Zombi keyboardist/bassist Steve Moore brings solo debut to life via Relapse Records. Fans of Goblin, Tangerine Dream, Popul Vuh, Phillip Glass and (of course) Zombi rejoice, ask for “more brains.”
Steve Moore, best known for his work as one half of the sci-fi instrumental duo Zombi, has announced the forthcoming release of his first solo effort The Henge via extreme music label Relapse Records (Mastodon, Pig Destroyer, High On Fire.) In contrast to Zombi's tightly structured nightmare epics, The Henge is a huge, sprawling, psychedelic symphonic affair. Over the course of its five tracks, the album treats listeners to a blissful dose of audio vertigo, by mixing vast ambient dronescapes and soaring beat driven melodies with Moore's patented cinematic brand of keyboard virtuosity.
Relapse will issue The Henge in late October, a fitting choice for Moore's horror-movie style songs. Moore describes his approach to the self-recorded album saying, “this album represents a turning point in my writing - a subtle shift in direction that is only apparent when considering the album as a whole. While no track is too far removed from the harmonic language I create through my work with Zombi, this album gives me a chance to expand my tonal palette by experimenting with different instrumentations.”
“The album is meant to be viewed as a small step in a new direction, exploring some of the more ambient, drone-oriented ideas I've written over the last couple years,” Moore explains. “Although I always enjoy collaborative writing, the challenge of single-handedly developing an idea from conception to completion can sometimes be an even more rewarding experience.”
In addition to his works with Zombi, Moore has also recorded material with Microwaves and Panthers, as well as been involved in a number of scores for independent horror movies including “The Redsin Tower” (a collaboration with Scott Hull of Pig Destroyer and Agoraphobic Nosebleed), “Horror Business”, “Murder-Set-Pieces” (as Zombi), “Home Sick” (as Zombi) and more.
That Moore (b. 1975) makes his home an hour north of NYC in the misty Hudson River Valley—just across from Washington Irving's legendary Sleepy Hollow—seems maybe too coincidental. As one-half of Zombi, in which he plays synthesizer and bass guitar, the Pittsburgh native's affinity for unsettling mood and motif is well-documented over the band's two self-released EPs and three Relapse releases.
Zombi provided Moore with the chance to turn his blood-red obsession with U.S. and Italian horror films of the 1970s and 1980s into his own brand of cinema for the ears—preferably ones capped with headphones in a darkened room, black candles optional. Armed with a bank of analog equipment and with drummer A.E. Paterra aboard, Moore drew evenly from his years of university music study as well as cassette-tape pedagogy under horror-soundtrack composers John Carpenter, Fabio Frizzi and Goblin. Gradually, Moore's infusion of Zombi's music with progressive-rock elements reached an apex with the Cosmos album. Arrangements growing in scope and ambition, fusion-informed rhythmic complexity, and even the odd keyboard solo and anachronistic MIDI sequence recalled not only the mid-1980s AOR-prog of Rush, but also the works of Tangerine Dream and Jan Hammer.
More recently, Moore's appreciation for 1970 and 80s AM gold—which runs far deeper than mere kitsch—has surfaced. To wit: the Italo-disco inflected “Sapphire,” named by Cybernetic Broadcasting System as one of the top 100 dance tracks, has been featured on the mix CDs Go Commando With James !@$%^ Friedman (on Defend Music, also featuring tracks by Annie, Bloc Party and The Knife), and Cosmo Galactic Prism, (Eskimo Recordings, also featuring Hawkwind, Bob James, Boards of Canada and Parliament.) As a sideman, Moore has played guitar with Red Sparowes on a recent US/Canada tour, and has contributed Hammond B-3 organ to the latest Panthers album.
Moore's solo debut is a quantum leap toward Grand Unification among electronica fans, prog revivalists, post-metallers, and new-age audiophiles.
The Henge Tracklisting:
Release Date: October 30th, 2007
01. Introduction
02. Infinite Resignation
03. The Henge / Ascension
04. Dead Tide
05. Cepheid
On The Web:
www.stephenjamesmoore.com
www.myspace.com/stevemoore2600
www.relapse.com
www.myspace.com/relapserecords
www.fanaticpromotion.com/current/steve_henge.html
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