PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE
“This album is a collaboration between Craig Padilla and Zero Ohms in which both explore the world of imaginative electronic music. It is a fascinating symphony performed with synthesizers, whose seven pieces include widely different styles, though mostly portraying Ambient and Space Music. The most impressive piece in the album is, in my opinion, "The everything that is no thing", of a majestic air and a great beauty. This is no doubt a wonderful album, accompanied by a magnificent cover. - Edgar Kogler / Groove Unlimited catalog
“Path Of Least Resistance is one of those CDs which offer something for nearly everyone: Germanic/retro EM goodness, classic drifting spacemusic, haunting quasi-ambient tones and warm drones, serene flutes and wind-synths for those seeking calm and serene soundscapes, and that...touch of world beat for those whose view of ambient music is global in nature. Expertly recorded and mixed .... the CD displays both of the artists’ strengths while also pointing out how well they fit together as a “whole.” It earns a highly recommended from me as an example of ambient music which exemplifies the concept of “cohesive diversity” in masterful fashion. - Bill Binkleman / Wind and Wire
Spatial Glacial Nebulous
“This record is something of a technological departure 
for Roberts, whose previous albums contained a wide variety of instrumentation, mostly electronics and a wide variety of wind instruments. Here the tracks are created solely on the wind synth .... that features heavily on all past Zero Ohms discs. The effect is simple, elegant, and extremely beautiful.
for Roberts, whose previous albums contained a wide variety of instrumentation, mostly electronics and a wide variety of wind instruments. Here the tracks are created solely on the wind synth .... that features heavily on all past Zero Ohms discs. The effect is simple, elegant, and extremely beautiful.Each track on Spatial Glacial Nebulous is named after a location on the Moon, creating a decidedly heavenly cast to each track--this would make fantastic planetarium music--it's space music in its purest and most original form. - Brian Bieniowski / The Ambient Review
True Degrees of Freedom“…when I heard this album, this is by far and away his best. It is, in my opinion, also his most experimental.…I'm really, really surprised about this album, and I think he's reached the pinnacle now where he can be compared with the greats here.…I think if anything will put him on the roadmap, it'll be this album.
-Allan Bogle, Into the Deep radio show/ WEVL, Memphis, USA
“…quiet introspective minimalism with depth, clarity and soul. He combines his multi-instrumental talent with some offbeat samples to create “surround sound” atmospheres…Richard has very quietly and deliberately become one of the community’s brightest e-minimalists. He has risen to the perpendicular universe with this disc, one of 2003’s best! -Jim Brenholts, Ambient Navigator
“There is no doubt in my mind that True Degrees of Freedom is Zero Ohms's best and most fully realized album. This is work that stands shoulder to shoulder with the best in modern ambient and could very well be the work that brings Roberts to the attention of ambient connoisseurs everywhere. You will not find a better concoction of inner and outer space music this year, and I unhesitatingly place this work in my top five ambient releases of 2003. First class work by an up and coming master.
-Brian Binkowski, Ambient Reviews
“… his bravest and most immersive recording yet,…Starting out with the sounds of city life, filled with traffic and people and the bustle of everyday goings-on, we end our trip immersed in solitude and convinced of our isolation and insignificance in the grand scheme of things, yet not in a demeaning way, more as a contentment that we are merely a leaf in a stream, whether the stream be comprised of people, the vastness of the cosmos, or the simple stream of life that encircles our planet. True Degrees of Freedom explores, in depth, our connection to each other and to the universe by laying us bare and exposed to our aloneness and, conversely, our oneness. Heady stuff, indeed, but so very rewarding and so enriching. Roberts is an artist who can take you places well worth visiting. What you find there will be up to you. Highly recommended, of course. -Bill Binkelman, Wind and Wire
Immense Distance
“This is deep minimalism with huge atmospheres, organic textures and experimental sci-fi features. Lane and Roberts are taking their listeners on a long journey to the distant regions of deep space. The trek is to either outer or inner space. The listener's frame of reference determines the destination. This is ambient as Brian Eno defines it. It is interesting enough to be the focus of deep listening and innocuous enough to be part of the background. Focused listeners will visit inner space on an introspective adventure. Casual listeners will go to outer space and beyond. Either tour is a worthy experience.” - Jim Brenholts
Soundfall To The Infinite
"Soundfall To The Infinite" is the collaborative product of Zero Ohms and Brannan Lane, set for release in March, 2002 on SpaceForMusic.com Records. Some critics are regarding this as the best effort from either of these superb ambient artists. It is sure to become a classic!
