Michael Stearns
Planetary Unfolding

THE REVIEW

The label Projekt (through the voice of Sam Rosenthal) is launching a series of remastered CD reissues of some seminal works by the American electronic composer Michaels Stearns. The series begins with his classic Planetary Unfolding, originally released in 1981 on vinyl and cassette by Continuum Montage. This is a fundamental work for ambient, new age, and electronic music, which has inspired many musicians, including Steve Roach himself. Planetary Unfolding is based on the use of the Serge Modular Synthesizer and is composed of 6 movements that take listeners on a sort of initiatory journey through deep space. Essentially, it's the narrative of the universe's history through music. And Stearns’ music reaches peaks of pure poetry with its spatial, ethereal, and evanescent sound. The first track, "In The Beginning," introduces us to this journey to the edges of reality. Stearns leads us into a dimension beyond time and space. This is not empty new age, but profound music that lets our minds wander through infinite space-time continuums. In "Life In A Gravity Well," we can hear a female voice coming from other galaxies, while "As The Earth Kissed The Moon" begins with the sounds of crickets and birds from an unknown planet, lulling us with minimal and space-ambient sounds, conveying a sense of unreal and mystical peace. “Planetary Unfolding” is the classic desert island album and should not be missing from the collection of ambient music followers. Available on Bandcamp: https://projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/planetary-unfolding.