Michael Stearns
Encyclopedia
Michael Stearns is a United States
musician and composer of ambient music
. He is also known as a film composer
, sound design
er and soundtrack
producer for large format films
, theatrical films, documentaries
, commercials, and themed attractions
.
, Michael Stearns started practicing guitar at 13. At 16, he played in a surf music
band, sometimes backing artists such as The Lovin' Spoonful
and Paul Revere & the Raiders
. Evolving to acid rock
, he began composing music on multiple instruments in 1968 and, while in university and in the Air Force, spent a few years studying electronic music
synthesis, the physics of musical instruments, and accumulating equipment (musical instruments, tape recorders...) for his first studio
.
The studio opened in Tucson, Arizona in 1972 where he produced jingle
s and commercial
s for local radio and television, and nationally released jingles for Schlitz Beer
and Greyhound Bus Lines
. Stearns's interest in experimental "space" music though left him unsatisfied, as he found no audience to play his musical ideas, which could be at this time only related to the drug experience. After three years, Michael Stearns underwent a spiritual crisis and thought about stopping music.
In 1975, Michael Stearns met Emily Conrad and Gary "Da'oud" David. Emily Conrad ran meditation classes in a workshop named Continuum, with Gary David performing on a Minimoog
and looped tapes
during the classes. Michael Stearns and his girlfriend Susan Harper moved in Los Angeles
, California
, to join Emily Conrad, and Michael Stearns became a resident musician and composer till 1981. He developed then on synthesizer
s musical ideas that would feed his first solo albums.
By 1977, Michael Stearns had formed a small independent record label (Continuum Montage) with Susan Harper and a close friend and investor, David Breuer. The same year came the first releases on tape, Desert Moon Walk and Sustaining Cylinders, followed by Ancient Leaves, his first album released on LP
, in 1978.
In the same years, Stearns started out playing with Fred Stofflet a percussionist, then with Don Preston
, the former keyboardist for The Mothers of Invention
. Both of them were playing for Emily David's classes. After that, Stearns, Stofflet and Craig Hundley
, a friend of Gary David's, started a free jazz group called "Alivity". Kevin Braheny came to one of their concerts and became friends with Michael Stearns. He later joined Stearns to play live for Continuum, bringing his Serge synthesizer
with him, on which Michael Stearns would record his album Morning Jewel in 1979 before building his own Serge synthesizer. In the same period, Stearns started working with Craig Huxley scoring
movies and developed a friendship with Stephen Hill.
In 1981, Continuum moved to a new location and Michael Stearns began a solo career. He put together some ideas he performed live during the workshops on his Serge and came to his classic Planetary Unfolding
. Ideas of the same kind were put together to form the album Light Play in 1983 and the track "Return" on the album Lyra.
Michael signed on the label Sonic Atmospheres in 1984, on which some of his earlier works would be re-released (Light Play became M'Ocean
in 1984, Morning Jewel became Jewel in 1985, and Planetary Unfolding was given a new release in 1985). In 1984, Chronos
was the first film music done entirely by Stearns after years of collaboration with Huxley or Maurice Jarre
. In 1986, he provided "electronic images and textures" for Constance Demby
's album Novus Magnificat
. After two more releases for Sonic Atmospheres, Plunge (1986) and Floating Whispers (1987), Michael Stearns signed to Stephen Hill's new label Hearts of Space Records
and released Encounter
.
In the next years, Michael Stearns worked again with Ron Fricke
, scoring Baraka
, his best known composition and released several albums, working with Steve Roach, Kevin Braheny and/or Ron Sunsinger (1989 : Desert Solitaire
, 1994 : Singing Stones and Kiva) or alone (1993 : Sacred Sites, 1995 : The Lost World).
