An icon of electronic music, Suzanne Ciani has blanketed the world with her rich, flowing compositions for over three decades. With 15 albums to her credit, Ciani knows exactly what it takes to turn her song sketches into fully realized, world-class recordings.

For her latest award-winning CD Sliver Ship, Suzanne employed one of Roland’s finest synth modules: the Fantom-XR. “Basically, I used the Fantom-XR in two ways,” she explains. “I used it to mock up all of the parts while doing the arrangements for strings, oboe, flute, cello solo, guitar, and bass. Then, for the recording, I created the electronic sonic design for the piece called ‘Snow Crystals’ using the XR’s digital output for a really clean signal. The Fantom-XR is a great tool — very easy to navigate and quite editable.”

Ciani describes her new CD as “a recording that bridges between the East Coast and the West Coast, between Europe and the United States, between my early days and the present, between acoustic and electronic sounds, and between joy and sadness.” All tracks were composed, produced, and arranged by Ciani, with string arrangements by Mitch Farber. Featured on acoustic piano and synthesizers, Ciani was joined on the CD by her band The Wave, which includes reed player Paul McCandless, flautist Matt Eakle, guitarist Teja Bell, and fretless bassist extraordinaire Michael Manring. Also contributing to the record was cellist Joe Hebert.

Ciani is no newcomer to synthesis, or to Roland instruments. “I have used Roland gear for about 25 years now,” she says, “going back to the MC-4 and the MC-8 used on my first recording, Seven Waves. In fact, I love ‘vintage’ synths. and used the Roland D-550 extensively on Silver Ship as well.”

For more on Suzanne, visit her online at www.sevwave.com.