ABOUT/CONTACT

The composer in 2008 – soon after completing the album,

‘APPARITION TRANSMISSION’

Apparition Transmission | Epoch Collapse (bandcamp.com)

‘APPARITION TRANSMISSION’ – photo-composite from 1987.

CONTACT:

Interested persons can leave comments at my Bandcamp site:

Epoch Collapse’s Community | Epoch Collapse (bandcamp.com)

Dark Ambient, Cinematic Music, Industrial Ambient

Description: Solo project with the aim of exploring areas of experimental electronic/electroacoustic sound and composition – also its use in filmmaking and media.

Interests: Science and Cosmology, Speculative Fiction, Cyberpunk, Surrealism, Photography, Philosophy, Cinema, Road Films, Travel, Abandoned places, Classic Cars…

BIOGRAPHY:

Epoch Collapse was making Dark Ambient music before the term was coined; in the music community it was originally referred to as Post-Industrial Music. The music he composed was simply thought of as ‘experimental’, and even if the aesthetic quality back then was akin to what is now known as Dark Ambient, it was seen only as an extension of Ambient Music.

Epoch Collapse is an experimental, electronic, cinematic music and audio-visual/multimedia project – it is primarily a solo project, expanding sometimes into collaborative sessions/events/projects. The earliest surviving recordings were from 1976. After many years, Epoch Collapse was founded in 2000 by Darius M. Roberte (aka DMR) – a composer, photographer, and multimedia artist/constructor. Much of the music can be categorised or described as ‘Symphonic Soundscape’, ‘Dark Ambient’, ‘Experimental Electronic’, ‘Industrial Ambient’, ‘Berlin School-influenced’, ‘Power Electronics’, ‘Avant-Garde-inspired’, and so on. The compositions involve a fair degree of multi-layering and textural complexity which have almost become a musical trademark.

Compositional inspiration is drawn from film (many works are cinematic in form and style), literature (classics, history, science/cosmology, speculative fiction, occult, horror, mythology), and other areas of exploration. On occasion, Epoch Collapse performs live to silent films and other media using tape collages/digital soundscapes/electronic sounds. The live mixing of original sounds and samples (a unique sound collage) are most often performed via a graphic score drawn and designed by the composer.

At the time of writing (December 2023), there are now 80 albums available for purchase. https://epochcollapse.bandcamp.com/music

To date, there are over 300 compositions recorded; some are yet to be released and be for sale via an independent label in the near future.

Over the years, as well as solo projects, there have also been numerous international collaborations involving field recordings, electro-voice works, electroacoustic works, and computer-generated soundscapes – with other musicians, media/filmmakers, and writers.

Influences and inspirations: Avant-Garde (Contemporary Classical); Micropolyphony; Experimental Electronic; Musique Concrète; Early Computer Music; Spectral Music; The Berlin School; Experimental/Modal Jazz; Minimalism/Drone; Industrial; Industrial Metal; Space Rock; Psychedelic; Field Recordings; Early Ambient; Ancient Music…
Select names: György Ligeti; Krzysztof Penderecki; Roland Kayn; Giacinto Scelsi; Edgard Varèse; Frank Zappa; Miles Davis; Jimi Hendrix; Karlheinz Stockhausen; Iannis Xenakis; Igor Stravinsky; Morton Subotnick; John Zorn; Brian Eno; Captain Beefheart; Steve Reich…

The composer
[Piano recital, 1983]

The composer
[Piano and magnifier, 1985]

The composer
[Piano recital, 1989]

The composer
[The ‘Unprepared Piano’ performances and recordings, 1991-92]

The composer
[Live performance as founding member of ‘Visions of the Bardo’ – a three-piece band for keyboards/synthesizers, percussion and guitar, 1996]