In 2000 and 2001, Michael Stearns, now established in Santa Fe
, New Mexico
, released several albums on his own label Earth Turtle : Within, The Middle of Time, Spirits of the Voyage, The Storm, and Sorcerer. He is still scoring movies and documentaries today. In 2006, he was involved in the IMAX
movie Te Vaka (intended to be filmed in 2007).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician and composer of ambient music
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
. He is also known as a film composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, sound design
Sound design
Sound design is the process of specifying, acquiring, manipulating or generating audio elements. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking, television production, theatre, sound recording and reproduction, live performance, sound art, post-production and video game software...
er and soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
producer for large format films
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
, theatrical films, documentaries
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, commercials, and themed attractions
Amusement ride
Amusement rides are large mechanical devices that move people to create enjoyment. They are frequently found at amusement parks, traveling carnivals, and funfairs.-Notable types:*Afterburner*Ali Baba*Balloon Race*Booster...
.
Biography
Grown in Tucson, ArizonaArizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, Michael Stearns started practicing guitar at 13. At 16, he played in a surf music
Surf music
Surf music is a genre of popular music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Orange County and other areas of Southern California. It was particularly popular between 1961 and 1965, has subsequently been revived and was highly influential on subsequent rock music...
band, sometimes backing artists such as The Lovin' Spoonful
The Lovin' Spoonful
The Lovin' Spoonful is an American pop rock band of the 1960s, named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. When asked about his band, leader John Sebastian said it sounded like a combination of "Mississippi John Hurt and Chuck Berry," prompting his friend, Fritz Richmond, to suggest the name...
and Paul Revere & the Raiders
Paul Revere & the Raiders
Paul Revere & the Raiders is an American rock band that saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s with hits such as "Kicks" , "Hungry" , "Him Or Me - What's It Gonna Be?" and the 1971 No...
. Evolving to acid rock
Acid rock
Acid rock is a form of psychedelic rock, which is characterized with long instrumental solos, few lyrics and musical improvisation. Tom Wolfe describes the LSD-influenced music of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Iron Butterfly, Big Brother & The Holding Company, Cream,...
, he began composing music on multiple instruments in 1968 and, while in university and in the Air Force, spent a few years studying electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
synthesis, the physics of musical instruments, and accumulating equipment (musical instruments, tape recorders...) for his first studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
.
The studio opened in Tucson, Arizona in 1972 where he produced jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
s and commercial
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
s for local radio and television, and nationally released jingles for Schlitz Beer
Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company
The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was an American brewery based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was once the largest producer of beer in the world. Its namesake beer, Schlitz, was known as "The beer that made Milwaukee famous" and was famously advertised with the slogan "When you're out of Schlitz,...
and Greyhound Bus Lines
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
. Stearns's interest in experimental "space" music though left him unsatisfied, as he found no audience to play his musical ideas, which could be at this time only related to the drug experience. After three years, Michael Stearns underwent a spiritual crisis and thought about stopping music.
In 1975, Michael Stearns met Emily Conrad and Gary "Da'oud" David. Emily Conrad ran meditation classes in a workshop named Continuum, with Gary David performing on a Minimoog
Minimoog
The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...
and looped tapes
Tape loop
In music, tape loops are loops of prerecorded magnetic tape used to create repetitive, rhythmic musical patterns or dense layers of sound. Contemporary composers such as Steve Reich and Karlheinz Stockhausen used tape loops to create phase patterns and rhythms...
during the classes. Michael Stearns and his girlfriend Susan Harper moved in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, to join Emily Conrad, and Michael Stearns became a resident musician and composer till 1981. He developed then on synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s musical ideas that would feed his first solo albums.
By 1977, Michael Stearns had formed a small independent record label (Continuum Montage) with Susan Harper and a close friend and investor, David Breuer. The same year came the first releases on tape, Desert Moon Walk and Sustaining Cylinders, followed by Ancient Leaves, his first album released on LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
, in 1978.
