Suspended Memories, Forgotten Gods

Down Beat (1/94, p.50) - 4 1/2 Stars - Very Good Plus - "...haunting and evocative....a sense of stillness and deep distance...."

Steve Roach has always been interested in musicians and music from other cultures. Here we find him teamed up with the enigmatic Mexican multi-instrumentalist Jorge Reyes, and from Spain, composer/electric guitarist Suso Saiz. The trio is recording together as Suspended Memories. Roach is featured on analog and digital synthesizers, rhythm programming, sampled percussion, voice, didgeridoo, distant percussion, and Lakota Plains Flute. Reyes plays clay water pots, prehispanic clay flutes, ocarina, bamboo flute, whistles, voice, and various percussion and drums. Saiz plays processed electric guitars, shortwave radio, and distant percussion. This trio has developed in an atmosphere in which improvisation, melody, and originality of conception are strongly encouraged. The album sounds really great when the volume is turned up. That way you can really feel the ominous power and all the nuances in the music. This spatially intriguing collection begins with "Different Deserts," which is actually four pieces in one. Perhaps they are four separate, imaginary, musical deserts. Primal drums echo as if they're emanating from distant canyons, while expansive ethereal swirls of sound glide across the horizon. It's a subconscious musical ritual suspended in our imagination, full of textural diversity, compelling contrasts, and insights. Saiz's guitar blends with Roach's synth work so well that they become one voice, melding into an ethereal blend of unusual sonorities. The various drums, flutes, and whistles add a timeless quality to the music. "Snake Song" shifts and moves from side to side like a cobra following a snake charmer's Ney flute. It's a trance dance with chanting, primal drums, and percussion creating a modern day shamanic ritual. This piece is reminiscent of Madrid, Spain's guitarist Luis Del Gado, and his album La Flor De Piedra. Saiz creates some really tasteful textures in the mix with some amazing controlled feedback on his guitar. "Night Devotion" showcases Roach's slowly breathing synths, with a great interplay between his expansive chordal washes and Saiz's ethereal guitar excursions. The next cut, "Saguaro," is named after the towering cactus of the Arizona desert. With its sparse, expansive ambience, it brings to mind one of Roach's earlier collaborations, Western Spaces. Saiz again adds some wonderful textures with looped guitars and various other treatments. "Mutual Tribes" and the title cut continue with this musical ritual that intrigues and captivates the listener. Here the three musicians are locked into a communal mind-sync, utilizing primal blends of percussion and voice, and the aboriginal didgeridoo to enhance the ambience of the compositions. The standout cut is "Distance Look." It comes at you with walls of sustained guitar, expansive colossal waves of Roach's ethereal shifting chords, and the perfectly subdued percussive talents of Reyes. This piece really showcases how well these three musical visionaries communicate their musical ideas in real time. Where will they go from here? Available from the Heartbeats catalog. Write to: Backroads, 418 Tamal Plaza, Corte Madera, CA 94925, and at better music stores. ~ Ben Kettlewell, Dreams Word