Trepaneringsritualen - "Septentrional" (2010)

"Sose benrenki, sose bluotrenki, sose lidirenki: ben zi bena, bluot zi bluoda, lid zi geliden, sose gelimida sin."

 Septentrional

Vatnajökull - "Drifting Ice Station" (2008)

Static, formless... arctic field recordings slightly build and eventually meld into soundscapes as fragile as splintering ice. The end result: a frigid, fleeting atmosphere.

D R I F T I N G  I C E  S T A T I O N

Eleh - "Radiant Intervals" (2010)

  

E X P E R I E N C E   E L E H   E T E R N A L

Treetops - "North" (2008)

This tape is as hazy as an overcast summer day with allergens floating around. A certain lo-fi grittiness in the production combined with weightless synth progressions, this one's sure to induce narcolepsy. I'm seriously a lot more tired... or just more relaxed than I was fifteen minutes ago.

Power-naps here.

Mark McGuire - "Language Barrier" (2009)

 

Mark McGuire, not to be confused with infamous 'roid-filled slugger, Mark McGwire, is a member of Cleveland-based cosmic masters, Emeralds.  Language Barrier features similar epic landscapes with guitar loops building into harmonious rhythms.  All the standard droning effects are here plus some: delay, reverb, a multi-layered blanket of riffs to warm up to when looking at the chilly album artwork.  The sun still shines onto the melting snow -- there are rejuvenating aspects of the sound here too.  Galloping delay riffs like in "Mind Games" drive the snowdrifts through the tundra of arpeggiators.  Admittedly, the electronic drone scene is overrun, and like the ballplayer, a little too synthetic to form a whole lot of respect for.  But it's about making a name for one's self, and both McGuire and McGwire have earned enough fans and have impressive enough stats/releases to realize that whatever they do in their respective focuses deserves some kind of attention.

Language Barrier

Calypso Borealis - "Ore Bowal" (2011)

 
I'm jealous of this dude's drones. Hailing from France, Calypso Borealis has an expansive catalog of tapes released by various prestigious labels including Cloud Valley, Existential Cloth, House of Sun, etc… Ore Bowal resonates the dapper aesthetic of its releasing label, Hooker Vision. Track titles reflect the foreign dialect of an imaginary rainforest, the listener evaporating into a humid atmosphere. Pollen-releasing swells and simmers carry with fluidity and craftsmanship. Also, the tape-bends on this are out of this ecosystem. There is enough playtime with this release to leave the listener satisfied, yet mystified enough to crave additional trips.

Ore Bowal

Arizona Jaguar - "1993 - 2009" (2009)

Arizona Jaguar is a psychedelic ambient trio who released their only tape entitled, 1993 - 2009, in 2009. Reminiscent of an amalgamation of Enno Velthuys's ambient works in the late '80s and Prehistoric Blackout's Wake Up Dead, Arizona Jaguar showcase their talent for creating gorgeous, albeit fleeting, ambient soundscapes.

Sesquidecade.

Earth Station - "Control Belief" (2009)

Control Belief is the soundtrack to a scene where the last colony of humans left on Earth are boarding a spaceship, abandoning the planet in search of a more hospitable one in a far, distant galaxy. Loops of synth-based tones and humming drones are accompanied by quirky vintage electronic blips and bloops that span the vast, albeit short, soundscape that is Control Belief.

Earth Station all night.

Pregnant Spore - "Amoeba-Like Identity" (2011)

Baltimore sound artist, Justin Mark Lloyd (Dementia And Hope Trails, Dim Dusk Moving Gloom), released some of his best material last year, one of which being his split with the dreadful, Mold Omen -- an exceptional piece of noise music that did not leave my player for quite some time -- and Amoeba-Like Identity is no exception. Lloyd utilizes metal-on-metal effects, harsh fuzzy feedback, and other not-of-this-world extracts from who knows where to create his unique style of frantic noise collage. And despite the record being no easy listen (coming in at just under an hour in length), I find myself coming back to it more and more frequently.