In the same years, Stearns started out playing with Fred Stofflet a percussionist, then with Don Preston
Don Preston
Donald Ward Preston also known as Dom DeWilde or Biff Debrie born September 21, 1932 in Flint, Michigan. Preston is an American jazz and rock and roll musician.-Biography:Preston was born into a family of musicians and began studying music at an early age...
, the former keyboardist for The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention were an American band active from 1964 to 1969, and again from 1970 to 1975.They mainly performed works by, and were the original recording group of, US composer and guitarist Frank Zappa , although other members have had the occasional writing credit...
. Both of them were playing for Emily David's classes. After that, Stearns, Stofflet and Craig Hundley
Craig Huxley
Craig Huxley is a Grammy nominee and Emmy Award-winning musician and producer who has been involved in a wide variety of entertainment-related projects since childhood. He began his career as a child actor, starring in hundreds of TV shows; perhaps his most notable roles were those of Captain...
, a friend of Gary David's, started a free jazz group called "Alivity". Kevin Braheny came to one of their concerts and became friends with Michael Stearns. He later joined Stearns to play live for Continuum, bringing his Serge synthesizer
Modular synthesizer
The modular synthesizer is a type of synthesizer consisting of separate specialized modules connected by wires to create a so-called patch. Every output generates a signal – an electric voltage of variable strength...
with him, on which Michael Stearns would record his album Morning Jewel in 1979 before building his own Serge synthesizer. In the same period, Stearns started working with Craig Huxley scoring
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
movies and developed a friendship with Stephen Hill.
In 1981, Continuum moved to a new location and Michael Stearns began a solo career. He put together some ideas he performed live during the workshops on his Serge and came to his classic Planetary Unfolding
Planetary Unfolding
Planetary Unfolding is an album of electronic ambient music by U.S. musician Michael Stearns. It is considered a classic of ambient music.-Overview:...
. Ideas of the same kind were put together to form the album Light Play in 1983 and the track "Return" on the album Lyra.
Michael signed on the label Sonic Atmospheres in 1984, on which some of his earlier works would be re-released (Light Play became M'Ocean
M'ocean
M'Ocean is an album of electronic ambient music by the U.S. musician Michael Stearns. It is a collection of seven pieces, either live performances or studio engineered tracks, produced between 1978 and 1982....
in 1984, Morning Jewel became Jewel in 1985, and Planetary Unfolding was given a new release in 1985). In 1984, Chronos
Chronos (film)
Chronos is a 1985 abstract film directed by Ron Fricke, created with custom-built time-lapse cameras. Originally released in IMAX theaters, it is now available on DVD, Blu-ray, HD DVD, and for free on Hulu and YouTube.-Synopsis:...
was the first film music done entirely by Stearns after years of collaboration with Huxley or Maurice Jarre
Maurice Jarre
Maurice-Alexis Jarre was a French composer and conductor.Although he composed several concert works, he is best known for his film scores, and is particularly known for his collaborations with film director David Lean. Jarre composed the scores to all of Lean's films since Lawrence of Arabia...
. In 1986, he provided "electronic images and textures" for Constance Demby
Constance Demby
Constance Mary Demby is an American multi-instrument musician and composer. Demby is identified with the New Age movement , while some of her output is also classified as ambient or space music. She is also a singer, instrument designer, painter, sculptor, and multi-media producer...
's album Novus Magnificat
Novus Magnificat
Novus Magnificat: Through the Stargate is a New Age album by Constance Demby, with additional sonic textures by composer Michael Stearns. The album sold over 200,000 copies worldwide and made Demby one of the most successful New Age artists of the time...
. After two more releases for Sonic Atmospheres, Plunge (1986) and Floating Whispers (1987), Michael Stearns signed to Stephen Hill's new label Hearts of Space Records
Hearts of Space Records
Hearts of Space Records is an independent record label owned by Valley Entertainment.From the label’s website, “Launched in 1984, this record label was created as an extension of the weekly syndicated radio show Hearts of Space...
and released Encounter
Encounter (album)
Encounter is an album by Michael Stearns, released in 1988.Subtitled A Journey in the Key of Space, it's a collection of peaceful instrumental pieces, weaving synthesizers and various background sounds...
