Steve Roach/Vidna Obmana

Steve Roach's latest foray into ambient space music sees him this time teaming up with Vidna Obmana, who here plays a Hungarian overtone wind instrument. Together, Roach and Obmana create eerie textural soundscapes and inner-journey pieces that range from two to a whopping 25 minutes. These pieces unfurl like incense smoke and dissolve into the room, leaving a heady sensation. Generally, I've never cared for Roach's music, because as an ambient artist, his material didn't always have bite or edginess to it, rather he tended to atmospheric wash bordering on new age. This time around, I am pleased to say that Inner Zone is edgy and deliciously creepy, where the listener may get the impression of wailing ghosts passing beneath steep canyons. The title track is among the more impressive on this disc, as Roach uses electro-rhythmic patterns that give the piece form and substance.