KNOCK UP SPORES, NEVER CALL DEM BACK.

Sports / Teeth Collection - "Split" (2007)

Noise/drone artists, Sports and Teeth Collection, have come together with one offering each, and with them, created one of the eeriest albums around! Abrupt, loud thuds and mysterious vibrations make up a good portion of the album's atmosphere as it drones and lurches for just over a quarter of an hour long. Fantastic music to lay down in a graveyard to.

Split

Some Japanese Drone...

Nobuto Suda - "Modest Calm" (2011)

Nobuto Suda is a drone artist from Japan with a brilliant discography. Every song has a purpose, each swell thick with contemplation. Modest Calm is a phenomenal record.

Modest Calm

Miki Yui - "Silence Resounding" (2003)

Japanese minimal artist, Miki Yui's, Silence Resounding is an astounding release. Her musical base lies in electronic tones & field recordings making for an extremely therapeutic listen. Although any tendency toward melody is absent, Silence Resounding's ability to capture the complex, organic sounds of everyday life makes it a must-have for rainy spring days.

Silence Resounding

SOUNDS 4 WEIRDOS

Everyday Loneliness - "Appropriation" (2009)

Appropriation is an incredible release; soothing tape loops manipulated & mingling with subtle, low quality drones render this tape nearly nirvana. You will be somber after listening to this -- akin to Basinski's Disintegration Loops or Crown of Cerberus's Awakening, this is therapeutically meditative ambient bliss from Jon Borges (Black Air, Emaciator)... and that should tell you a lot.

Appropriation

Mirror To Mirror - "Rerest" (2009)


Mirror To Mirror is a pleasant ambient project from Alex Twomey (of the tiny Jugular Forest label). Rerest feels weightless in its ability to create vivid dream-like atmospheres with swells of subtle, memorable progressions -- all recorded in wonderful low realization.

Rerest

Failing Lights - "Black Swamps" (2007)


Failing Lights is the experimental/noise project of Mike Connelly from Wolf Eyes. There are plenty of harsh sounds and atypical textures on here that brush wonderfully right up against hissing and crackling sound loops. An eccentric release that will not be leaving my ears anytime soon; highly recommended.

Black Swamps

Pet Coffins - "Untitled" (2008)


Pet Coffins is a relatively unknown drone project that draws much comparison to the likes of Color Dream or Caen. It is very easy to get lost in this one -- too bad it isn't longer because I didn't want to be found.

Untitled

Impregnable - "Beauty Stone" (2006)


Impregnable is perhaps my favorite project from sound artist Jeff Witscher (also of Marble Sky, Secret Abuse, Rene Hell). Although Impregnable often sees Witscher producing clamorous, harsh records, Beauty Stone takes a look at his quieter, more focused side. A lovely piece of work.

Beauty Stone

Windy & Carl / Amp - "Split" (1997)

Windy & Carl's most memorable song is on this little split. "Near And Far" is lovely and ethereal as Windy's breathy whispering voice hums over warm, vibrating guitar drones. Amp's side is also superb and passes by simply and beautifully and paced like a cloudy spring day. Truly a gem of a release and relatively unknown, this is very highly recommended.

Split

Craig Colorusso - "Sun Boxes" (2011)

Bliss.
The blissful sun shimmers.
Sunshine shimmers glints blissfully overhead.
All-encompassing rays of sunlight glimmer.
Shards of ice melt in a tub of warm sound.
Crickets,
Chirping in fields of cloud-parted sky.
Sweating soothing textures,
Nature hums a bright tune.
Blessing hearers,
O' blissful whistle.