.
In the next years, Michael Stearns worked again with Ron Fricke
Ron Fricke
Ron Fricke is an American film director and cinematographer, considered to be a master of time-lapse photography and large format cinematography. He was the director of photography for Koyaanisqatsi and directed the purely cinematic non-verbal non-narrative feature Baraka . He designed and used...
, scoring Baraka
Baraka (film)
Baraka is a 1992 non-narrative film directed by Ron Fricke. The title Baraka is a word that means blessing in a multitude of languages....
, his best known composition and released several albums, working with Steve Roach, Kevin Braheny and/or Ron Sunsinger (1989 : Desert Solitaire
Desert Solitaire (album)
Desert Solitaire is a collaborative album by U.S. ambient musicians Steve Roach, Kevin Braheny, and Michael Stearns. This album was conceived as a follow up to Roach and Braheny's 1987 collaboration Western Spaces....
, 1994 : Singing Stones and Kiva) or alone (1993 : Sacred Sites, 1995 : The Lost World).
In 2000 and 2001, Michael Stearns, now established in Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, released several albums on his own label Earth Turtle : Within, The Middle of Time, Spirits of the Voyage, The Storm, and Sorcerer. He is still scoring movies and documentaries today. In 2006, he was involved in the IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
movie Te Vaka (intended to be filmed in 2007).
Instruments
In his earlier albums, he often used the Serge Modular synthesizer, giving his music a twinkling and "cosmic" sound. In 1982, he built "The Beam", a 12 feet (3.7 m) acoustic instrument strung with 24 piano strings, designed by Jonathan W. Lazell and built with the help of Paul Abell. He has since used it in many albums (solo or collaboration) as well as in concert and film scores. At the end of the eighties, his sound became deeper and closer to Steve Roach's style. Michael Stearns' music is always very ambient and woven with sounds of nature or human voices. But it can also be more melodic with great themes evoking wide spaces or great landscapes.Quotes
- "What I hope is transferred to the listener of my music is a certain depth. I think the depth that I am really speaking of is that we as human beings are the artistic process here on the planet, as individuals, groups, countries and as a global experience. What we create and think of as our artistic outpouring, be it music, the painted art, a sculpture or just a beautiful dinner that we might create for somebody, are really metaphors or hieroglyphics for the depth of our own participation in the moments that we create them. I hope that this depth creates a context for other people to experience deeper things inside of themselves."
Solo works
- Desert Moon Walk (1977), Continuum Montage
- Ancient Leaves (1978), Continuum Montage
- Sustaining Cylinders (1978), Continuum Montage
- Morning Jewel (1979), Continuum Montage
- Planetary UnfoldingPlanetary UnfoldingPlanetary Unfolding is an album of electronic ambient music by U.S. musician Michael Stearns. It is considered a classic of ambient music.-Overview:...
(1981), Continuum Montage - Light Play (1983), Continuum Montage
- Lyra Sound Constellation (1983), Continuum Montage
- M'OceanM'oceanM'Ocean is an album of electronic ambient music by the U.S. musician Michael Stearns. It is a collection of seven pieces, either live performances or studio engineered tracks, produced between 1978 and 1982....
(Light Play reissue) (1984), Sonic Atmospheres - Chronos (1984), Sonic Atmospheres
- Plunge (1986), Sonic Atmospheres
- Floating Whispers (1987), Sonic Atmospheres
- EncounterEncounter (album)Encounter is an album by Michael Stearns, released in 1988.Subtitled A Journey in the Key of Space, it's a collection of peaceful instrumental pieces, weaving synthesizers and various background sounds...
