Description

Purchase the album and support Michael Stearns & Robert Rich and download what you want of TrueHD Atmos MKV, 7.1*, 5.1* multichannel flac, binaural stereo flac* (all as 48-24). Get the original stereo-mix on Bandcamp.

*) Rerenders of the Atmos ADM.

First track Opening Sky with aac 5.1 sound

1. Opening Sky 05:30
2. Your Own Path 03:40
3. Continuous Evolution 05:08
4. Unexpected Reply 05:47
5. Mist Lingers 03:26
6. Reunion of Breath and Waves 03:11
7. The Ground Remembers 07:47
8. The Deep Below 07:18
9. Inclusions 08:03
10. The Map is the Surface 12:51
11. Vignet 03:15

Robert & Michael met in 1986, introduced by Stephen Hill of Hearts of Space. Labelmates, their friendship came naturally… explorers of the sonic mystery. In 2024 fellow composer Steve Roach organized a series of performances for the three in Tucson. Although both Robert and Michael had released albums with Steve, the two realized the time had arrived for their own collaboration.

During two 10-day sessions in Robert’s studio in June and December 2025 they created a range of compositions. During intervening months, they sent iterations back and forth, and formed them into vignets, short melodic stories. Several themes connect these stories, deep in their origins, touching on love of nature, shared experience and the passion of feeling truly alive.

Released June 21, 2026

Recorded 2025 – 2026 at Soundscape, Carmel & The Guest House, Santa Fe.
Mixed and Mastered by Robert Rich, March 2026.
© 2026 by Michael Stearns, BMI and Robert Rich, BMI
Earth Turtle Music, BMI and Amoeba Music, BMI
Michael Stearns: Guitar with processing, Torso S-4, Wavestate, 3rdWave, Iridium, Equator 2 and scoring libraries
Robert Rich: Flutes, lap steel, percussion, Prophet 6,12,X, Korg WS, ASM Hydrasynth, MOTM, 3rdWave.
Design and art by John Bergin