G A U D I / R O B E R T R I C H

For Harmony -- that is to say equilibrium -- contrast is necessary: light and shade, continuity and discontinuity, convexity and concavity... --Antoni Gaudi

A B O U T T H E M U S I C

Even though his work has been internationally acclaimed since the 1930's, I suspect that the name of Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi will be new to many of you. A quick glance at the pungent sculptural form of one of the towers of his Church of the Sagrada Familia [reproduced on the inlay card of the CD] should make it clear that Senor Gaudi was an artist of extraordinary sculptural inventiveness.

Less obvious is the profound and rigorous play of scientific structural, geometrical, and mathematical principles hiding under the fascinating surfaces of his work. Rainer Zerbt's 1985 book on Gaudi (from which the cover graphics were derived) is a wonderful introduction, balancing biographical and historical detail with the splendid photographs of Francois Rene Roland.

For Robert Rich, the life and work of Gaudi served as a touchstone and inspiration in the lengthy process of creating this music. "While working on the album," he says, "I often used Gaudi as a model. His work embodied an awareness of both physical and metaphysical perceptions, plus the quality of organic growth -- very rare in an architect. He combined mathematical underpinnings with the ability to improvise, just as my music has both compositional and improvisatory elements."

For Rich, Gaudi represents a considerable step forward in the direction of integration and balance. The music, he says "deals with the tension and interplay between the physical and the metaphysical, the sensual and the mystical, the material and the abstract. These concerns have been shared by the architects of sacred structures throughout the world. A balanced union of light and shadow, power and subtlety, symmetry and flowing form, can trigger emotions which provide a glimpse of the sublime."

--Stephen Hill

R O B E R T R I C H

Robert Rich began building his own synthesizers at the age of 13, and was soon experimenting with improvised music and sustained sound environments.

An interest in trance states and 'lucid dreaming' led him to a degree in psychology from Stanford University. His all-night Sleep Concerts, first performed for a sleeping audience in a Stanford dormitory, and his all-evening Trance Concerts have become legendary in the San Francisco Bay area.

While at Stanford, Rich studied for a year at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, (CCRMA) where he began working with just intonation, a tuning system based on the harmonic series. He has written many articles on electronic music and alternate tunings, which have been published in Keyboard, Music Technology, Electronic Musician, and new music journals worldwide.

Since 1982, Rich has released seven solo albums in Europe and the U.S., including Numena (1987) and Geometry (1991) on the Swedish Multimood label. Both his 1989 Hearts of Space debut Rainforest and his 1990 Hearts of Space collaboration with Steve Roach, Strata, have received international acclaim. [Strata spent over 8 months on the Billboard Top New Age chart, peaking at #6.] With Steve Roach, he also contributed two tracks to the Coriolis Records 1990 post-Surrealist compilation DALI: The Endless Enigma.

Geometry was the culmination of music composed during 1986-7 and was Rich's first complete realization of a unified, mathematically structured form of music. Gaudi extends and develops these musical directions, bringing together shifting polyrhythms, intricate counterpoint, and shadowy, textured soundscapes, arriving at the first fully integrated statement of Rich's expanding musical horizon.

G A U D I : N O T E S O N T H E M U S I C B Y R O B E R T R I C H

[1] Sagrada Familia

Like the great cathedrals that preceded it, the Sagrada Familia may take hundreds of years to complete. The timeless vision which encompasses such a massive project seems foreign to our modern "prefab" era. The music tries to evoke the grandeur and the patience of such an undertaking.

Instruments: Wavestation strings, EPS bells and birds, CZ101 and 6-Track glurp, half-speed dumbec, shakuhachi.

Tuning: "Other Music" (1/1 = C 523.3 Hz)

1/1 15/14 9/8 7/6 5/4 4/3 7/5 3/2 14/9 5/3 7/4 15/8

[2] Tracery

Explores the tension between movement and stasis, shadow and light, flowing forms framed by a symmetrical matrix. Within this tension I find a wistful beauty.

Instruments: Wavestation swells and plucks, DX7 lead, EPS bass, Udu drum, cymbals. Tablas played by Pranesh Khan.

Tuning: 5 limit JI +7 (1/1 = B 495 Hz)

1/1 16/15 9/8 6/5 5/4 4/3 7/5 3/2 8/5 5/3 9/5 15/8

[3] Silhouette

Using variations of the melodic themes explored in Tracery, each instrument plays an equal role in constructing the melody. The sense of modulation comes from adding the 7/5 tritone to an otherwise 5-limit mode.

Instruments: Wavestation breath and plucks, DX7 bass, EPS piano, lap steel guitar

Tuning: 5 limit JI +7 (1/1 = B 495 Hz)

1/1 16/15 9/8 6/5 5/4 4/3 7/5 3/2 8/5 5/3 9/5 15/8

[4] The Spiral Steps

A helical structure which unwinds as it progresses. Cycles of 7, 16, and 20 phase against each other to create a spiral which turns both outwards and inwards, a cyclic dance.

