Robert Rich on DeBaser: ambient rituals, sleep-length dreams, and modular whispers

Robert Rich

Musician

Forambient/drone listeners, deep-listening devotees, modular-synth heads, and cinematic soundscape hunters.
7 Reviews 0 Definitions 1 Charts

The Profile

Robert Rich is an American ambient composer and sound designer active since the early 1980s. A pioneer of sleep concerts and long-form works like the seven-hour Somnium, he blends acoustic instruments with modular synthesis across ambient, drone, and experimental terrains.

Blends flute, lap steel, marimba, and other acoustic timbres with modular synthesis (notably MOTM). Known for sleep concerts and the 7-hour Somnium. Collaborated with Markus Reuter (Eleven Questions). Provided music for the visual project Atlas Dei. Reviews note his degrees in psychology and computer music.

Seven DeBaser reviews chart Robert Rich’s blend of acoustic instruments and modular synthesis, from the sleep-length Somnium to the sensual veils of Middle Eastern ambience and the metallic experiments of Bestiary. Expect drones, ritual percussion, and meticulous sound design. Overall tone: appreciative, often poetic, occasionally critical.

Notable Quotes

❝ Trances open doors & Drones close circles.

❝ Languid electroacoustic arabesques and a tribal heart.

❝ On "Electric Ladder," Robert Rich returns to the organic textures of his best times, reprising the now-established fusion of acoustic elements (especially flute) and electronic synths (particularly the modular synthesis developed in recent years with the use of the MOTM, of which he is among the main promoters).

❝ A journey lasting 7 hours which, like much ambient music, teaches us to live the details that surround us and make them the soundtrack of our everyday life.