Sequence of Earlier Heaven

Sequence of Earlier Heaven is an engaging album - I would recommend it without hesitation.
-David Rosenboom, Computer Music Journal

Barry Truax is one of Canada’s most important composers and a key figure in the Simon Fraser University / World Soundscape scene. Sequence Of Earlier Heaven consists of four electro-acoustic pieces recorded between 1981-1985 based around the trigram principle of the I-Ching. East Wind, a personal favourite, for amplified recorder and magnetic tape, is based around the hexagram number 9, comprised of the trigrams for wind and heaven. In the piece, the recorder rides and constrains the waves of sounds created by the tape, in the words of the I-Ching: rainclouds in China are brought by the East Wind. The piece Nightwatch is the inverted hexagram of East Wind for marimba and amplified tape. Wave Edge and Solar Ellipse, the two pieces that take up side B, create synthesized soundscapes in the manner of his Spatial Environment series. Essential work from a truly visionary artist.