The incomprehensibly vast distances of intergalactic space are continuously permeated by a subtle auditory ambience of shifting drones, elegantly gestured events and unique rhythms. Radio astronomy and SETI (among other scientific discoveries) have confirmed and given voice to this splendid background noise whose origin and meaning is impossible to fathom.

This recording does not use any sounds of extraterrestrial origin, yet it does allude to the ambience of the vast cosmology. the background sounds of the universe cannot be temporally framed due to their very nature. In this work, I have have attempted to fashion a long-form ambient recording which takes its cue from the cosmological sounds which surround us.

Sidereal is similar to a large number of other works composed beginning with l'Objets d' Art (1976) and including important landmarks such as The Strong Eye (1991) and Manifold (2000). Some of my long-form electroacoustic works are thematic, some formed within the context of symphonic proportioning and others are purely generative and self-evolving. Sidereal is unique within this collection of compositions. Firstly because is presents a collection of distinct compositions with a clearly defined framework - more like an album of largely unrelated works - and, secondly, the works are coerced into relatedness by their framing by a complex, evolutionary, drone texture which forms the basis of the work.

The background drone is positioned somewhere between cosmic radio static and pitched harmonic resonance, alluding to the drone flux of the distant starfields which were its inspiration.

- RST