Dali: The Endless Enigma

Performer: Various Artists/Steve Roach
Engineer: Walter Holland; Rebecca Richards; Klaus Schulze; Steve Roach
Producer: Djam Karet; Michel Huygen; Steve Roach
Distributor: RED Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Walter Holland (guitar); Mike Henderson (electric guitar, electric 12-string guitar, keyboards); Mike Ezzo (cheng, drums); William Elder (violin); Loren Nerell (wooden flute, synthesizer, drums); Gayle Ellett, Steve Leonard (keyboards); Henry J. Osborne (percussion). Audio Mixers: Walter Holland; Rebecca Richards; Klaus Schulze; Steve Roach. Recording information: Barcelona, Spain (02/1990-07/1990); Earthbound (02/1990-07/1990); Tangerinestudio, Orange, CA (02/1990-07/1990); Timeroom, Tucson, AZ (02/1990-07/1990); Underground Railroad Studios (02/1990-07/1990). Authors: Djam Karet; Michael Searns; Walter Holland; Klaus Schulze; Loren Nerell; Michel Huygen; Robert Rich; Steve Roach; Bo Tomlyn. Editor: Dan Hersch. Photographer: Miira Ojanen. Arranger: Michel Huygen. Dali: The Endless Enigma is an homage collection of electronic musical pieces inspired by the late artist's paintings. The album was conceived by Loren Nerell and Steve Roach. They were created by some of the more adventurous artists working in the medium at the time, who were asked to create new works based on their favorite Dali paintings. Originally issued in 1990 by Coriolis, the disc has been reissued in concert with Projekt. Germany's Klaus Schulze -- who was going very strong at the time -- and Spain's Michel Huygen; both are were/are well-known names in the medium, as are Americans Roach, Robert Rich, and Michael Searns. Other American artists include the band Djam Karet, Bo Tomlyn, Walter Holland, and Nerell. While everything here is worth hearing at least once, it is the two collaborations between Rich and Roach -- based on "Birth of Liquid Desires" and "Rhinocentric Figure of Phidias' "Illisos" that work the best. Both are relatively short, the former at just under five minutes, the second at just under three, because both men understand the wash element in Dali's paintings very well, where one image -- or the appearance of an image -- gives way to something else like a wave in the viewer's eyesight as they traverse the canvas; drones and ambient sounds with unplaceable elements bubbling up and around the listener are pervasive. There are voices in there somewhere too, and it's all happening simultaneously so it's impossible to hold onto for long. Likewise, Roach's solo track here, "The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory" is ambiguous form the git-go, much like the painting. There are slippery little rushes of what might be gamelan sounds, pipes, reverb, a keyboard, all shifting somewhat rhythmically, but never fully asserting their individual identities. The irregular "pulse" gives way to a sheeny drone about halfway through and that rhythm hides itself; it's all but imperceptible as the deeper layers come to the front, but it never entirely disappears. This is worth a listen or two, or perhaps even three; perhaps while looking through a catalog of Salvador Dali's work. ~ Thom Jurek In homage to the late Salvador Dali, some of the world's top electronic musicians were commissioned to create surrealistic sound interpretations of their favorite Dali paintings. Selections by American musicians Michael Stearns, Djam Karet, Robert Rich and Steve Roach, Walter Holland, Loren Nerell, and Bo Tomlyn sit side-by-side with pieces by German synthesist Klaus Schulze and Spanish electronic artist Michel Huygen. (Coriolis Records, Box 3528, Orange, CA 92665.) ~ Linda Kohanov Dali: The Endless Enigma is an homage collection of electronic musical pieces inspired by the late artist's paintings. The album was conceived by Loren Nerell and Steve Roach. They were created by some of the more adventurous artists working in the medium at the time, who were asked to create new works based on their favorite Dali paintings. Originally issued in 1990 by Coriolis, the disc has been reissued in concert with Projekt. Germany's Klaus Schulze -- who was going very strong at the time -- and Spain's Michel Huygen; both are were/are well-known names in the medium, as are Americans Roach, Robert Rich, and Michael Searns. Other American artists include the band Djam Karet, Bo Tomlyn, Walter Holland, and Nerell. While everything here is worth hearing at least once, it is the two collaborations between Rich and Roach -- based on "Birth of Liquid Desires" and "Rhinocentric Figure of Phidias' "Illisos" that work the best. Both are relatively short, the former at just under five minutes, the second at just under three, because both men understand the wash element in Dali's paintings very well, where one image -- or the appearance of an image -- gives way to something else like a wave in the viewer's eyesight as they traverse the canvas; drones and ambient sounds with unplaceable elements bubbling up and around the listener are pervasive. There are voices in there somewhere too, and it's all happening simultaneously so it's impossible to hold onto for long. Likewise, Roach's solo track here, "The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory" is ambiguous form the git-go, much like the painting. There are slippery little rushes of what might be gamelan sounds, pipes, reverb, a keyboard, all shifting somewhat rhythmically, but never fully asserting their individual identities. The irregular "pulse" gives way to a sheeny drone about halfway through and that rhythm hides itself; it's all but imperceptible as the deeper layers come to the front, but it never entirely disappears. This is worth a listen or two, or perhaps even three; perhaps while looking through a catalog of Salvador Dali's work. ~ Thom Jurek

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