Operating under the alias SURFACE 10, Southern California artist Dean De Benedictis has consistently drawn on his fascination with diverse genres and cultural traditions to deepen the richness of his musical output.
Electronic ambient music trailblazer Dean De Benedictis
Dean De Benedictis unveils the closing chapter of the “Salvaging” trilogy through Spotted Peccary Music—an audacious exploration of humanity, sound, and the concept of singularity.
The idea is set in the future, during the coming singularity, and all planets and celestial bodies are now shifting and morphing and changing as that same singularity.”— Dean De BenedictisLOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, August 21, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — After three decades immersed in electronic, ambient, experimental, and progressive music, Dean De Benedictis moves forward by reflecting on the past—transforming years of sounds, journeys, collaborations, and technological ventures into Salvaging the Future. This fitting conclusion to his monumental Salvaging trilogy is a drifting, searching, and quietly radiant work that examines history and anticipates what lies ahead. It is available worldwide today on CD, digital download, and all major streaming platforms: https://orcd.co/salvaging-the-future
For decades, De Benedictis has scaled mountains—both literally and musically—seeking the spaces where his music resides. He does not craft music about landscapes; he transports his studio into them: Mt. Adams, Mt. Saint Helens, Mt. Hood, Mt. Shasta and beyond. His compositions draw inspiration from and are formed in deserts, shorelines, mountain ranges, empty rooms, airports, and homes.
Assembled from unreleased material gathered over many years, the new record represents an effort to reclaim time itself—to collect fragments from different eras and reimagine them as a single, continuous, living expression. “The idea is set in the future,” reveals De Benedictis, “during the coming singularity, and all planets and celestial bodies are now shifting and morphing and changing as that same singularity.”
Where the trilogy commenced in the contemplative landscape of Salvaging The Past and progressed through the transitional energy of Salvaging The Present, Salvaging The Future arrives as the most expansive and elusive segment. It moves beyond the artist’s earlier space-music foundations into something more varied and harder to define: active, ambient, spacious, improvisational, and filled with a sense of movement. The album’s title suggests not only futurism but also a deeper human aspiration—that the future can be preserved through memory, care, and attention to what has come before. That hope is evident in the closing track, “Our Story Survives Collectively.”
The album took shape through years of travel, upheaval, technical challenges, and perseverance. The music itself was molded through an intensely personal and often demanding process, using custom sample libraries, re-synthesis, layered processing, and older computer systems treated as distinct creative instruments.
“My first Salvaging album in 2005, Salvaging The Past, was a collection of work created throughout the ‘90s in my home studio, where I was surrounded by physical synthesizers and racks of outboard gear. Sometime between that album and the next one, Salvaging The Present in 2015, I acquired my first laptop and lots of appropriate software (more laptops would soon follow). This changed the game, and my life, in ways that I couldn’t have imagined years earlier. I was already a traveler and an outdoorsman, so suddenly having the power to virtually access an entire studio within a little portable box was very liberating, conceptually and literally. I ended up travelling far and wide with the music, albeit mostly within US borders, but still found myself creating spontaneous productions in some of America’s most extreme natural environments. Over a period of about a decade-and-a-half, I lived a separate little lifetime of fair adventure with these devices, including some uncomfortable brushes with death.”
Salvaging The Future stands as both an ending and a continuation: a final chapter that feels less like a conclusion and more like a lingering signal from somewhere just ahead.
All music composed, performed, edited, designed, and conceptualized by Dean De Benedictis. Production locations were scattered throughout the US west coast but based primarily in Thousand Oaks and Santa Monica, CA. Extra recorded musicians, in addition to Apple loops, include: Lara De Benedictis (vocals), D’Von Charley (vocals and native flute), Nichole Michelle Jones (vocals), Lisa Claire Mitterer (vocals), Phil Williams (electric guitar). The album was mastered by Howard Givens at Spotted Peccary Studios, NW, Portland, OR; creative design by Daniel Pipitone at Spotted Peccary Studios, NE, Ligonier, PA.
Salvaging the Future (SPM-1703) is available as CD and for streaming and downloading, including high resolution studio master formats at https://spottedpeccary.com/shop/salvaging-the-future/
For artist interviews, reviews, or promotional requests, please contact Beth Ann Hilton via beth@spottedpeccary.com.
Tracklist:
1 My Love Is An Extinction Event 06:10
2 The Outer Links 06:31
3 Voca 03:35
4 They Fought To Sway 07:18
5 Urband Glacier Fund 06:27
6 ASMR Tragedy Lines 06:44
7 Salvaging My Story 07:12
8 Future Incandescence 06:32
9 All The Wild 04:27
10 Born Of Flight 07:09
11 Our Story Survives Collectively 09:15
Links:
Smartlink: https://orcd.co/salvaging-the-future
Dean De Benedictis Official Website: https://www.deandebenedictis.com/
Spotted Peccary Album Page: https://spottedpeccary.com/shop/salvaging-the-future/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6BCSEcveCvJsBbz2kyAZql?si=tNtm3OP1TQaEavJU9Z7PqQ
Bandcamp: https://ambientelectronic.bandcamp.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deandebenedictis
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spottedpeccary
About Dean De Benedictus
Dean De Benedictis’ music emerges from his determination to weave a common thread between opposing genres and mindsets, drawing from them a natural sense of emotion, vastness, and intrigue. This Southern California-based artist, recognized within the electronic ambient community as SURFACE 10, has always leveraged his curiosity about varied styles and cultures to enhance the depth of his musical expression. Like many artists, much of Dean’s work was created as a dedication and tool for his own life experiences—for instance, many pieces were made to accompany him and be listened to at specific locations (deserts, canyons, jungles, mountain regions, coastal areas, and unpopular-unpopulated places), thereby permanently linking the region with the music in his memory. He aims to offer a similar function for the experiences of his listeners. https://spottedpeccary.com/artists/dean-de-benedictis/ and https://www.deandebenedictis.com/
About Spotted Peccary Music
Based in Portland, Spotted Peccary Music stands as North America’s premier independent record label dedicated to deep, expansive, and introspective soundscapes. For four decades, the artists of Spotted Peccary have pursued a mission to develop, produce, publish, and release ultra-high-quality, deep-listening experiences that captivate the listener and surpass expectations. Every release is carefully prepared in a variety of high-quality formats from MP3 to high-resolution studio masters. In 2023, they were named Best Independent Record Label by the HIMAwards. Discover more than 200 titles and 50 artists released over 40 years of excellence. Explore perks of the 40th Retrospective celebration at https://spottedpeccary.com/spm40/ and shop for a Discovery Pack at
