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MICHAEL STEARNS - Ancient Leaves LP
Release of 2019.
A pure gem of early ambient music.
Michael
Stearns is a multi-genre music composer and soundtrack
designer/producer. His credits include music for Ron Fricke's non-verbal
70MM films "Chronos", "Baraka" and "Samsara(with Lisa Gerrard And
Marcello De Francisci)", music for NASA, Laserium, Disney films, HBO,
ABC, PBS, BBC, Discovery Channel and James Cameron's "The Abyss",
"Titanic" and "Avatar". Michael works in his studio "The Guest House",
in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
In 1975,
Michael moved from Tucson to Los Angeles to study with Emilie Conrad at
the Continuum Studio. Emilie had ‘live’ music for her ‘movement
meditation’ classes, and Michael began performing with Fred Stofflet,
Gary David, and Don Preston. Ancient Leaves was Michael’s first
album, recorded in 1976 / 1977 with a Mini Moog synthesizer and a Finish lap
harp (Kantele) onto 4 track tape. To the other instruments, Michael
added Emilie chanting, an ascending choir with Susan Harper and Linda
Olsen vocalists, Gregorian Chants and a night ambience recorded in the
desert outside of Tucson, Arizona, his hometown. It was initially
released on LP and cassette.
The ‘B’ side,
Elysian E was performed with an Arp String Ensemble played
through an MXR digital delay, one of the first, then slowed to half
speed. To this he added Moog and EML synthesizers, The Beam and his
voice.
Mastering from original source - Martin Bowes (Attrition) in The Cage Studio.