ECSTASIS
"This set is very psychoactive. Richard's music has long had those qualities. Gordon's contributions raise them to the next level. Much like the quartz crystal singing bowls, overtone vocals are impossible to ignore. Deep listeners will catch themselves drifting away. Casual listeners will find themselves becoming deep listeners. There is no way around it." -Jim Brenholts
Ecstasis is six tracks that flow seamlessly into one another. The music is like sensuous incense, permeating the very air with its heady aural scent of East Indian-tinted ambient bliss. All that is missing is the smell of curry and coriander coming from the kitchen (with the promise of a delicious meal to come) to make the experience complete! For once, the warning in the liner notes “Caution: Listening while driving is not recommended.” is completely warranted.
However, all of Ecstasis should be experienced, not just one track. As I stated above, while there are six distinct cuts (track cues), the entire album unfolds like a slowly evolving work. Absorbed as an entire album, Ecstasis is deeply moving, incredibly relaxing and calming, and also beautiful in a low-key and unassuming yet undeniable way.
Ecstasis is one of those rare albums that I have played over and over and over in a row and never tired of. Zero Ohms and Gordon Rhyne have rendered one of the first great ambient releases of the new year.
SWEVEN "Sweven" is a cross-cultural spiritual space fantasy from the deep exotic soundworlds of Zero Ohms, nee Richard J. Roberts. Richard uses his multi-instrumental virtuosity to tap into some deep esoteric messages from ethnic, scientific and sci-fi philosophies. The resultant sound is floating and expansive minimalism. Richard’s wind-synth is absolutely eerie and downright "Bach-ian." (That is, it brings to mind the scary images that are evoked by "Toccata and Fugue, the ultimate haunted house piece.) His ethnic instrumentation takes listeners to the realms of roads less traveled and inexplicable emotions. Richard put tremendous effort into sequencing these tracks. The influences flow from the diverse inspirations flawlessly. Comparisons between a Cherokee mound, a NASA test vehicle, the laws of physics and sci-fi fantasies are about as close to 180 degrees apart as it gets. They are also about as centered and integrated as emotions allow. Succinctly, it is awesome! -Jim Brenholts
unafraid of the impending silenceThis new long-form ambient release from Zero Ohms (Richard Roberts) is one of the best examples of this relatively new exploration of continuous-repeat recordings aimed at establishing and maintaining a listening environment atmosphere suffused with a calming influence yet devoid of overt musicality. I have played this album several times and can say I definitely notice how it delicately yet purposely it fills the room with its flowing drones, its bubbling and tinkling textures, and its occasional Indian murli brass whistle - which is a particularly nice touch, I might add.
There is a spaciousness to the soundfield - it combines with the natural fluidity of the music to create an almost perfume-like “scent” that alternately floats and hovers in the room while the CD is playing. The
blending of the distinct elements (underlying lower register waves of sound, an omnipresent, relatively unchanging mid-pitch drone, a series of ongoing bubbling/twinkling sounds [kind of like glass rods drawn lazily through water and allowed to randomly and softly touch each other], gentle washes of wind-synth [sounding like strings] and the sparsely used whistle combine to create a cohesive whole that is conducive not just to relaxation but also mental activity. This is a lot harder to do than you might think. Many recordings in this genre are either too soporific (inducing sleep, which may be their aim) or too “bright” and attention-grabbing, thereby defeating their purpose as true ambient pieces. Unafraid of the Impending Silence shows Roberts as a master of infusing just enough “energy” into the music to keep it active yet also fine-tuning the mix so that only rarely does the music intrude into your upper consciousness.
The subtle use of some recorded spoken word samples and very faint bird calls, mixed way in the background (the spoken words are as if heard on a distant public address speaker system), actually aids the recording - but I can’t explain why. It’s not distracting in the least, but the listener is aware of it. This risk-taking, by the artist, shows that there is more going on here than just creating an atmospheric piece of music. Richard Roberts blew me away with some of the tracks on Sweven by doing the same kind of thing. He really knows how to mix non-musical elements into his recordings.
