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Prior to the initial issuing of Numena (51:05) on LP by Multimood Records in 1987, Robert Rich was known primarily for his all-night sleep concerts and slow motion drone cassettes. Rich took his music a step forward on this vinyl debut by placing an emphasis on the textures, atmospheres and possibilities derived from a wider range of instruments. Announcing a new area of creative expansion we find Numena to be richly imagined. There is something elevated about its quiet reverence for the world around us. While previously Rich's minimal work required a specialized mode of listening, Numena could be understood on other levels, yet still managed to retain many elements of hypnotic energy. With a more melodic and rhythmically complex approach he crafts four distinct journeys through purified realms of experience. Into this wilderness of sound we are welcomed by the side-long The Other Side of Twilight. A dream of ancient rites, modern omens and extant hope, here Rich puts forth a magical, mystical sequencer run building and receding beneath slowly sweeping synth pads and deep electronic tones. Once through the semi-darkness the remaining three tracks each open up and explore their own mythic sonic space. With it diffuse sustaining notes, primal percussion and reverberant field recordings this album side introduces harmonic structures in Just Intonation. Flutes blown whisper soft, or layered with additional harmonics, the resulting emanation is strange and wonderful - evoking the metaphysical dimensions within the player. Weaving a connection between human cultures both past and present these works feel as if part of some secret ceremony - evoking an ethereal doorway into mind and mood. Numena is a singular act of artistic imagination. It contains light, which illuminates a path, and remains meaningful to all who seek it out - still vibrant and pulsing with quiet energy in any age.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 28 March 2024 |
