The Magnificent Void
Encyclopedia
The Magnificent Void is an album by the U.S. ambient
musician Steve Roach.
psychologist Stanislav Grof
's 1992 book The Holotropic Mind: "One of the most enigmatic of all transpersonal phenomena is the experience of the Void [...] This absolute emptiness is simultaneously pregnant with all of existence since it contains everything in a potential form."
The music on this album is dark, expansive, pure electronic textures, ending in an intense chord progression titled "Altus" (a Latin word meaning both "high" and "deep"). Genre-wise, the album says "File under Ambient
, Electronic
" and is tagged as "Electronic
Space
" by its record label, but is also classified as dark ambient
by reviewers. The Steve Roach website files it in its custom category "Atmospheric Space", but adds that "it has more in common with 20th century avant-garde
than other genres."
The Magnificent Void is one of many productions that Steve Roach has no memory of creating, because so many elements of each track were worked on over a period of years.
All compositions by Steve Roach.
Technical
Graphical
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 :...
musician Steve Roach.
Overview
The backcover of The Magnificent Void quotes from transpersonalTranspersonal
The term transpersonal is often used to refer to psychological categories that transcend the normal features of ordinary ego-functioning. That is, stages of psychological growth, or stages of consciousness, that move beyond the rational andprecede the mystical...
psychologist Stanislav Grof
Stanislav Grof
Stanislav Grof is a psychiatrist, one of the founders of the field of transpersonal psychology and a pioneering researcher into the use of non-ordinary states of consciousness for purposes of analyzing, healing, and obtaining growth and insight into the human psyche...
's 1992 book The Holotropic Mind: "One of the most enigmatic of all transpersonal phenomena is the experience of the Void [...] This absolute emptiness is simultaneously pregnant with all of existence since it contains everything in a potential form."
The music on this album is dark, expansive, pure electronic textures, ending in an intense chord progression titled "Altus" (a Latin word meaning both "high" and "deep"). Genre-wise, the album says "File under Ambient
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 :...
, Electronic
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...
" and is tagged as "Electronic
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...
Space
Space music
Space music, also called spacemusic, is an umbrella term, synonymous with a segment of New Age Music and Ambient Music, used to describe music that evokes a feeling of contemplative spaciousness. Space music can be found within a wide range of genres. It is particularly associated with ambient, New...
" by its record label, but is also classified as 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...
by reviewers. The Steve Roach website files it in its custom category "Atmospheric Space", but adds that "it has more in common with 20th century avant-garde
Avant-garde music
Avant-garde music is a term used to characterize music which is thought to be ahead of its time, i.e. containing innovative elements or fusing different genres....
than other genres."
The Magnificent Void is one of many productions that Steve Roach has no memory of creating, because so many elements of each track were worked on over a period of years.
Track listing
- "Between the Gray and the Purple" – 7:42
- "Void Memory One" – 2:53
- "Infinite Shore" – 7:47
- "Cloud of Unknowing" – 10:38
- "Void Memory Two" – 3:40
- "Void Memory Three" – 3:41
- "The Magnificent Void" – 13:13
- "Altus" – 20:01
All compositions by Steve Roach.
Personnel
Musical- Steve Roach – performer (uncredited instruments)
- Linda KohanovLinda KohanovLinda Kohanov is an author, speaker, riding instructor, and horse trainer. Kohanov is best known in the field called "equine facilitated psychotherapy" , and as the author of two books, The Tao of Equus: A Woman's Journey of Healing and Transformation through the Way of the Horse and Riding...
(Roach's wife) – voice (track 4) - Cantrell Maryott – voice (track 4)
Technical
- Production: Steve Roach
- Mixing ("digital assembly"): Roger King, Steve Roach
- Mastering: Bob Olhsson, Stephen Hill
Graphical
- Design: Stephen Hill, Jeff Taylor
- Artist photo: Robin Stancliff
Sources
- Roach, Steve (1996). "CD liner notes" in The Magnificent Void, San Francisco: Fathom Records (sublabel of Hearts of Space RecordsHearts of Space RecordsHearts of Space Records is an independent record label owned by Valley Entertainment.From the label’s website, “Launched in 1984, this record label was created as an extension of the weekly syndicated radio show Hearts of Space...
), February 13, 1996, SKU HS11062-2, EAN 0025041106221 (UPC 025041106221)
External links
- The Magnificent Void at SteveRoach.com
- The Magnificent Void at Hearts of SpaceHearts of SpaceHearts of Space is a United States weekly syndicated public radio show featuring music of a contemplative nature drawn largely from the ambient, New Age and electronic genres, while also including classical, world, Celtic, experimental, and other music selections...
(note a typo crediting Kevin Braheny)