Album Notes

Reissue of the 1997 Lektronic Soundscapes release, Drop by Dwight Ashley and Tim Story now back in print on the Nepenthe Music and Publishing label.

Drop, the second full-length recording by Dwight Ashley and Tim Story, takes the listener on a journey from the absurd to the fantastic, exploring the dark beauty of horror, obsession and sublime ambiguity.

Now in its second release, Drop blends Ashley's neo-expressionist approach to composition with Story's intimate minimalism to produce a thoroughly unique album, distinct from the solo projects of either artist. And yet, one shared trait of the duo's solo work remains: is at once beautiful and disquieting.

With Drop, the duo strives to "move listeners to put something of themselves into the music," says Story. "We want to prod the listener to find his or her own feelings about a piece, even if those feelings are sometimes uncomfortable. As Charles Ives said, 'Beauty in music is too often confused with something that lets the ears lie back in an easy chair.' I like to think of good music as a sculpture or a Japanese garden, where you can never experience the whole from any one point. You must move through it, live with it for a while, before it yields its secrets."

Grammy-nominee Tim Story, acclaimed for his elegant, enigmatic recordings for Windham Hill, Hearts of Space and others, developed his intensely personal style during years of experimentation in his home studio and a love of composition. Along with his idiosyncratic, self-taught approach to the piano, Story integrated into his work the new breed of electronic instruments that have been evolving since the mid-70's. His deceptively subtle pieces distill harmonic and melodic ideas that are often quite complex. Story's discography, spanning two and a half decades, includes nine solo releases, several acclaimed collaborations, film scores and more.

Referred to by Story as "a true experimentalist," Dwight Ashley joined his inventive approach with Story's artfully timed lyricism to produce"A Desperate Serenity" in 1991.