Iowa Public Radio icon John Pemble interviewed ambient pioneer Robert Rich during his recent visit to Des Moines and put together this fantastic video portrait.
via JohnPemble:
Robert Rich has been creating music in the atmospheric / ambient / electronic genre for three decades and is often heard on the public radio program Music from the Hearts of Space. His atmospheric spaces with unique rhythms often accompany his custom PVC flutes or the sound of the lap steel guitar played in a glissando style
During a concert stop in Des Moines he describes how his long form slow music relies on being in the moment and how he expresses sound in its flow from moment to moment during live performances.
Robert’s music has been a major influence in my own sound as an ambient musician and for years I featured his recordings when I hosted the now defunct Iowa Public Radio program Wild Rose Café.
Very cool…and seems like a very interesting dude. Does anyone know what instrument he's soloing on here? A lapsteel with an e-bow perhaps?
Lap steel guitar, tuned in just intonation.
He's like the Blue Man Group. Only… orange. And there's only one of him.
(Sorry, I couldn't resist. I'm very, very sorry and ashamed.)
You don't look ashamed.
I thought it was a great interview. Other than the color, the production seems pretty professional, too.