Emerald Web

Last updated

Emerald Web was an American musical duo, made up of the husband-wife team of Bob Stohl and Kat Epple. [1] Founded in 1978 and active through the 1980s, Stohl and Epple were pioneers in New Age, ambient, and electronic music.

Contents

History

In the early 1970s, Bob Stolh and Kat Epple met at a jam session at the University of Florida. They relocated to Connecticut and established Emerald Web in 1978.

Both Stohl and Epple had trained as keyboardists and flute players before learning how to program, patch, and play synthesizers to incorporate into their music. After purchasing an Electronic Music Labs SynKey 2001, the duo began to provide feedback and consultations to the synth manufacturer. [2] The albums Dragon Wings and Wizard Tales (1979) and Whispered Visions (1980) were both produced in Connecticut.

In 1980, the couple relocated to San Francisco to be closer to the growing New Age music scene and set up their own home recording studio in the hills above Berkeley. [2] They also established their own record label, Stargate Records, to release their music on cassette tape. [3]

In the 1980s, Emerald Web gained a growing audience and were often featured on the influential New Age radio program Hearts of Space . Due in part to their friendship with scientists, the duo performed at non-traditional music venues such as the California Academy of Sciences, Morrison Planetarium, and Chabot Astronomical Observatory. [2]

In 1990, the duo relocated to Fort Myers, Florida. [2]

The partnership ended with Stohl's accidental death by drowning in March 1990, at the age of 35. [4]

Musical style and influence

Emerald Web composed and recorded music in the New Age and electronic genres. They were known for innovative synthesizer orchestration and created a unique blend of "electronic space music" made by using synthesizers, sequencers, and acoustic instruments. Both Epple and Stohl were also flautists; their flute-dominated music achieved a distinctive sound among New Age artists. Stohl was also noted for his musicianship on the Lyricon, a woodwind/synthesizer hybrid. Their recordings featured electronic instruments such as the Minimoog, an Oberheim sequencer, and the ARP 2600. [2]

Many of their records were composed and recorded in their own home studio using a 4-track reel-to-reel and released on Stargate Records, their own home label.

Thematically, their work was influenced by hard science and technology (including astronomy and early computing) as well as science fiction and fantasy. [2]

In addition to recording their music and performing in concert, Emerald Web composed many television soundtracks, including National Geographic, PBS Nova, CNN, Apple Computers, NASA, and Carl Sagan's documentary films. They won several Emmy Awards. They also composed music for a wide range of other applications, from films to planetarium shows. They received a Grammy nomination in 1986 for their album Catspaw. [5]

Kat Epple solo career

Epple continued to compose and record under her own name as a solo artist and with the ensemble White Crow (1997). She also played flute and other instruments on Devin Townsend's records Ghost, Z², Casualties of Cool, The Puzzle and Snuggles . On her own and as part of Emerald Web, Epple has won eight Emmys and ten Addy Awards for work in composing music for television.

Discography

See also

Related Research Articles

Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means. Pure electronic instruments depended entirely on circuitry-based sound generation, for instance using devices such as an electronic oscillator, theremin, or synthesizer. Electromechanical instruments can have mechanical parts such as strings, hammers, and electric elements including magnetic pickups, power amplifiers and loudspeakers. Such electromechanical devices include the telharmonium, Hammond organ, electric piano and the electric guitar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tangerine Dream</span> German electronic music group

Tangerine Dream are a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the group was its mid-1970s trio of Froese, Christopher Franke, and Peter Baumann. In 1979, Johannes Schmoelling replaced Baumann until he departed in 1985. Since Froese's death in 2015, the group has been under the leadership of Thorsten Quaeschning. He was joined by violinist Hoshiko Yamane in 2011, Ulrich Schnauss from 2014 to 2020 and Paul Frick in 2020.

Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody. It uses textural layers of sound that can reward both passive and active listening and encourage a sense of calm or contemplation. The genre is said to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual", or "unobtrusive" quality. Nature soundscapes may be included, and the sounds of acoustic instruments such as the piano, strings and flute may be emulated through a synthesizer.

Robert Rich is an ambient musician and composer based in California, United States. With a discography spanning over 30 years, he has been called a figure whose sound has greatly influenced today's ambient music, New-age music, and even IDM.

Elodie Lauten was a French-born American composer described as postminimalist or a microtonalist.

Paul Henry Beaver Jr. was an American musician who was a pioneer in popular electronic music, using the Moog synthesizer. From 1967, Beaver collaborated with Bernie Krause as the recording duo Beaver & Krause.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space music</span> Tranquil, hypnotic subgenre of electronic music

Space music, also called spacemusic or space ambient, is a subgenre of new-age music and is described as "tranquil, hypnotic and moving". It is derived from ambient music and is associated with lounge music, easy listening, and elevator music.

