{"id":21595,"date":"2020-12-31T20:15:43","date_gmt":"2020-12-31T20:15:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/?post_type=product&#038;p=21595"},"modified":"2024-04-15T23:38:14","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T23:38:14","slug":"pro00371","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/product\/pro00371\/","title":{"rendered":"Erik W\u00f8llo &#038; Michael Stearns: Convergence (CD)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 307px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=3681407841\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless><a href=\"https:\/\/projektrecords.bandcamp.com\/album\/convergence-wollo-stearns\">Convergence<\/a><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><BR><\/p>\n<h3>Echoes Radio September 2020 CD of the Month!<br \/>\nEchoes Radio #16 Album of 2020!<\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;A new Michael Stearns album is a rare treat, but teaming up with Norwegian guitarist Erik W\u00f8llo is a move that was unexpected but makes exhilarating sense.  Stearns crafts ambient landscapes for W\u00f8llo to stretch out on his skyscraping, icily poetic guitar solos.   I never pick a CD of the Month so far in advance, but who is going to release something better?&#8221; &#8211; John Diliberto, Echoes<\/h3>\n<div class=\"hideme\">\nCONVERGENCE<br \/>\n01:  TRIPTYK\t10:12<br \/>\n02:  RUINS OF THE PAST\t07:34<br \/>\n03:  THE WAY AHEAD 1\t05:41<br \/>\n04:  A SOLITARY PLACE\t08:13<br \/>\n05:  THE NOMAD\u2019S JOURNEY\t07:12<br \/>\n06:  SOMEWHERE IN THE DISTANCE\t07:12<br \/>\n07:  THE WAY AHEAD 2\t06:15<br \/>\n08:  SUBTERRANEAN CANYON\t06:42<br \/>\n09:  THE HERALD\t07:38<br \/>\n10:  CIRRUS (POSTLUDE)\t05:30<br \/>\n\ttotal time\t66:44\n<\/div>\n<table width=\u201c400\" bgcolor=\"dacdcd\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\">Purchase in Europe for fast, inexpensive shipping:<br \/>\n <img src=https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-content\/uploads\/Projekt-Europe-1.png width=350><br \/>\nInformation in English <a href=\"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/projekt-europe-webstore\/\">here<\/a>. Click to order <a href=\"https:\/\/deejaydead.de\/en\/erik-wollo-michael-stearns-convergence-cd-digipack-2020-voe-28-08\" target=\"BLANK\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CD<\/a>.\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Soulful electronic sound-painting and evocative space music combine on Convergence, the debut collaboration between Norway\u2019s Erik W\u00f8llo and America\u2019s Michael Stearns. Known for passionate soundtrack work on director Ron Fricke\u2019s <strong>Chronos, Baraka<\/strong> and <strong>Samsara<\/strong>, Stearns collaborates with W\u00f8llo on his first indie-label-released non-film-score since 2001. Together, these guitarists\/synthesists weave a haunting and shadowy world filled with longing melodies and alluring glimmering sonic textures.<\/p>\n<p><BR><strong>Convergence<\/strong> ranges from slowly-evolving contemplative and reflective tracks like \u201cSomewhere in the distance\u201d and \u201cSubterranean Canyon\u201d to hypnotically pulsing rhythmic movements in \u201cThe Nomad\u2019s Journey\u201d or the \u201cThe Herald.\u201d The album is a subtle interplay between these two pioneering artists\u2019 mystical and emotional sonic styles, developing an inner resonance of expressive reveries that venture into dark mystical terrain as the album progresses.<\/p>\n<p><BR>Erik says, \u201cIt became obvious when working with Michael that the music would reflect a very visionary and vast landscape. During the album sessions, I had a dream about the music and about an expedition into a totally unexplored endless, surrealistic desert-like territory. I travelled into an abstract zone I could imagine had never seen people before, yet there were still some traces of human civilizations. In it, the beauty of the present met the imagination of the past. There were dark and dangerous places too. Inspired by this dream, we named some of the album tracks for these visions. And it ended well; the last piece on the album is calm and melodic, reflecting memories of the travelogue that yields new, positive and open doorways.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><BR>In 2018, W\u00f8llo and Stearns performed solo headline sets at the B-Wave Electronic Music Festival in Belgium. At dinner the night after their momentous performances, conversation got around to merging their talents and working on new music \u2014 Convergence was born. Over a year in the making, Michael worked in his studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Erik in his studios in Hvaler, Norway. The album is a perfect blending of technology, music and emotion utilizing sophisticated electronics, acoustic and original instruments like the Kantele from Finland and Michael\u2019s self-built string instrument \u201cThe Beam.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><BR>Michael reflects, \u201cThe seeds of this collaboration were planted while I watched and listened to Erik\u2019s performance at B-Wave. His set was an incredible blend of synthesis and live guitar. I was moved and thought, \u2018Wow, it would be fantastic for us to create music together!