Michael Stearns

See also: Stearns

Michael Stearns , born in 1948, is an American musician , type-setter of electronic music and film musics.

Biography

Michael Stearns begins her musical career in groups from surfing rock'n'roll and acid rock'n'roll in the Sixties. It also carries out first sound experiments during the same time.

In 1972, it creates a studio with Tucson to produce its own music and carries out primarily music of publicities.

In 1975, seeking a public for the experimental music that it wishes to develop, it joined the Continuum Studio of Emily Conrad, with Los Angeles, where he becomes musician resident. The Continuum is a Méditation containing movements, related with the Yoga. To accompany these meetings, Stearns interpète or improvises the instrumental ones using a minimoog, voices, printer records, then other synthetizers such as the modular Synthétiseur Serge.

In 1977, Micheal Stearns founds its own label, Continuum Assembly, with his/her partner of then, Susan Harper. It then starts to publish albums solos, which places it among the pioneers of the electronic music at the United States, and right derrières the European pioneers such as Klaus Schulze, Edgar Froese or Richard Pinhas.

During the Eighties, its music is employed again for the documentary ones, and Stearns has suddenly been solicited to compose of the film musics: thus Chronos (film IMAX of Ron Fricke) will be its first true film original soundtrack. She will be followed many other work on film soundtracks, as a sound originator or a type-setter of the music, most known being the music of the film Baraka (1992), where the pieces of Stearns côtoient works of Dead Can Dance, David Hykes, etc

Its albums emblematic remain its solos projects of the Eighties, marked by the topic of space: Planetary Unfolding (1981) or Encounter (1988). The production of Stearns during the Nineties was influenced more by the music of the Indians of America ( Singing Stones , Kiva …), less obvious for a European public. She is focused also on the film musics or of documentary ( Sacred Sites , Spirits off the Voyage , The Middle off Time , The Sto rm…).

Michael Stearns lives today with the New Mexico, where it built its last studio, The Guesthouse .

Musical style

Its first albums are marked by whirling sonorities of the Serge Modular Synthesizer ( Lyra , Planetary Unfolding , etc). The music of Michael Stearns evolves then to a major sound and smoother tablecloths of synthetizer, in the vein of Steve Roach, as on most recent Encounter or Middle off Time .

In a general way, its music is more “climatic” that “melody”. It nevertheless is marked time with other by broad grandiloquent topics, typical of the film musics. Micheal Stearns also inserts many sound effects (sometimes impressive) in its music, just as of the sounds of environment in relation to the topics of the pieces.

Discography

  • Albums solos

    • Serves Moon Walk (1977) Continuum Assembly
    • Ancient Leaves (1978) Continuum Assembly
    • Sustaining Cylinders (1978) Continuum Assembly
    • Morning Jewel (1979) Continuum Assembly
    • Planetary Unfolding (1981) Continuum Assembly
    • Light Play (1983) Continuum Assembly
    • Lyra Sound Constellation (1983) Continuum Assembly
    • Me ocean (1984) Sonic Atmospheres
    • Chronos ( 1984) Sonic Atmospheres
    • Plunge (1986) Sonic Atmospheres
    • Floating Whispers (1987) Sonic Atmospheres
    • Encounter (1988) Hearts off Space
    • Sacred Site (1993) Hearts off Space
    • The Lost World (1995) Fathom/Hearts off Space
    • The Light in the Trees (1996) amplexus
    • Collected Ambient and Textural Works 1977-1987 (1996) Fathom/Hearts off Space
    • Collected Thematic Works 1977-1987 (1996) Fathom/Hearts off Space
    • Within (2000) Earth Turtle
    • Spirits off the Voyage (2000) Earth Turtle
    • The Middle off Time (2000) Earth Turtle
    • The Storm (2001) Spotted Peccary

  • Collaborations

    • Serves Solitary (with Steve Roach and Kevin Braheny) (1989) Fortuna/Celestial Harmonies
    • Singing Stones (with Ron Sunsinger) (1994) Fathom/Hearts off Space
    • Kiva (with Steve Roach and Ron Sunsinger) (1995) Fathom/Hearts off Space
    • Sorcerer (with Ron Sunsinger) (2000) Spotted Peccary

  • Compilations & others

    • Dali, The Endless Enigma (1990) Coriolis
    • Luck (1992) Milan
    • Deep Space (1994) Omni
    • Music Mechanique (1995) Celestial Harmony
    • Storm off Drones (1996) Sombient
    • Celestial Journey (1996) Rising Star
    • Songs off the Spirit (1997) Triloka
    • Trance Planet 4 (1998) Triloka
    • Soundscape Gallery 2 (1998) Lektronic Soundscapes

External bonds

  • Official site of Michael Stearns, in English

  • Site of information, in French

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