Steve Roach, Byron Metcalf & Mark Seelig — Nada Terma
The is album split into 7 tracks, but like the best ambient this works best as one long and continuous flowing 70 plus minute trip into heady & hypnotic sonic desert of sound. The first few tracks are dreamy, lush and mysterious yet building with heady eastern tinged synth expanses mixing in with the Dilruba’s hovers and drones, And the Bansuri Flutes haunting ancient & heady voice. With the sound slipping out of your speakers like heady incense smoke that soothes and loosen ones body and mind. By the 3rd track the trio’s harmonic overtone vocals( which are akin to mysterious eastern throat singing) are added to the mix, and by this point you really feel like your drifting over a vast and ancient deserts towards a golden and mysterious light sources. Then the eastern percussive elements enter on track four; slowly and tentative at first but slowly and surely they build up their depth and mix of clarity, but they never detract from the atmosphere built up before - instead heighten the eastern and mysterious air. As we move into track five the focus becomes on the hypnotic and interlocking eastern percussive tones unlined by the emission of eastern drone matter and almost electrified Dilruba detail and harmonic shimmer. By track six the Bansuri Flutes call archers out graceful and haunted notation once more & track seven starts to slow in percussive depth and presence as the eastern ambience drifts in once more.
An interesting and rewarding pairing of these three highly talented mood makers,which stays true to creating a mysterious and heady eastern atmosphere with neither of the three’s egos every getting in the way at any time across the albums 70 minute sonic journey.