\u2019 I had collaborated with other artists before \u2014 Lisa Gerard, Steve Roach \u2014 but this was my first opportunity to blend with another guitar player (!) and an amazing synthesist too. After the festival, we sent each other photos from our teenage years as guitarists performing in bands. Amazingly we had begun our musical explorations at the same age in the same way. We began <strong>Convergence<\/strong> in the spring of 2019 with Erik sending a series of sketches, some rhythmic, others melodic. I worked with them using guitar, synthesizers and my scoring libraries. At some point, I sent Erik several sketches that were very atmospheric in nature. We shared audio files back and forth between Norway and New Mexico, and we would Skype to talk face-to-face about our ideas and progress. It was a great way to work, very different from scoring a film, where the collaboration follows the vision of a director and there are endless re-writes. Working with Erik felt more authentically creative, our musical personalities naturally finding a common creative ground like \u2018Musical birds of a feather\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><BR><strong>Convergence<\/strong> develops an inner resonance that is visceral, the masterful blend of these two pioneering artists\u2019 mystical and emotional sonic styles.<\/p>\n<p><BR><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"420\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tPt5BJRPDxQ\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"420\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0-k_m5n3rbE\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><H3>Artist Bio<\/h3>\n<p>Michael Stearns is an American musician and composer of ambient electronic music. He is also a multi genre composer, sound designer, and soundtrack producer. His credits include music for television, feature films, planetariums, theme parks, World Fairs, twenty-two IMAX films and nineteen solo albums. He has created music for NASA, Laserium, Disney Films, HBO, ABC&#8217;s The World of Explorers, 20\/20, Ron Fricke&#8217;s non-verbal global film masterpieces <strong>Chronos, Sacred Site, Baraka<\/strong> and <strong>Samsara<\/strong>. His career began with electronic music releases in the late 70s; his landmark <strong>Planetary Unfolding<\/strong> came out in 1981.<\/p>\n<p><BR>Erik W\u00f8llo is a Norwegian composer and musician known for spacious, evocative ambient music primarily using atmospheric guitars and synthesizers. He has composed numerous works for contemporary classical ensembles as well as pieces for ballet, theater, multimedia installations, and library music. Coming from a background of jazz and progressive rock, W\u00f8llo began making music in 1980 but really found his own style with his 1985 solo full-length <strong>Traces<\/strong>. Since then he has released over 50 albums including collaborations with other noted ambient artists such as Steve Roach, Ian Boddy, and percussionist Byron Metcalf.<\/p>\n<p><TABLE WIDTH=400 BORDER=1 CELLPADDING=5><br \/>\n<TR><TD><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/eepurl.com\/0gO_T\" target=\"BLANK\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-content\/uploads\/Box-Erik-eList-300x115.jpg\" alt=\"Box-Erik-eList\" width=\"200\"   \/><br \/>\nJoin our Erik W\u00f8llo eList<\/a><br \/>\nNo spam. Just an email when there&#8217;s a new album from Erik.<\/TD><\/TR><\/TABLE><\/p>\n<h2> Release date: August 28, 2020<\/h2>\n<div class=\"socials\"><h2>love it, share it<\/h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.projekt.com%2Fstore%2Fproduct%2Fpro00371%2F&t=Erik+W%C3%B8llo+%26%23038%3B+Michael+Stearns%3A+Convergence+%28CD%29\" class=\"socials-small facebook-small\"  target=\"_blank\" title=\"Facebook\" >facebook<\/a>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.projekt.com%2Fstore%2Fproduct%2Fpro00371%2F&text=Erik+W%C3%B8llo+%26%23038%3B+Michael+Stearns%3A+Convergence+%28CD%29\" class=\"socials-small twitter-small\"  target=\"_blank\" title=\"Twitter\" >twitter<\/a>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.projekt.com%2Fstore%2Fproduct%2Fpro00371%2F&media=https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-content\/uploads\/PRO00371.jpg&description=+%0D%0A+\" class=\"socials-small pinterest-small\"  onclick=\"window.open(this.href); return false;\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Pinterest\" >pinterest<\/a>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.projekt.com%2Fstore%2Fproduct%2Fpro00371%2F&title=Erik+W%C3%B8llo+%26%23038%3B+Michael+Stearns%3A+Convergence+%28CD%29\" class=\"socials-small google-small\"  target=\"_blank\" title=\"Google\" >google<\/a>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><a href=https:\/\/projektrecords.bandcamp.com\/album\/convergence TARGET=BLANK><IMG SRC=\/store\/assets\/images\/Button-Bandcamp.png width=129><\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":21596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[54,50,49,59,812],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-21595","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","product_cat-all","product_cat-ambient","product_cat-electronic","product_cat-wollo-erik","product_cat-michael-stearns","pa_artist-erik-wollo","pa_artist-michael-stearns","pa_format-cd-in-4-panel-digipak","pa_label-projekt","pa_release-year-790","first","instock","taxable","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-simple","border"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/21595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21595"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=21595"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=21595"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=21595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}