Beaver & Krause were an American musical duo comprising Paul Beaver and Bernie Krause. Their 1967 album The Nonesuch Guide to Electronic Music was a pioneering work in the electronic music genre. The pair were Robert Moog's sales representatives on the U.S. West Coast and were instrumental in popularizing the Moog synthesizer during the late 1960s. As recording artists for Warner Bros. Records in the early 1970s, they released the critically admired albums In a Wild Sanctuary and Gandharva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murcof</span> Musical artist

Murcof is the performing and recording name of Mexican electronic musician Fernando Corona. Corona was born in 1970 in Tijuana, Mexico and raised in Ensenada. He was for a time a member of the Tijuana-based Nortec Collective of electronic musicians under the Terrestre project name. In 2000, he returned to Tijuana. Since 2006, Corona has been living in Barcelona, Spain.

Al Jewer is a Native American flutist originally from Detroit, Michigan. He has worked as a record producer and engineer, and as a studio musician, but he has become well known internationally for his work on the Native American flute. His early musical training was with the concert flute, and he has been performing classical music with that instrument since the early 1980s. In 1984, he established Laughing Cat Studio, and in 1994, Laughing Cat Records to give himself control over the recording, production and distribution of his music. This has given him the chance to work with many other musicians of the Midwestern United States, including Blackhawk, David Storei and Roxanne Neat, Natty Nation, Adrian Belew and Weekend Wages. Laughing Cat Records currently features artists who perform in Ambient, Native American, Reggae, Classical and Folk. Al has released two solo albums: River Crossing and Prairie Plain Song as well as Two Trees and Music of the Earth. He also previously formed a duo with Christine Ibach called Cedar Wind. Cedar Wind released two albums, Feather on the Wind and Kindred Spirits. His recent music often features harmonies on the alto and bass flute with melodies on the Native American flute.

Angel Tears is a fusion musical duo based in Tel Aviv, Israel, composed of Sebastian Taylor, aka Shakta, and Momi Ochion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constance Demby</span> American multi-instrumentalist player (1939–2021)

Constance Mary Demby was an American musician, composer, painter, sculptor, and multimedia producer. Her music fell into several categories, most notably new age, ambient and space music. She is best known for her 1986 album Novus Magnificat and her two experimental musical instruments, the sonic steel space bass and the whale sail.

Michael Stearns is an American musician and composer of ambient music. He is also known as a film composer, sound designer and soundtrack producer for large format films, theatrical films, documentaries, commercials, and themed attractions.

Kevin Braheny Fortune is an American musician and composer of ambient music, producer, engineer, and session musician.

David B. Doty is an American composer and authority on just intonation. He is the author of The Just Intonation Primer.

Biomusic is a form of experimental music which deals with sounds created or performed by non-humans. The definition is also sometimes extended to include sounds made by humans in a directly biological way. For instance, music that is created by the brain waves of the composer can also be called biomusic as can music created by the human body without the use of tools or instruments that are not part of the body.

<i>Novus Magnificat</i> 1986 studio album by Constance Demby

Novus Magnificat: Through the Stargate (1986) is an album by American musician Constance Demby, with additional sonic textures by composer Michael Stearns. The album sold over 200,000 copies worldwide. In 2002, it was voted "The 25 Most Influential Ambient Albums of All Time".

Sherry Finzer is an American flutist and composer based in Phoenix, Arizona. A national award-winning musician known for her contributions in the genre of flute and New Age music, Finzer is known predominantly as a soloist, but in recent years has formed the supergroup Trialogue with guitarist Darin Mahoney and percussionist Will Clipman. She performs extensively with local, national and international musicians, encompassing a variety of musical styles, including new-age, Latin, flamenco, classical, pop and jazz. Finzer tours worldwide as a Guo Flute and Pearl Flute Performing Artist, as well as in support of her album releases for the Heart Dance Records label, which she founded in 2006. Heart Dance Records represents 80+ artists in the New Age, Ambient, Acoustic, Electronic and Chill genres, as well as the radio promotions and PR company Higher Level Media.

<i>Casualties of Cool</i> 2014 studio album by Casualties of Cool

Casualties of Cool is the debut album of Canadian country rock duo Casualties of Cool, consisting of Canadian musicians Devin Townsend and Ché Aimee Dorval, released on May 14, 2014. It is a musical departure from any of Townsend's previous works, primarily because it is a concept album that features country-influenced songs with blues rock and ambient influences.

References

  1. ↑ "Emerald Web | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "INTERVIEW: Emerald Web's 'Valley Of The Birds': A new age classic returns". Ambient Music Guide. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
  3. ↑ Das, Ramana (December 1983). "Music: The Holiday Spirit". Yoga Journal. p. 48.
  4. ↑ "15 Mar 1990, Page 21 - News-Press at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  5. ↑ "Emerald Web". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.