Robert Rich - Inner Landscapes hyp1915
JEWEL CASE edition of Inner Landscapes (subsequently reissued along with Sunyata as part of a deluxe digipack 2 CD edition). Only a handful of copies remain of this original CD version!
Recorded live in 1985. A slow, deep ambient excursion into the silent realms of night.
From the liner notes:
"INNER LANDSCAPES documents portions of a concert from 1985. This represents a growth period for me, when I wanted to perform shorter concerts that were completely improvised, while still maintaining the intensity of my all-night sleep concerts. At the time, "shorter" meant three hours with no break. I released two live albums from this era, and of these I think INNER LANDSCAPES holds up better over time. It's one of my few live recordings from this period that captures a bit of the thick atmosphere of the event. While editing it for CD release I had to choose from over two hours of tape, giving me a chance to restructure the crossfades and remove some weaker material. It's different from the original, and translates better to CD."
Reviews:
"My favorite release of 1999 (though it's really a re-release)."
-Eric Meece, KKUP Radio
"Top 3 Releases of 1999."
-Eric Prindle, Editor, Ujamaa's Ambient Experience
"Robert Rich is always a favorite here at Juxtaposition, especially his ambient classic Trances and Drones (Extreme). These lush soundscapes from the same era, a re-edit/re-mix/remaster of a three hour concert previously released under the same title. The music has the beautiful ebb and flow of a dream. Highly recommended."
-Juxtaposition E-Zine / David Beardsley
"The layers of effects and the sounds that fall ambiguously between synthesizer programming and environmental ambiances are far more vivid here than on the Auricle tape. The result of the new version is that a new CD is created of classic caliber, while the tape remains an equally interesting and indispensable item. Two versions of Inner Landscapes taken from the Berkeley March 9, 1985, show, and two distinctly different and excellent albums. Extremely highly recommended."
-Mike McLatchey, Expose Magazine
"If you liked Steve Roach’s Magnificent Void or Lightwave’s Mundus Subterraneus then this album will be essential to you. Probably even better than the two albums mentioned and as any dedicated dark ambient fan will tell you that is very high praise indeed."
-Neu Harmony, UK
"Inner Landscapes is broken down into eight parts but it is difficult to distinguish where one ends and another begins. Excerpted from one of Robert's epic three hour performances, Inner Landscapes is a CD length representation of his live music circa 1985. Much in the vein of Rich's trance and drone all-night sleep concerts, this CD captures the completely improvised, thick atmosphere of the event."
-Chuck VanZyl, Star's End Radio, WXPN, Philadelphia
"In yet another ambient "celebrity" coup for Hypnos Recordings, Robert Rich has re-released a live, improvisational concert from 1985; Rich edited this 74-minute version of Inner landscapes from more than two hours of tape, yielding a distilled mixture of only the finest flavors and textures. ...Whether as an introduction to Robert Rich's organically ambient soundworlds, or a re-visitation to his earlier improvs, Inner landscapes covers timeless ground, suitable for most any listener. The entities which occupy this particular slice of aural real estate are too amorphous to sound dated, and will provide many hours of immersive ear-trekking. 9.0 [out of 10]!"
-David Opdyke, The AmbiEntrance