(1988), Hearts of Space RecordsHearts of Space RecordsHearts of Space Records is an independent record label owned by Valley Entertainment.From the label’s website, “Launched in 1984, this record label was created as an extension of the weekly syndicated radio show Hearts of Space... - Sacred Site (1993), Hearts of Space RecordsHearts of Space RecordsHearts of Space Records is an independent record label owned by Valley Entertainment.From the label’s website, “Launched in 1984, this record label was created as an extension of the weekly syndicated radio show Hearts of Space...
- The Lost World (1995), Fathom/Hearts of Space RecordsHearts of Space RecordsHearts of Space Records is an independent record label owned by Valley Entertainment.From the label’s website, “Launched in 1984, this record label was created as an extension of the weekly syndicated radio show Hearts of Space...
- The Light in the Trees (1996), AmplexusAmplexus (label)Amplexus was an Italian record label that specialized in limited edition mini CDs by notable ambient artists like Steve Roach, vidnaObmana, Robert Rich, and Michael Stearns. It went out of business in 2003....
- Collected Ambient and Textural Works 1977–1987 (1996), Fathom/Hearts of Space RecordsHearts of Space RecordsHearts of Space Records is an independent record label owned by Valley Entertainment.From the label’s website, “Launched in 1984, this record label was created as an extension of the weekly syndicated radio show Hearts of Space...
- Collected Thematic Works 1977–1987 (1996), Fathom/Hearts of Space RecordsHearts of Space RecordsHearts of Space Records is an independent record label owned by Valley Entertainment.From the label’s website, “Launched in 1984, this record label was created as an extension of the weekly syndicated radio show Hearts of Space...
- Within - The Nine Dimensions (1998), Earth Turtle
- Spirits of the Voyage (2000), Earth Turtle
- The Middle of Time (2000), Earth Turtle
- The Storm (2001), Spotted Peccary Music
Collaborations
- Desert SolitaireDesert Solitaire (album)Desert Solitaire is a collaborative album by U.S. ambient musicians Steve Roach, Kevin Braheny, and Michael Stearns. This album was conceived as a follow up to Roach and Braheny's 1987 collaboration Western Spaces....
(1989), Fortuna/Celestial Harmonies) – with Steve Roach and Kevin Braheny - Singing Stones (1994), Fathom/Hearts of Space RecordsHearts of Space RecordsHearts of Space Records is an independent record label owned by Valley Entertainment.From the label’s website, “Launched in 1984, this record label was created as an extension of the weekly syndicated radio show Hearts of Space...
– with Ron Sunsinger - KivaKiva (album)Kiva is a collaborative album by the American ambient musicians Steve Roach, Michael Stearns and Ron Sunsinger. A kiva is an underground ceremonial chamber used by Native American cultures of the Southwest....
(1995), Fathom/Hearts of Space RecordsHearts of Space RecordsHearts of Space Records is an independent record label owned by Valley Entertainment.From the label’s website, “Launched in 1984, this record label was created as an extension of the weekly syndicated radio show Hearts of Space...
– with Steve Roach and Ron Sunsinger - Sorcerer (2000), Spotted Peccary Music – with Ron Sunsinger
Compilations & others
- Dali, The Endless Enigma (1990), Coriolis
- Baraka (1992), Milan
- Deep Space (1994), Omni
- Musique Mechanique (1995), Celestial Harmonies
- Storm of Drones (1996), Sombient
- Celestial Journey (1996), Rising Star
- Songs of the Spirit (1997), Triloka
- Trance Planet 4 (1998), Triloka
- Soundscape Gallery 2 (1998), Lektronic Soundscapes
Further reading
- Review of a 2003 concert in Philadelphia
- 2000 interview with Michael Stearns by Barnes & Noble.com
- Ambient Music Guide profile of Michael Stearns
- 2002 Interview with Michael Stearns by Ambient Visions
- 2003 audio interview broadcast by Star's End
External links
- MichaelStearns.com (official site)
- Michael Stearns Artist Page (Hearts of Space Records)