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On Portals and Spirals (73:10) Steve Roach may again be found sharing his private creative power with the world. Capturing the quick flashes of imagery that scene and sign his thoughts the two monumental long-form tracks invite reflection on the enduring value of innovative forms. Crafting aural associations intended to invoke the poetic power of mental action - should we think about this music, or do we just know it? Distilling cerebral energy into sonic momentum Portals and Spirals invites us to navigate an open-ended field of texture, atmosphere and pulse. Realized entirely from his imagination Roach summons a version of reality characterized by limitless possibility. Through the artful deployment of synths and sequencers the mind is moved - carried along the current of sound into new realms of invention and transformation. Transfigured in the skillful manipulations of timbre, texture, shadow and shine this work evokes destinations uncertain and futures unknown - and rises on the human desire to journey further. Drawn out in echoing waves of cycling note patterns our travels take us past pastel cloud sunsets into a tonal twilight, then beneath the velvet cloak of night and a place of private understandings. With no trace of any identifiable landscape we are left to dream up one of our own.
Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END - 9 October 2025
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