This album is way ahead of the pack as one of the best releases of 2002. -Bill Binkelman WIND and WIRE
SUPREME*INFINITE*ESSENCE - ZOP opus 05
One of the most recent releases from ZERO OHMS is a more terse, more minimalist soundscape than previous efforts. This album has several pieces where the basic music tracks were recorded live, in one take, with little or no editing; the same being true of the ambience-backgrounds which were combined with these basic tracks.
The result creates not a ‘live’ album so much as a ‘living’ album, a reflection of a slice of the sound of life, perhaps as it might be recollected years later. There is also a feel having nothing to do with this world and more to do with outer as well as inner space. A space beyond the duality of good and evil, positive and negative, where the SUPREME*INFINITE*ESSENCE of life is all that there is, staring down unblinking from a million light-years away.
atma-spheric surfaces - ZOP opus 03:
The title is a play on the Sanskrit term for Soul, atma, and spheric is used in the sense of ‘world’ or ‘realm’; surfaces is employed to mean ‘textures’ or ‘planes’. So atma-spheric surfaces would actually mean ‘textures of the soul worlds’.
The title is a play on the Sanskrit term for Soul, atma, and spheric is used in the sense of ‘world’ or ‘realm’; surfaces is employed to mean ‘textures’ or ‘planes’. So atma-spheric surfaces would actually mean ‘textures of the soul worlds’.
“...lengthily extended flute and wind-synth drones, beautifully blurred into continuous-tone listening which shifts with subtle sonic colorations....airy, but not always “light’...” David Opdyke, AmbiEntrance reviews
“....a collection of seething, mystical cinematics, very dark...” Vince Harrigan, Manifold Records catalog
“....a collection of seething, mystical cinematics, very dark...” Vince Harrigan, Manifold Records catalog
The Glass Bead Game - ZOP opus 02:
“Named after a Herrmann Hesse novel, The Glass Bead Game is an exercise in
drifting, ethereal compositions from beginning to end. Introspective, chilled-out bliss.” February 1999 New Age Voice
“...a real surprise and a deep listening experience that holds true...” Lloyd Barde, The Heartbeats catalog
“Named after a Herrmann Hesse novel, The Glass Bead Game is an exercise in
drifting, ethereal compositions from beginning to end. Introspective, chilled-out bliss.” February 1999 New Age Voice
“...a real surprise and a deep listening experience that holds true...” Lloyd Barde, The Heartbeats catalog
Innerstellar by Gordon Rhyne - ZOP opus 04
Innerstellar is a tour-de-force of overtone singing by the American harmonic singer Gordon Rhyne and produced by ZERO OHMS. Utilizing the HU, an ancient name for God, Gordon creates breathtaking worlds of sonic textures and soundscapes.
“The sounds seem to vibrate endlessly and soar to the heavens. The ten compositions....slowly evolve like a wordless mantra, with layers of voices cascading against each harmonic overtone to produce a giant modulating chord. The album is a superb example of harmonic overtone singing, excellently recorded, beautifully presented, and divinely inspired. This is a unique listening experience that will take you on a trance-like journey to your inner self. Highly recommended” Ben Kettlewell, The Alternate Music Press
“The sounds seem to vibrate endlessly and soar to the heavens. The ten compositions....slowly evolve like a wordless mantra, with layers of voices cascading against each harmonic overtone to produce a giant modulating chord. The album is a superb example of harmonic overtone singing, excellently recorded, beautifully presented, and divinely inspired. This is a unique listening experience that will take you on a trance-like journey to your inner self. Highly recommended” Ben Kettlewell, The Alternate Music Press
Gaia - MA030C:
A musical portrayal of Kokopelli, the Native American mythic hero who restores abundance by bringing forth the second summer rains. Deeply relaxing native and bass flute with guitar blend exquisitely with sounds of the environment in a soulful composition that stimulates imagination and creativity.
Winds Over The World - MA027CN: Aboriginal flutes speak directly to the heart in this graceful expression of the spirit of life. Richard Roberts' evocative musical imagery encourages relaxation, meditation, and creativity. This haunting composition is inspired by the idea that breath means life and connects one to the essence of life.
