activation of the body, mind and spirit, the morphing confluence of soundworlds and rhythmic passages combine to open up a hyperreal sense of the moment. In this case the trance experience is about being fully present and alive in a focused state of expanded conscious awareness — discovering what lies just beyond.