How do I begin to put into words my thoughts and feelings regarding Structures From Silence?

For me, Structures From Silence is like food, or water, or clothing. It is not music in the traditional sense. It is a place for the mind, body, and spirit to inhabit. It has surrounded and nourished me through almost every aspect of my life; every emotion, every major event, every mundane task. It has been my reading companion, my nursemaid, my co-worker, my therapist. My quiet friend.

In 1984 I was 19 years old, in college, beginning to open the doors from the small home of a child into the great, wide world of adulthood. I craved knowledge, understanding, wisdom. I had begun to explore ideas opened up to me by Alan Watts and others, turning to ideas of Taoism and Buddhism which focused on the simplicity of direct experience that could be attained with a quiet mind. A lover of music, I looked for a soundtrack that could accompany the quest for these truths.

Late one Saturday night, I'm sure I first heard the hypnotic pulse of Structures From Silence while listening to Stars End on WXPN radio. That was it. That was the sound of that place I was seeking, but like the koans of the Buddhists the music showed me that I was already inhabiting that place. The music was breathing meditation itself, the slow in and out, the pause between.

Structures From Silence was the inspiration for creating my own music and for promoting and releasing similar music by other artists. I have thought to myself that releasing a Free Floating tribute to Structures From Silence is almost redundant. To me the entire Free Floating catalog is already a tribute to the album. With it Steve drew us a map by which we could explore the liminal world between sound and silence.

This collection is dedicated with deep gratitude to him, for inspiring us stop and listen in that world and to make our own music there with him.

Brad Ross-MacLeod

September 2014