Immersion: Three (Dig) [Box set]

Ambient music pioneer Steve Roach continues his exploration into long-form soundscapes with "Immersion Three". Unlike the previous two single-disc installments, "Immersion Three" is a triple-disc set each containing one long 73-minute track. Stylistically, it is not too different from the music of the previous "Immersion's". Each of the three long tracks consist of unchanging dream-like atmospheres with long held chords and drones. The pieces also slowly build with a slight intensity as they progress.
Despite having the same musical principle throughout this long set, each piece does carry its own mood. "First Light" on disc one has an almost airy quality to it while disc two's "Sleep Chamber" tends to be on the darker side. Disc three's "Still" has a slightly unsettling feel to it with what sounds like an echoed church organ playing slow dissonant chord progressions.
For the die-hard Steve Roach fan, "Immersion Three" is another winner. For the uninitiated, a triple-dose of unchanging ambient drone music may be a bit overwhelming. I would definitely recommend "Immersion One" over "Three" to those people. However, this music is not bad at all as Steve continues to push the boundaries towards long-form ambient composition with great results. Together, the three pieces on "Immersion Three" form somewhat of an Ambient Symphony and work together as both separate pieces of music as well as a unified whole.

I can sit for hours dreaming up worlds and places the music of Steve Roach could come from, and exist in. The sounds he creates seem to inspire an entirely new type of thought, at best creating a timeless bliss in which there is no urgency or worry to be found. The man is a genius, but at least from my point of view, some of his work is clearly better than the rest. As someone who at this point has 10 - 15 different Steve Roach albums, I can confidently say this set, "Immersion: Three" contains one of his best pieces ever.

I'm kind of a unique case, having had little familiarity with actual ambient musicians until fairly recently (yet enjoying the ambient sections/aspects of other music I already owned). I was intrigued by the idea of 'sound zones' intended to change the living space. I felt that was exactly what I needed at the time. As a result, "Immersion: Three" was my introduction to Steve Roach and most of ambient music as a whole.

I was immediately amazed by the sun-bleached, dazzlingly golden zen that is "First Light". It remains the highlight to this day. It represents, to me, safety in the knowledge that every event in life, every concern or mistake, is part of a time-line so long and unfathomable that any perceived disruption of it is purely imaginary. People, as individuals, have such a hard time seeing beyond the incredible biases of their narrow, limiting environments and sets of experiences that such a musical reminder is infinitely helpful. The universe moves together in progression. Nothing is abrupt. Everything is moving. And I could go on for hours like this... This piece seems to pulsate, breathe and build, changing in subtle but noticeable ways. It doesn't even reveal its true character, chord progression and pattern until 10 minutes in, but at least to me it is anything but boring. It contains heavy doses of Roach's trademark gauzy yet liquid, flowing textures.

The second disk, "Sleep Chamber", is much more static. It is a dull, misty feeling of near-unconsciousness, in which one is vaguely aware of the unpleasant utter blackness of their surroundings. Listening to it, one can imagine being suspended about a mile underwater in the deep sea, where all is dark, but the bottom is yet far away. This piece is certainly powerful for what it is, but in its muddiness only has full effect when played on a good soundsystem. Active listening to this piece is also much less rewarding than with "First Light", due to its aforementioned unchanging nature. Also, I'm not one to criticize one of Roach's pieces simply on the basis that it is dark, but anyone opposed to darkness in ambient music would best steer clear of this disk entirely. "Sleep Chamber" is the weakness and the low point of "Immersion: Three" which brings my rating down to 4 stars, but it's still clearly a solid Roach composition.

The third piece, "Still", is easily the strangest and hardest to describe. It is built from higher, clearer, almost organ-like tones ala "Palace of Nectar" from his absolute masterpiece "Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces". This piece could be just as easily disturbing as empowering, leading in the end to an extremely powerful feeling of disorientation. Visually, it makes me think of the stream of blue light/energy on the cover as a massive current, carrying me along, occasionally threatening to bury me in its inanimate, unsympathetic waves. "Still" changes very little, but it doesn't seem to hurt the piece's effect as much as with "Sleep Chamber". In its own way, this piece nearly equals the unbelievable power of "First Light", and functions as its tainted, diseased and haunting sister piece.

I love the artwork on this set as well. Roach's album art can be hit and miss, and this is one of the clear hits. The cloudy energy stream on the cover continues into the inside of the digipack, passing through all three CDs, as if listening to them in order is a journey along this continuous flow. The colors and shades morph with subtlety just as the music does. Beautiful packaging.

In conclusion, "Immersion: Three" contains 2 resounding successes and one pretty average Roach composition. If you're already a fan of the man's longer work, or if you're just curious like I was, and have some patience, this is highly recommended. I look forward to hearing the other two in the "Immersion" series, which I still haven't gotten my hands on.

These three ambient soundscapes are pretty much what you would expect from Steve Roach. That is a complement. He really has a handle on what makes ambient music great. Nothing jarring or bothersome is present here, just smooth flowing sounds that relax you or put you in a meditative zone. The second disc contains some mildly ominous material, but it is not overly scary, just a bit dark. There are no beats or melodies in Immersion: Three, so if you are looking for that, don't get this. On the other hand, if you love ambient music done right, definitely check out some Steve Roach music, and Immersion: Three is a great place to start. His other work, Mystic Chords and Sacred Spaces is similar, so if you like this, you may want to get that too. I have over a dozen Steve Roach albums and collaborations and there is not one I don't like. Happy journeying!