Artist description Steve Layton is a composer and musician who crosses so many boundaries that it's hard to keep them all straight. Working in Seattle since 1985, he has developed a style that relies almost exclusively on digital means, yet in a way that lets the music transcend the purely electronic. Acoustic classical and ethnic music sits next to "imaginary" ensembles of subtly extended instruments, which vie with purely textural soundscapes; the music itself makes reference to many different times and places, as well. Layton's music has been used extensively for dance and video.

Music Style Electronic abstract and descriptive soundscapes.

Musical Influences Almost everything from the last 1000 years, and almost any culture.

Group Members Steve Layton (ASCAP): composition, performance, production.

Instruments Sounds: Alesis QSR // Sequencing: Voyetra Digital Orchestrator Pro // Processing: Alesis Midiverb II // Recording: Cooledit 2000

Albums "The Composer Plays", "This Landscape", "Translation", "Night Music", "Play", "I feel an epihany coming on"

Press Reviews "Layton is a composer of undeniable depth, subtlety and imagination, and is a consummate evoker of mood. At times it sounds as if he is composing music for yet-to-be-written horror films, at other moments his Minimalist soundscapes take the helpless listener on a journey through lands not yet discovered and times yet to be experienced. He sounds at times like an electronic John Cage, tinkering like a scientist with his digital instruments in the same manner Cage would "prepare" his pianos. Then, without warning, you're thrust into an after-hours dance party, relaxing your sweaty body as his beat-driven but Ambient music washes over your spent mind. Rewarding and challenging, Steve Layton's music is a feast for Avant Garde aficionados, New Age lovers, and those who appreciate heady electronic music in all its forms."-Will Lerner, listen.com

Location Seattle, WA - USA

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