Caught In The Emerald Web
Photo: Dan Drasin
The spaced-out simulations that drift in and out of biblical broadcasts throughout the science-fiction-infused 1980s are impeccable as we continue to pull from its rich and powerful signals stretched across the complicated landscape of contemporary music. Through the church of Cosmicism, the Academy of New Age, and the almighty palm reading that failed to warn us of the future’s most dangerous horizons, a dynamical duo lurked in its solar shadows while freely exploring a nocturnal narrative driven by melodic mystery and the rare rhythms found within the human connection to the bigger picture. Consisting of members Kat Epple and the late Bob Stohl, the Bay Area-based duo Emerald Web (Electronic Space Music) duo mentally bent the freakish fabrics of space and time while effortlessly combining the extraterrestrial elements that remind one of conquering the cardboard landscape of an epic Dungeons & Dragons campaign in your best friend’s basement. Surrounded by an ancient atmosphere and scentless candles that are slowly melting across the surface of your mother’s antique coffee table, its orange glow lighting the room with a soft and sacred hue, Emerald Web captured the essence of the imagination just as their contemporaries had done in the previous decades. Traveling the US throughout the early to mid-1980s, the band brought a catastrophic collection of brilliant instruments such as keyboards, flutes, Lyricon, and various digital orchestrations that conjured the ethereal elements of space and its never-ending narrative.
“Events in our lives and the people and places that surrounded us at the time inspired and influenced our music and gives it a sense of place. This can be heard on each of our albums. For example, our first album was written when we were living in a haunted mansion.”
Planting scientific seeds into alien soil, the duo met at UF in the early 1970s, and by the end of the decade, they had established the project before permanently settling in San Francisco to be closer to the cultural boom of the New Age scene and its ongoing quest, and eager enlightenment based in minerals, methodical mantras, and the expansion of the mind, body, and soul. Projecting their pulsating psalms into the alien air, Emerald Web performed at some of the most prestigious and unique venues, such as the Morrison Planetariums, New Age Music Festivals, Yoga Studios, The Oakland Zoo, Chabot Astronomical Observatory, The Exploratorium Science Museum, Chabot Astronomical Observatory, and countless other venues, the group eventually connected with the captain of cosmic contemplation, the great Carl Sagan to further invest in the cultural significance of electronic ecosystems in music. Having released over a dozen albums featuring titles such as the highly influential 1980 classic “Sound Trek,” “Aqua Regia,” “Catspaw" and countless others, Epple and Stohl broke through the barriers of experimentation by bringing the sacred sources of spiritualism and esoteric electronics to their audience in a way that can be heard by many musicians and artists exploring its endless features today. Where Emerald Web left off, Epple picked up, continuing not only the band’s legacy but Stohl’s, as most of their catalog has been released on vinyl, and Epple’s staggering solo career has spanned the last four decades and shows no signs of letting up anytime soon.
“The intention of our music was to tell a story and to transport the listener to another place and time. Our storylines are diverse, and each listener hears a unique narrative.”
