DreamSTATE is a Canadian ambient music

Ambient music

Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...

 project known for their soundscape installations and early live ambient performances in the Toronto, Ontario area. Their soundscapes combine electronic music

Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

 processes with field recordings and range from light to dark ambient

Dark ambient

Dark ambient is a subgenre of ambient music that features foreboding, ominous, or discordant overtones. Although it had its roots in the 1970s, Dark ambient emerged in the 1980s and 1990s with the introduction of newer, smaller, and more affordable Effects units, synthesizer and sampling technology...

.

History

dreamSTATE was founded in 1995 by Toronto electronic musician Scott M2 (Scott McGregor Moore) who was soon joined by Jamie Todd (aka URM). Their first ambient installation, "waveforms" (1996), was mounted in the H5 holographic gallery in Toronto where it played continuously for 6 months. dreamSTATE's first CD release, "BETWEEN REALITIES" (1998), was a one hour excerpt from that installation. They began performing their soundscapes live in 1997 and have continued to be active electronic music

Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

 performers. In 2000 dreamSTATE began curating THE AMBiENT PiNG, a weekly live ambient performance event in Toronto providing a stage for developing artists in the genre and hosting notable touring performers such as Robert Rich

Robert Rich (musician)

Robert Rich is an ambient musician and composer based in California, United States. With a discography spanning over 30 years, he is widely regarded as a figure whose sound has greatly influenced today's ambient, New Age, and even IDM music.-Early life:At an early age he thought he disliked music...

, Sara Ayers

Sara Ayers

Sara Ayers is an ambient music artist who uses her voice as a sound source. The Chemical Brothers used samples of Ayers' "Everyday We Die a Little" on their song "Come Inside" from their album Push the Button. VH1 used samples of "Angel #3" for the soundtrack of Behind the Music: Britney Spears....

, Alpha Wave Movement, Eric Wollo, Tom Heasley

Tom Heasley

Tom Heasley plays an unusual instrument for ambient music - the tuba. His first solo CD "Where the Earth Meets the Sky" was released on the Hypnos ambient label and was mastered by ambient music pioneer Robert Rich...

, James Johnson and Vir Unis. In 2004 they performed in the Huron Historic Gaol

Huron Historic Gaol

The Huron Historic Gaol was established as the Huron County Gaol for Upper Canada's Huron District. Clearing of the land began in Goderich, Ontario in 1839 and the jail was constructed between 1839 and 1842 using stone from the Maitland River Valley and from Michigan...

 in Goderich, Ontario

Goderich, Ontario

Goderich is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario and is the county seat of Huron County. The town was founded by William "Tiger" Dunlop in 1827. First laid out in 1828, the town is named after Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, who was British prime minister at the time. The town...

 at the opening of the "Bread & Water" multi-media installation, which played for 3 months in the gaol. Their soundscapes from that installation (inspired by the book "Moon Sea Crossing" by poet Lynn Harrigan) were released as the CD "PASSAGE" in 2005. In 2006 dreamSTATE's concert CD "OM" was released, recorded live at the OM Festival

OM Festival

The OM Festival was a community-based summer solstice festival that ran annually in southern Ontario for seven years from 1998 to 2004. The festival, organized by Sumkidz, featured music, dance and art, and encouraged its attendees to participate by volunteering. The event promoted free expression...

 2000 in Tweed, Ontario

Tweed, Ontario

Tweed is a municipality and a village located in central-eastern Ontario, Canada, in Hastings County.The Municipality of Tweed is an amalgamated municipality comprising the former Village of Tweed and the former Townships of Hungerford and Elzevir & Grimsthorpe...

.

Albums

• BETWEEN REALITIES - (1998 e-SPACE)
• PASSAGE - limited Bread & Water edition - (2004 e-SPACE)
• PASSAGE - (2005 e-SPACE)
• OM - (2006 e-SPACE)
• a decade dreaming - (2010 e-SPACE)

Compilation Tracks

• "White Winter Moon" from ambient.01@hyperreal - (2000 aquaFM)
• "Alpha Waves" from Ambient Landscapes 2 - (2000 Dark Duck)
• "The Stonecrest Visitation" from Infinity Paradox - (2000 Fusion Audio)
• "The Storm Within" w/ cheryl o from ambient.02@hyperreal - (2002 aquaFM)
• "Adrift In The City" from Harmony with Ambience - (2003 Windfarm)
• "Twilight Impressions" w/ James Johnson & Wally Jericho from Linger - (2003 AtmoWorks)
• "Flying Air nia" w/ Steven Sauve from Local Flavour 2003 - (2003 Get Real)
• "Sunspot Interference" from PiNG AMBiENCE 1 - (2003 Arcolepsy)
• "Molten" from Fluidities - (2004 Foundry)
• "Phases of the Moon" w/ Susanna Hood from PiNG AMBiENCE 2 - (2004 APT)
• "As It Happens" w/ Lynn Harrigan from Deep Wireless 1 - (2004 NAISA)
• "Clearing" from PiNG AMBiENCE 3 - (2005 APT)
• "Fogbound" from Foglands - (2007 Umbra)
• "Deeper" from The Other Side of the Sky - (2007 Umbra)
• "Ghost Nebula" from Sounds of a Universe Overheard - (2007 Hypnos
  Hypnos (label)
  Hypnos is an independent record label, located in Portland, Oregon. Started in 1996 by M. Griffin to release his own recordings, both solo and for his collaborative project Viridian Sun, and has since become one of the most established and respected ambient labels.The music released tends toward...
  
  )

URM

• Synthphonics 1 - Darkness on the Edge of Light - (2002 APT)
• Synthphonics 2 - Hush on the Peace Terrain - (2002 APT)
• SADU LiVE - (2006 Sylken)

External links / References

• Official dreamSTATE website
• dreamSTATE Interview 2000
• dreamSTATE Interview 2005
• dreamSTATE at Discogs

• dreamSTATE Interview re THE AMBiENT PiNG
• THE AMBiENT PiNG website