Search - Steve Roach :: Fever Dreams

Fever Dreams part 1

Chromex | East Lansing, MI United States | 05/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Steve Roach is riding a hot streak of late and this smoking session just adds to the temperature. Fans of his tribal work will especially want to snatch this up, as it represents the first one of these he's done for a while and is uniformly excellent throughout. While Fever Dreams is not "typical" tribal or even typical Roach, if such a thing exsists, it is closest in spirit and feel to his "tribal" work of the past. Two more of these are expected this year so that is more good news. The opening track, "Wicked Dreams", signals the tone of the record by immediately hitting a sensuous tribal groove with some of Roach's best percussion work in ages. Patrick O' Hearn lays down a rhythmic "subbass" lick that adds a ton of weight to the undulating guitar washes and remote synth strands that make up the body of the piece. O Hearn's contribution sounds massive as it interacts with Roach's active, swampy, straightforward yet complex percussion . This piece definitely had its mojo working and was a very enjoyable exploration. "Fever Pulse", at just over 10 minutes the shortest track, opens with tribal tom tom rolls that lend a motoric feel to the piece. Long, cavernous guitar drones follow with a few mysterious bleeps and swooshes lingering in the murky background. Will Merkle provides a Miles -Davis like syncopated bass line that gives dense background cover for Roach's sonic irrigations. The atmospheric intensity of both pieces is somewhere around warp 1 yet the recording manages to sound inviting and relaxing as well. The continuing, pounding ostinato tom tom percussion is alternately brought to the fore and background, which completes the flickering, feverish effect on the listener. "Tantra Mantra" is the longest piece at nearly 30 minutes and gradually immerses the listeners in the intimate subtleties of Byron Metcalf's excellent frame drum work, which at times takes on the character of a melodic sequence. Hypnotic and quiet, no intensity is lost as the guitar injects quiet probes into the listeners psyche, deepening a mood of calm and intense mystery. The frame drum pulse drives the piece ever onward so that the listener's experience is that of a traveling soundworld. The piece facilitates deep breathing and relaxation, at least it did for me. At the end I felt as thought I had journeyed to a calm, yet mysterious corner of the body-mind. The effectiveness of the piece owes much to the chemistry between Metcalf and Roach and I look forward to more in the future. "Moved Beyond", the final piece, opens with atmospheric effects and distant drums, whirling over a free backdrop, with glissandos resembling shouts of longing and freedom beginning to ascend over the increasingly active percussion. As the effects multiply and overlap, the intensity of the spinning, simmering soundworld begins to rise. Roach and Metcalf's tools are similar to the rest of the session-various drums and percussion instruments, Steve's treated-who-knows-how guitars and synth effects and their ineffable chemistry. But this piece sounds different from the others; more freewheeling and adventurous and is a delightful atmospheric change after the 3 trance inducers that preceded it. It is also effective as a closer because by now, the mind has opened to the sonic worlds around it and explorations directed at the heart of the sun can be more fully experienced.
This recording is still in "heavy rotation" at my abode and will probably continue to remain there until "Part 2" comes out. Highly recommended."

Jazz-tinged electronica for a tropical chill room

dronecaster | Baton Rouge, LA USA | 04/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If rave parties were all the rage in say, northern Brazil (and maybe they are for all I know), this would be the perfect chill-room music for such an event. Though Steve Roach has utilized e-bows and other assorted guitars on several recordings in the past few years, "Fever Dreams" signifies a quantum leap in his skills with these instruments. Roach (along with Patrick O'Hearn) uses the bass guitar here more as a percussion instrument, at times generating gentle glitch and synth-based rhythms on 'Tantra Mantra' and almost funk-like arpeggios which drive the opening piece, 'Wicked Dream'.The highlight of the disc is 'Fever Pulse', where the rapid-fire spurts of the bass from Will Merkle merges beautifully with Roach's broad-stroke swirls of synthetic (yet organic) color. The effect is soothing and unprovocative yet keeps you attentive on a subliminal level. And as the final track, 'Moved Beyond' fades out into what sounds like an infinite distance, we're left thinking how the next two installments in this "Fever Dreams" trilogy will unfold...this is a new approach to a somewhat jazzy style of electronic music with not too many precedents...Bill Laswell comes to mind, a musician who helped pioneer the idea of using the bass guitar in an electronic music context. A Laswell/Roach collaboration now seems to be in order (let's hope!)"

What Are Your Fever Dreams?....A Stunning Ride!

Frank MacEowen | nomadic | 04/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Probably a great many of us can remember those wild fever dreams from childhood, where the ceiling seems to begin crashing down upon us, where we are suddenly transported from the cocoon of our sweat-soaked sheets onto a potent journey of consciousness. Or, maybe this happened to you last week? This, my friends, is the rich and delicious terrain of Fever Dreams: a soundscape where the walls melt, the portals are flung open, and the soul takes up its ancient call of wind-riding. Steve Roach has done it again, this time with the aid of fellow soundworlds brethren Byron Metcalf (on drums) and Patrick O'Hearn (on bass). Fever Dreams is the first in a series of recordings that will be kicked out this year. This first one is a superb blending of ancient and future, with vast electronic soundscapes, complex loops, boiling rhythms, aided by prehistoric cave-dwelling echoes, all of which collide to carry any avid psychonaut (explorer of consciousness) deeper and deeper into limitless inner space. Catch the fever!--Frank MacEowen, author of The Spiral of Memory & Belonging."