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On first listen, besides dredging up memories of '70s polyester days and thinly veiled references to mid-day trysts, the thing that stands out about "Afternoon Delight" by the Starland Vocal Band is the synth line that soars through the cheeky vocals and acoustic kitsch. It almost sounds like they clipped it directly from Klaus Schulze to punctuate the swooning effect of sex during business hours. But the creator of that tone was no German space rock legend, it was Suzanne Ciani, a pioneer of early electronic music and future new age goddess.

Ciani was studying and almost working directly with Don Buchla, who along with Bob Moog, was one of the key developers of synth technology and electronic music in general. While Ciani was breaking new ground, along with her close friend Walter (soon to be Wendy) Carlos, and creating electronic music, she also whipped up jingles and tunes to some of the more famous commercials of the '70s, using the unique sounds of those early synths. She also worked with Phillip Glass during his nascent days as a minimalist in NYC. It would all set the stage for a career as one of the great new age musicians of the '80s and '90s.

Fast-forward to 1982: Ciani releases Seven Waves, which becomes a hit in Japan. It's almost purely synth-driven and infused with shades of color and emotion. In short, it's electronic music with a heart, and a warm-up for one of the most influential records of the next decade, The Velocity of Love.

The Velocity Of Love and Seven Waves were released on Peter Bauman's (Tangerine Dream) Private Music label, an imprint of BMG. Private was also home to a young Greek-American composer named Yanni, along with a hulking entertainment host named John Tesh. The Velocity of Love became a staple of "Wave"-format radio across the country, and almost single-handedly helped define that genre of adult-oriented radio. The title track is absolutely stunning, with Ciani exquisitely blending impressionistic piano with soft, atmospheric synths floating in and out of the mix. It's melancholic and yearning, and like any song with a great melody, it stands the test of time. While Yanni and Tesh slogged it out to see who would be the biggest new age dude on the block, Ciani just kept making beautiful music. Her piano-driven recordings Pianissimo II and Pianissimo III were recorded with Ciani performing on a one-of-a-kind Yamaha CFIIIS, a nine-foot, hand-built concert grand piano. They are marvelous displays of Ciani's command of the keyboard and its subtle nuances. Contemporaries like George Winston and Jim Brickman, both on Windham Hill, got more press and subsequently sold more records, but Ciani's piano works are easily their equal.

Ciani then began to branch out and work with an ensemble known as the Wave, which was composed of stellar players like Paul McCandless, Teja Bell and Michael Manring. Her Suzanne Ciani and the Wave Live!, recorded at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco, gives her songs a fullness that adds another dimension to her compositions.

Still in demand as both a performer and recording artist the world over, Ciani lives in a quiet little town just north of San Francisco. There on the coast, the Continental and Pacific plates sway in geomagnetic flux and the waves crash upon the shore all the way from China, carrying with them her inspiration.