Michael Stearns

The Profile

Michael Stearns (born 1948, Tucson, Arizona) is an American ambient and electronic composer noted for space-ambient albums like Planetary Unfolding (1981) and for scores to Ron Fricke’s Chronos (1985), Baraka (1992), and Samsara (2011). He has collaborated with Steve Roach.

American composer and sound designer specializing in ambient, electronic, and space music; born in 1948 in Tucson, Arizona. Planetary Unfolding (originally 1981, Continuum Montage) employs the Serge Modular Synthesizer and consists of six movements; reissued/remastered by Projekt. Encounter (1988) is a concept album subtitled “A Journey in the Key of Space,” entirely instrumental and narrative in character. Collaborated with Steve Roach (e.g., Desert Solitaire, Kiva). Scored visual tone-poems including Ron Fricke’s Chronos, contributed music to Baraka and Samsara.

Two reviews chart Michael Stearns’ cosmic ambient terrain: a 1981 landmark, Planetary Unfolding, praised for its Serge Modular soundscapes and deep-space narrative, and 1988’s Encounter, a concept album subtitled “A Journey in the Key of Space.” Both celebrate his contemplative, cinematic approach and links to the Californian ambient school and Steve Roach. Publicly, Stearns is an American composer (born 1948, Tucson) known for scores to Chronos, Baraka, and Samsara.