One of Rich's best albums and an amazing one in which to get lost, Below Zero is darker than some of his other works and has a vast sense of scale--there are massive surrealist soundscapes, clouds of shifting metallic overtones, and sinuous sound threads running throughout. It also represents a significant technical achievement; Rich's sound design includes phase vocoding and granular synthesis, as well as open-loop feedback networks, and chaotic electro-acoustic systems. Somehow all this technology and melancholy come together to create an intense beauty that permeates Rich's singular sonic universe. Really, there are few albums that approach this level.
m3u audio streams (if the flash player above doesn't work for you): [hifilofi] Play all tracks as an m3u audio stream (or xspf, ogg, mp3 file)
[hifilofi] 01-Star Maker (21:29)
[hifilofi] 02-Dissolving the Seeds of a Moment (10:47)
[hifilofi] 03-A Flock of Metal Creatures Fleeing the Onslaught of Rust (7:07)
[hifilofi] 04-Termite Epiphany (8:22)
[hifilofi] 05-Liquid Air (9:06)
[hifilofi] 06-Requiem (7:35)