We are either going to dissolve as a human race or we are going to break through into a new understanding of what it is to be a human being.

It can be found when listening to the fictional radio station "The Journey". Produced and directed by Robert Ashley. Techniques
Riley's music is usually based on improvising through a series of modal figures of different lengths such as in In C (1964) and the Keyboard Studies.

His work has been deeply influenced by both jazz and Indian classical music.