Soma (Steve Roach and Robert Rich album)

Soma
Soma
Studio album by Steve Roach and Robert Rich
Released	1992
Recorded	at The Timeroom in Tucson, Arizona and Soundscape Studio in Mountain View, California
Genre	Electronic, ambient
Length	57:11
Label	Hearts of Space Records/Fathom
Producer	Robert Rich and Steve Roach
Steve Roach chronology
Robert Rich chronology

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	() ^[1]
Muze	(positive) ^[2]

Soma (sometimes spelled SoMa) was the second collaborative album by the U.S. ambient musicians Steve Roach and Robert Rich, following their 1990 album Strata.

Overview[edit]

The liner notes explain that the word soma can be found in the ancient Vedic texts describing a drink made from plants to help commune with the gods (a botanical hallucinogen), and that the same word meant "body" in Ancient Greek.^[3]

The music on the album is electronic and ambient music with psychedelic overtones.^[1] The album ends with a gentle, serene piece for electric guitar titled "Touch".

The album reached number nine on the Billboard New Age chart for April 17, 1993.^[4]

Track listing[edit]

"Love Magick" – 7:40
"Nightshade" – 9:07
"Going Inland" – 4:05
"Silk Ridge" – 6:05
"Blood Music" – 8:10
"Soma" – 12:07
"Seduction of the Minotaur" – 5:21
"Touch" – 4:36

All compositions by Steve Roach and Robert Rich.

Personnel[edit]

Musical^[3]

Steve Roach – synthesizers, samplers, drum programming, didgeridu, voice, clay water pots, rainstick, rocks, various percussions, Lakota Indian flute, ocarinas, "glurp"
Robert Rich – synthesizers, samplers, bamboo and clay flutes, steel guitar, drum programming, Udu clay drums, dumbek, ceramic talking drum, Waterphone, kalimba, rainstick, various percussions, "glurp"

with

Linda Kohanov – frame drum "cries, swirls and scratches" (on tracks 6 and 7)

Technical^[3]

Production, recording, mixing: Steve Roach, Robert Rich
Mastering: Stephen Hill, Robert Rich

Graphical^[3]

Design, image editing, montage: Stephen Hill
Cover: photochemical etching by Wernher Krutein (of Photovault, San Francisco)
Artist photo: Chuck Koesters

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c Soma at AllMusic
^ "Soma (by Darren Bergstein)". Steveroach.com. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Source: Roach & Rich, "CD liner notes"
^ "New Age Music: Top New Age Albums Chart". Billboard. April 17, 1993. Retrieved 11 July 2017.

Sources[edit]

Roach, Steve & Rich, Robert (1992). "CD liner notes" in Soma, San Francisco: Hearts of Space Records, 1992, SKU HS11033-2, EAN 0025041103329 (UPC 025041103329)

External links[edit]

Soma at SteveRoach.com
Soma at RobertRich.com
Soma at Hearts of Space Records
Soma at Hearts of Space
Soma at Discogs

[Allmusic-1] Soma at AllMusic

[2] "Soma (by Darren Bergstein)". Steveroach.com. Retrieved 2012-03-10.

[cd-liner-3] Source: Roach & Rich, "CD liner notes"

[4] "New Age Music: Top New Age Albums Chart". Billboard. April 17, 1993. Retrieved 11 July 2017.

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v t e Steve Roach
Studio albums	Structures from Silence (1984) Dreamtime Return (1988) Light Fantastic (1999) Fever Dreams (2004) Immersion: Three (2007) A Deeper Silence (2008) Dynamic Stillness (2009) Destination Beyond (2009) Afterlight (2009) The Delicate Forever (2014) Molecules of Motion (2018)
Live albums	Landmass (2008)
Compilations	Truth & Beauty: The Lost Pieces Volume Two (1999) Texture Maps: The Lost Pieces Vol. 3 (2003)
Collaborative albums	Western Spaces (1987) Desert Solitaire (1989) Strata (1990) Australia: Sound of the Earth (1990) Soma (1992) Forgotten Gods (1993) Kiva (1995) Halcyon Days (1996) Cavern of Sirens (1997) Body Electric (1999) Vine ~ Bark & Spore (2000) The Serpent's Lair (2000) Blood Machine (2001) InnerZone (2002) Trance Spirits (2002) Spirit Dome (2004) Terraform (2006) Stream of Thought (2009) Nightbloom (2010) The Desert Inbetween (2011) The Road Eternal (2011) The Shaman's Heart II: The Healing Journey (2011) Low Volume Music (2012) Copper: Original Soundtrack (2013)