Instruments: Wavestation drones and breath, DX7 pulse, TZ81Z bass, EPS piano and breath, dumbec, Udu drum, rice shakers, ceramic talking drum, lap steel guitar

Tuning: 5 limit JI +7 (1/1 = A 440 Hz)

1/1 16/15 9/8 6/5 5/4 4/3 7/5 3/2 8/5 5/3 9/5 15/8

[5] Harmonic Clouds

This piece uses two different harmonic tunings at once, both based on the same fundamental frequency. The TX81Z is connected by MIDI to the DX7, so that each note of the keyboard's octave-repeating scale triggers a related sine wave in a companion non-octave repeating harmonic series. This way, each note on the keyboard has a different set of overtone relationships. The result is a fusion of harmony and timbre, with a texture that resembles the drone of a Tibetan bowl.

Instruments: DX7, TX81Z, ceramic wind chimes, CZ101, 6-Track and Prophet 5 glurp.

Tuning for DX7: Harmonics 12-24, octave repeating. (1/1 = A 27.5 Hz)

Tuning for TX81Z: Harmonics 1-60. (1/1 = A 55 Hz)

[6] Air

The breath of a flute encircled by a foggy harmonic drone makes a flying dream, lucid above a distant city-scape. The night obscures the source of distant sounds.

Instruments: EPS drone, homemade ceramic flute, Waterphone, half-speed ceramic wind chimes, CZ101, 6-Track and Prophet 5 glurp.

Tuning: Harmonic series drone with unreferenced flute tuning (1/1 = F# 91.67 Hz)

[7] Serpent

A liquid form, frozen in stone, slowly stirs to life. Primordial dawn, a sinuous awakening.

Instruments: Wavestation drone, steel guitar, bamboo flutes, EPS glurp and 1/16-speed bells

Tuning: Harmonic series drone with unreferenced flute tunings (1/1 = A 55 Hz)

[8] Minaret

Daylight reveals color, blurry lines become distinct. The interlocking, random melodies of bells are echoed by a slow chorale, a wordless prayer.

Instruments: Wavestation breath and bells, DX7 lead chime, CZ101 and 6-Track glurp, Prophet 5 bass drone.

Tuning: 5 limit JI + 7 (1/1 = A 440 Hz)

1/1 16/15 9/8 6/5 5/4 4/3 7/5 3/2 8/5 5/3 9/5 15/8

[9] Mosaic

Simultaneous rhythmic cycles of 4, 5 and 6 can be perceived individually or as a unified whole, as colored tiles in a mosaic combine to express a larger pattern. When we become aware of the interplay of patterns, the elements which comprise these patterns begin to lose their individual identity.

Instruments: Wavestation breath and strings, DX7 mallet, TX81Z and Prophet 5 sequence, EPS bass, Udu drum, cymbals, bamboo flute loops, gliss guitar.

Tuning: 5 limit JI + 7 (1/1 = A 440 Hz)

1/1 16/15 9/8 6/5 5/4 4/3 7/5 3/2 8/5 5/3 9/5 15/8

Glurp (n.) an aesthetic archetype invented by Rich. Collects associations of real and fantasy images -- northwest rainforest ambiance, Surrealist landscapes, fungus, and "living worlds shrouded with clouds, mountains with faces, and geometric truth coexisting with liquid biomorphic phantasms."

------------------------------------------------------------------ -------- Hearts of Space / P.O. Box 31321 * San Francisco * CA 94131 / info@hos.com.

P R O P A G A T I O N / R O B E R T R I C H

A B O U T T H E M U S I C

In the fertile imagination of Robert Rich, musical ideas and instruments from around the world mingle, mate, and proliferate in the lush, brackish waves of sound that flow from his well-tuned synthesizers and electronic processors. According to the composer, Propagation is nothing less than a sonic metaphor for "the miraculous process of living," the spreading of genetic material across the planet in a brilliant, perpetually evolving dance of chemical, biological, and spiritual ecstasy.

Appropriately enough, Rich has managed to combine and recombine his vast musical influences to create a few new sonic species of his own. The third Hearts of Space recording from this talented Bay-area multi-instrumentalist adds a number of guest artists to the sensuous yet rigorous cross-cultural stew he's been perfecting for years. Rich himself excels on synths, samplers, slide guitar, percussion, and bamboo flutes, often adding extra spice through his use of exotic tuning systems that reach back to the ancient roots of harmony.

