The Strong Eye (1992) — Robert Scott Thompson — Electroacoustic Music
Composed and Recorded at the Danish Institute of Electroacoustic Music (DIEM) in 1991-92.
“This is a “Silver Apples of the Moon” for the digital age! A very strong work that combines the best formal qualities of academic electronic music with the hypnotic timbres of popular space artists such as Steve Roach; in fact, if Roach and Morton Subotnick were to collaborate on a project, it might sound something like this.”
— Kevin Holm-Hudson
This is a work of vision! A very strong work that combines the best formal qualities of academic electronic music with the hypnotic timbres of popular space artists such as Steve Roach; in fact, if Roach and Morton Subotnick were to collaborate on a project, it might sound something like this.
Robert has obviously taken great care to refine every aspect of this composition during the several years it took to work on the sound synthesis. The care shows. There are surprises at every turn…incredible samples! I like the fact that this is a continuously segued work. Listening in one sitting is a very rewarding journey.
I am not sure if this release is as “radio-ready” as RST’s Deeper in the Dreamtime, but I know I will be playing the whole thing on my show. Let’s hope the radio is wise enough to pick up on it. This is a “Silver Apples of the Moon” for the digital age. Bravo!!
— Kevin Holm-Hudson “Across the Universe” WEFT-FM
A serious and highly successful artistic endeavor. Exquisite flute samples and articulation. I truly wish more people could appreciate this type of music. I have been listening to this CD for over a week now. It gets better and better, grows in depth, with each listen. Remarkable work!
— Larry Bounds
‘The Strong Eye’ presents 9 tracks which are ‘composed, recorded and mixed in the digital domain’. Samples of voice, flute and cello have been manipulated with ‘compositional algorithms, sound synthesis and digital signal processing’. A fractured continuity underpins the pieces – created from manipulated fragments which coalesce almost organically, as moment to moment change builds coherence, and questioning melodies emerging from chord sequences. There are many exciting sounds – the cascade in the middle section of ‘Spontaneity knows its own discipline’ or the crashing ‘Oceans of desire’. Components shift between instrument evocations – piano in ‘Spontaneity…’ or the vibraphone, bells and guitar of ‘Realcage’ for example – and obviously computer generated twittering and undercurrents. The three central works form a suite that fills over half the disc which allows for more development and exploration than the shorter, focused pieces. ‘Breath’ opens to a gentle wash then flute samples modulating a melody, a deep drone creates a pause before more complex flute, and there follows an extended interplay between the synthetic and flute meditating on the concept of breath. This continues into ‘Electric actuality’ where a high pitched computer section leads into the reintroduction of the flute and a complex drum rhythm, followed by a long fade with some very jagged eruptions. ‘Wreckingyard’ flows from it, and is a more fractured, percussive work featuring some wonderful hollow sounds, growling and cello moments, and has a mellow, tonal close. Marvelous wind chimes feature on ‘The spacious present’, shimmering across the sound field before being joined by long synthesized notes: I would have preferred the wind chimes to continue as the synths seem almost out of place in this context, but it is not long before the chimes are back with whistling computer winds. ‘Lonestar’ is a gentle, stately progression, contrasting with the concluding ‘A geometry of invisibility’ an intricate computer-showpiece: long, ever-descending tones, atonal echoing chords, moog-y distorted keyboards and percussion all in a very dense framework. Overall, this is a ‘warm’ computer music. RST shows incredible skill in manipulating, choosing and placing his sounds, and there is a continual tension between what is real and how it emerges from the computer: some parts could be live while others could only have been created through his processes. It is not as meditative or relaxing as the other pieces by RST which I have heard, but it is complex, engaging and rewarding.
“The Strong Eye” is a vibrant album of computer music by Robert Scott Thompson. The manipulated music comes at listeners from everywhere and impacts, psychoacoustically, every sense. The music provokes emotionally, intellectually and even spiritually. The feelings are undeniable. It goes beyond psychoacoustic to psychoactive and psychotropic. This early experimental work is the culmination of four years of research and ten years of preoccupation by Robert. It is also the harbinger of glorious works to come from Dr. Thompson!
— Jim Brenholts
The connection between this work and RST’s ambient music will be apparent to well informed listeners. Here the treatment of musical materials is delicate and evocative providing ample opportunities for introspection and reverie. Highly recommended listening. Like RST’s more recent long-form ambient works – Music for a Summer Evening, Sapphire and Siren (Ambient), The Strong Eye is an evolutionary and engaging work or nearly 70 minutes. Conceived as a continuous exploration of sound-space from beginning to end.
The Strong Eye involves nine distinct movements of computer-generated music which Thompson refers to as “sonic biology” or “acoustic alchemy.” Strange sounds, tweakings, and avant-garde noises jump around the edges of the spacey sounds in the middle. This is a fine computer/new-age release.
The Strong Eye — 30th Anniversary Edition (2022)
RELATED RELEASES
Robert Scott Thompson
Belfast Imagined Soundscapes
Robert Scott Thompson
Play is the Supreme Bricoleur of Frail Transient Constructions
Robert Scott Thompson
Palimpsest
Robert Scott Thompson
Acousma
Reviews