The Sky Opens

The Sky Opens is a two-hour recording of one of Steve Roachs famed Ambient Church concerts, specifically one that took place at the First United Methodist Church in Pasadena, California, on August 30, 2019. Capturing the expansive reverb of the sanctuary without any presence of crowd noise, the set moves through several styles and eras of Roachs repertoire, beginning with an excerpt from his 1984 minimalist masterpiece Structures from Silence, which was previously never performed in concert. Subsequent tracks are closer to his dark ambient work, consisting of drifting waves that calmly ebb and flow, and accompanied by haunting piano during The Mystic Within. After this, Roach presents previously unheard material in the vein of his Berlin school-influenced modular synth works, starting with the spacious, clicky near-IDM of The Sky Opens. Then the 30-minute Merge Infinite is a totally engrossing spacecraft voyage that transcends time itself. The majority of the albums second disc is given over to selections from one of Roachs other established classics, 1988s ambitious double-album Dreamtime Return. Constructing aural vistas reminiscent of the desert plains of the American Southwest rather than the endless cosmos of outer space, these pieces feature the earthly pound of acoustic and digital drums as well as the swarming drones of the didgeridoo, all awash with flowing ambient synth textures. At the center of it all, the pure relaxation of the palate-cleansing Magnificent Gallery segues into the crystalline nightfall of Circular Ceremony, before the darker Looking for Safety mixes turbulent, effects-warped drumming with more serene atmospheres. The sound quality is just as spellbinding as the music itself, and its range of moods makes The Sky Opens an excellent entry point for anyone new to Roachs vast body of work. ~ Paul Simpson