Dreamtime Return

Dreamtime Return (1988) is a double album by the American ambient musician Steve Roach, based on Australian Aboriginal culture and the concept of the Dreamtime. Described as "one of the pivotal works of ambient music"[7] and "groundbreaking,"[8] the album has been included on a number of lists of the world's best music, including 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die.[7]

Dreamtime Return
Studio album by
Steve Roach
Released1988
Recorded1987-88 at The Timeroom
GenreAmbient, electronic[1]
Length130:23
LabelFortuna
ProducerSteve Roach
Steve Roach chronology
Quiet Music
(1988)		 Dreamtime Return
(1988)		 Stormwarning
(1989)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Alternative Pressfavorable [2]
Exclaim!8/10[3]
John Dilibertofavorable [4]
Hearts of Spacefavorable [5]
Linda Kohanovfavorable [6]

Overview

Roach had already begun composing this album when by chance he received a letter from writer/photographer David Stahl. Stahl had heard Steve Roach’s third album, Structures from Silence, on the radio while driving through the desert towards Mexico. He informed Steve Roach of his current documentary film project Art of the Dreamtime. Several months later Roach and Stahl traveled to Northern Australia to visit that region's ancient Aboriginal sites.

The earliest recorded track on the album is “The Other Side”. This piece was recorded live, with Kevin Braheny playing a Steiner EWI (Electronic Woodwind Instrument). This piece was broadcast on the National Public Radio program Music from the Hearts of Space in 1986. This particular edition of the program, titled Starflight 1, was so popular that later that year it was released as an album, consequently “The Other Side” was released two years before the rest of Dreamtime Return.

Before this album was released, Steve Roach traveled to Australia for musical inspiration.[1]

Reception

The album has been described as a "masterpiece,"[1] "groundbreaking,"[8] "one of the pivotal works of ambient music" and "dazzlingly hypnotic."[7] The album has also been said to "activate listeners to reach a deep level of consciousness that draws upon the trance-inducing music (Roach) has created."[9]

Dreamtime Return helped Roach gain a worldwide reputation.[10] The album has also been included on a number of lists of the world's best music, including 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die.[7]

After being remastered and reissued for its 30th anniversary in May 2018, Bryon Hayes from Exclaim! said "Thirty years later, in a period of intense rediscovery of barely remembered classic albums, it's fitting that this iconic gem has been uncovered."[3]

Track listing

All tracks by Steve Roach except where noted

Disc one
  1. ”Towards the Dream” – 7:08
  2. ”The Continent” – 4:49
  3. ”Songline” (Robert Rich, Roach) – 3:10
  4. ”Airtribe Meets the Dream Ghost” (Rich, Roach) – 7:00
  5. ”A Circular Ceremony” – 11:18
  6. ”The Other Side” (Kevin Braheny, Roach) – 13:14
  7. ”Magnificent Gallery” – 6:07
  8. ”Truth in Passing” – 8:41
  9. ”Australian Dawn-The Quiet Earth Cries Inside” – 6:18

Disc two
  1. ”Looking for Safety” – 31:21
  2. ”Through a Strong Eye” – 6:50
  3. ”The Ancient Day” – 6:06
  4. ”Red Twilight with the Old Ones” – 9:48
  5. ”The Return” – 8:33

1988 Fortuna Records 2-LP release

The 1988 2-LP release lacks the songs "Truth in Passing" and "Through a Strong Eye." It also has shorter edits of several other pieces, including a version of "Looking for Safety" that is 20 minutes shorter than the CD version.

Side 1
  1. ”Towards the Dream” – 7:08
  2. ”The Continent” – 4:48
  3. ”Songline” – 3:11
  4. ”Airtribe Meets the Dream Ghost” – 6:59

Side 2
  1. ”A Circular Ceremony” – 9:35
  2. ”The Other Side” – 13:13

Side 3
  1. ”Magnificent Gallery” – 5:03
  2. ”Australian Dawn-The Quiet Earth Cries Inside” – 5:11
  3. ”Looking for Safety” – 10:03

Side 4
  1. ”The Ancient Day” – 6:06
  2. ”Red Twilight with the Old Ones” – 9:48
  3. ”The Return” – 8:33

Personnel

See also

References
  1. "Dreamtime Return". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  2. February 1999
  3. Hayes, Bryon. "Steve Roach: Dreamtime Return". Exclaim! Media. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  4. June 2005
  5. June 2005
  6. August 1989
  7. 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die by Tom Moon Workman Publishing, 2008, page 649.
  8. "A Leading Ambient Light" by Roger Catline, The Hartford Courant, November 4, 1999, page 28.
  9. Landscapes in Music: Space, Place, and Time in the World's Great Music by David B. Knight, Rowman & Littlefield, 2006, page 35.
  10. "Aural Enlightenment - Ambient Artist Steve Roach Redefines The Sound Of Music" by Dave Irwin, Tucson Weekly (AZ), May 25, 2000.
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