On the opening track, "Animus," Middle Eastern-style flute melodies wrap their breathy, sinuous lines around nebulous veils of synthesized sound and trance-inducing rhythms. Subsequent selections combine Rich's evocative sound imagery with Lisa Moskow's inviting improvisations on the Indian sarod, Forest Fang's oriental-style violin melodies, and Carter Scholz's mesmerizing solos on Indonesian gamelan instruments.

The seven resulting pieces illustrate a new level of maturity and complexity in Rich's style. At the same time, Propagation embodies a clarity of vision matched by few artists immersing themselves in the deep and often murky waters of cross-cultural sound explorations.

R O B E R T R I C H

A native Californian and graduate of Stanford University in psychology, Rich is equally at home working in music, dream research, or computer programming. A precocious recording artist, he began building his own analog synthesizers at age 13, studied for a year at Stanford's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, and by early 1992 had released more than a half dozen albums in the U.S. and Europe, including Numena (1987) and Geometry (1991) for the Swedish Multimood label.

His popular 1989 Hearts of Space debut Rainforest received extensive critical praise as did his second HOS solo recording Gaudi (1992). Rich's two HOS collaborations with Steve Roach, Strata (1990) and Soma (1992), received excellent reviews as well. Both albums spent several months on the Billboard Top Alternative/New Age Albums chart. Rich and Roach also contributed two tracks to the Coriolis Records 1990 post-Surrealist compilation Dali: The Endless Enigma.

With Roach and as a solo artist, Rich has performed a number of concert tours and selected dates in Europe, the United States, and Mexico. His all-night Sleep Concerts, first performed for a sleeping audience in a Stanford dormitory, and his all-evening Trance Concerts have become legendary in the San Francisco Bay area.

A talented writer and music critic in his own right, Rich has also contributed many articles on electronic music and alternate tunings to such publications as Keyboard, Music Technology, and Electronic Musician.

H E A R T S O F S P A C E D I S C O G R A P H Y

Rainforest HS11014 Strata (with Steve Roach ) HS11019 Gaudi HS11028 Soma (with Steve Roach) HS11033

------------------------------------------------------------------ -------- Hearts of Space / P.O. Box 31321 * San Francisco * CA 94131 / info@hos.com.

R A I N F O R E S T / R O B E R T R I C H

A B O U T T H E M U S I C

Rainforest takes you on a polyrhythmic journey into the lush green beauty of the tropical soundspace. A rich, magical ambience and welter of musical influences from southeast Asian gamelan to European classical electronic stretch the mind with a seductive, multi-cultural mix.

Rainforest demonstrates the paradox of contemporary electro-acoustic spacemusic projects, with its high-tech approach to some very ancient musical experiences. Digital samplers, computer sequencers, specially tuned synthesizers, conventional acoustic instruments, skin drums, and ambient sound recordings all cohabit a seamless musical and spatial environment.

On the deepest level, Robert Rich says the music is about the "yearning for unity... couched in the metaphor of a world of lush green beauty." And you can dance to it! (here and there), while you discover some musical dimensions your parents never told you about.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of this album support the Rainforest Action Network, a non-profit action organization working to save the worlds rainforests.

R O B E R T R I C H

began building his own synthesizers in 1976 at the age of thirteen and was soon experimenting with improvised music and sustained sound environments.

An interest in trance states and lucid dreaming led him to a degree in psychology from Stanford University. His all-night "Sleep Concerts," first performed in 1982 for a sleeping audience in a Stanford dormitory, and his evening "Trance Concerts" have become legendary in the San Francisco Bay area.

He has produced five self-published albums and Numena (1987), which has been released on the Badlands label in France and by Multimood Records in Sweden. His 1990 collaboration with Steve Roach, Strata, reached #6 on the Billboard Top New Age Albums chart and remained on the chart for over 25 weeks.

A I R P L A Y G U I D E

NAC PROGAMMMERS:

1. Mbira [4:07] Antic polyrhythms and a delightful combination of African mbira (thumbpiano), synthesizers, and fretless bass by Andrew MacGowan.

3. Drumsong [4:21] Frame drum percussion and a pan flute solo in a relaxed romp over the forest ambience.

NEW AGE PROGRAMMERS, above plus:

2. The Forest Dreams of Bach [5:42] Literally, a Bach-like progression in Just Intonation set to a slow gamelan processional rhythm, in a dreamspace ambience. Subjectively, some extraordinarily beautiful and evocative music.

7. Temple of Eyes [5:14] Slow polyrhythms of a Balinese ritual dance move deeper into the journey.

8. The Raining Room [6:44] Entrance into the magical forest wetness, leading to a decisive moment of transformation. (Dedicated to the memory of Russian film director Andrei Tarkovsky.)

------------------------------------------------------------------ -------- Hearts of Space / P.O. Box 31321 * San Francisco * CA 94131 / info@hos.com.