- Desert Solitaire (album)
-
Desert Solitaire 
Studio album by Steve Roach, Kevin Braheny and Michael Stearns Released 1989 Recorded at The Timeroom, Crystal Sound and M'Ocean Studios in Los Angeles, California Genre Ambient Length 65:12 Label Fortuna Producer Steve Roach, Kevin Braheny, Michael Stearns, and Ethan Edgecombe Steve Roach chronology Stormwarning
(1989)Desert Solitaire
(1989)Strata
(1990)Kevin Braheny chronology Galaxies
(1988)Desert Solitaire
(1989)Secret Rooms
(1990)Michael Stearns chronology Encounter
(1988)Desert Solitaire
(1989)Baraka
(1992)Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic 
[1]Linda Kohanov favorable [2] Piero Scaruffi 6/10 [3] Desert Solitaire (1989) is a collaborative album by U.S. ambient musicians Steve Roach, Kevin Braheny, and Michael Stearns. This album was conceived as a follow up to Roach and Braheny's 1987 collaboration Western Spaces.
The music consists mostly of subtle electronic textures, tribal percussion and occasional soprano saxophone by Kevin Braheny.
The title of the album is named after the eponymous book by U.S. author Edward Abbey, who died the same year and to whom the album is dedicated.
Track listing
- "Flatlands" (Roach) (4:49)
- "Labyrinth" (Sterns) (6:56)
- "Specter" (Roach) (9:34)
- "The Canyon's Embrace" (Roach, Stearns) (3:35)
- "Cloud of Promise" (Roach, Stearns) (6:38)
- "Knowledge & Dust" (Braheny) (3:23)
- "Shiprock" (Stearns) (4:00)
- "Highnoon" (Roach, Stearns) (10:30)
- "Empty Time" (Braheny) (5:51)
- "From the Heart of Darkness" (Stearns) (3:50)
- "Desert Solitaire" (Roach, Braheny) (6:06)
Personnel
- Steve Roach (Oberheim OB8, DMX, Matrix 12, Xpander, Emax, Arp 2600, Korg M-1, Kawai K-5, ocarina, Taos Drum)
- Kevin Braheny (The Mighty Serge, Prophet VS, Prophet 2002, soprano saxophone, tin whistle, Diamondback rattlesnake)
- Michael Stearns (Roland S-50, D-50, Yamaha TX-7, Oberheim OB8, Serge Modular synthesizer, 12-string guitar)
with
- Chuck Oken, Jr. (shakers on “Flatlands”)
- Robert Rich (dumbek and gourd drums on “Specter”)
- Goergianne Cowan (voice on “Specter”)
- Miguel Rivera (effects and ghost percussion on “Labyrinth” and “From the Heart of Darkness”)
- Leonice Shinneman (percussion, pakhawaj, manjerra, African berimbau, melodic rattle, claves on “Empty Time”)
- Hyman Katz (flute on “From the Heart of Darkness”)
References
Steve Roach Studio albums Now (1982) · Traveler (1983) · Structures from Silence (1984) · Quiet Music 1 (1986) · Empetus (1986) · Quiet Music 2 (1986) · Quiet Music 3 (1986) · Quiet Music (1988) · Dreamtime Return (1988) · World's Edge (1992) · Now / Traveler (1992) · Origins (1993) · Artifacts (1994) · The Magnificent Void (1996) · On This Planet (1997) · Slow Heat (1998) · Quiet Music: Complete Edition (1999) · Early Man (2000) · Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces (2003) · Life Sequence (2003) · Fever Dreams (2004) · Immersion : Three (2007) · A Deeper Silence (2008) · Dynamic Stillness (2009) · Destination Beyond (2009) · Afterlight (2009) · Immersion : Four (2009)Live albums Spirit Dome (2004) · Landmass (2008)Compilations The Lost Pieces (1993) · Truth & Beauty: The Lost Pieces Volume Two (1999) · Texture Maps: The Lost Pieces Vol. 3 (2003)Collaboration albums Western Spaces (1987) with Kevin Braheny · Desert Solitaire (1989) with Kevin Braheny and Michael Stearns · Strata (1990) with Robert Rich · Australia: Sound of the Earth (1990) with David Hudson and Sarah Hopkins · Soma (1992) with Robert Rich · Kiva (1995) with Michael Stearns and Ron Sunsinger · Halcyon Days (1996) with Stephen Kent and Kenneth Newby · Body Electric (1999) with Vir Unis · Vine ~ Bark & Spore (2000) with Jorge Reyes · The Serpent's Lair (2000) with Byron MetcalfCategories:- 1989 albums
- Steve Roach albums
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
