Blue Plate Special: Keith Richie
Keith Richie is a Texas-born composer and producer whose music paints vivid sonic landscapes that blur the line between the earthly and the cosmic. Blending electronica, symphonica, and progressive ambient styles, his work channels the cinematic grandeur of John Williams, the atmospheric tension of John Carpenter, and the emotional resonance of Vangelis. The result is music that feels at once intimate and immense, with immersive soundtracks to imaginary worlds where technology, time, and space intertwine. Through his Maestoso persona, Keith crafts compositions that are both heroic and human, steeped in curiosity and a quiet reverence for the infinite.
Each of Richie’s albums unfolds like a film score for the mind, and a journey through futuristic realms and meditative spaces. From the shimmering serenity of Ambient Highways to the cinematic intensity of Dead Love: A Fever Dream of Terror, his soundscapes invite listeners to traverse alien vistas and inner worlds alike. Drawing on influences from Tangerine Dream to Carbon Based Lifeforms, Keith’s arrangements flow seamlessly from one movement to the next, evoking visual and emotional narratives that linger long after the final note fades. Through his label, Other Worlds Than These, he continues to release his music in every format imaginable, which is a fitting nod to a creator whose art is both timeless and boundless.
Some of my favorites from his catalog:
V Feeling – from the album Ambient Highways (2021)
Escape – from the album Electric Panda (2024)
There Are Other Worlds Than These – from the album Epica (2021)
Movement XIV (Blue Shift) – from the album Infinity, Vol.II: Singularities (2022)
The Forsaken Forest – from the album March of the Inanimate: Repossessed (2016)
Neutrino – from the album Ambient Highways (2021)
Maestoso – from the album C / T / F / O (2019)
Over the Horizon – from the album For the Willow Wept… (Sunrise Edition) (2017)