I've attempted to emulate the vibe of Sun Boxes in the poem above. When sunlight reaches the receptive solar panels, it sets off a varying guitar note loop in each of twenty boxes, comprising a Bb chord. A splendid coalescing of nature and technology, Sun Boxes gives back to the inspiration of natural energy, space and time. From the beach, to the frozen pond and grassy field (the latter two of which you will hear), different terrains contribute their own personality to each recording. The boxes coincide with habitats galore -- allowing insects and vegetation (or whoever happens to pass through) to get a different sensation of the center of our solar system. Imagine the Sun strumming a guitar ever-so-gently with its heat-waves... what is more relaxing than hearing the same warmth that hugs your skin on a clear day, resonate through speakers in song? So thanks, Craig, for this breath of fresh sound. And no, Temptations, you don't have sunshine on a cloudy day... when the sun shines through, we have cleverly constructed drone.

Download, transfer to a portable player, then traverse to a distant land-form.

Koen Holtkamp - "Field Rituals" (2008)

Field Rituals is an emotion-wrenching offering from sound artist Koen Holtkamp -- mixing field recordings and divine drones to create a reflective soundtrack of everyday life. Superbly mixed, the sound quality is as fresh as the brisk dew on a blade of grass. There is quite the array of instrumentation, lulling vocals included, and the listener is teleported into a variety of aural settings. All blissfully blended to perfection.

Inquire within.

Earth - "Earth 2 - Special Low Frequency Version" (1993)

If you consider yourself a drone fan whatsoever and do not own this yet, then you need to immediately stop calling yourself a drone fan. Respect your elders, Earth show what drone is truly about on this legendary album that is the definition of backbreaking heaviness. The cover art paints a scene truly indicative of what the recording represents: a massive slab of flat, unmoving grassland earth set among a monolithic, cloudless blue sky, a tiny encampment nestled in the corner practically unnoticeable with a quick glance. Similarly, Earth's music is gigantic; it lurches and drags and hangs in the air, overstaying its welcome. It is unmoving, yet relentlessly heavy. The sheer weight of this classic is tremendously obvious -- let it weigh on your fucking soul.

Alas, our bodies will go back to the ground one day, nay... they will go back to the E A R T H!

Talkingmakesnosense / Death Register - "Split" (2010)

It is barely even there; watch it float away /// grab it before it slips between your fingers --

Fennesz - "Endless Summer" (2006)

Noisy as it is chill, Endless Summer is the soundtrack to your far-off memories -- a cut-up version of your favorite nostalgia. Acoustic guitar melodies blow over sandy synth sounds. The digital manipulation creates a slew of ambiguous blips, yet a faint Ducktails-esque tune can be heard underlying the mess. It's like a wet day at the beach. The sunshine shares the atmosphere with rain-clouds, and somehow, it works. Electronic patterns drizzle down; sunny strokes evaporate the salty puddles. Together with the cover art and the title itself, the sound swells with humidity. Aesthetically, Endless Summer is rather homemade, but like family home videos, you will be returning to this again and again because of the past emotions it invokes.

HOT, HOT, HOT.

Black Eagle Child / Thoughts On Air - "Split" (2010)

Black Eagle Child and Thoughts On Air celebrate all that is D R O N E music with unpolished production, acoustic guitars, and sparse tribal percussion. The sounds found here have ritualistic leanings and are at times, pure bliss with Black Eagle Child's side resounding beautifully and proudly. And Thoughts On Air plays true to his moniker creating breathtaking, meandering vibrations of silky psychedelic fuzz. Do not miss out on this one.

Split

Various Artists - "Dronography Mixtape" (2011)

I'm blessed to have friends and colleagues in the underground music scene that were able to contribute to this compilation. Feast your ears in this whirlpool of textures. Become engulfed in the calming atmosphere, and allow yourself to escape the trivial stress of the day. Drones vary on this one: from airy ambient, to spaced-out U.F.O. signals, to turbulent earthquake rumblings. Each hugs your auditory canals (especially with a giant pair of headphones) and soothes the soul. Make like the Soundscapes Channel and throw this mixtape on your iPod -- then go watch a sunset. Or perhaps you are more a fan of seeing CEVs. Meditate or let the mix-tape accompany your work. Regardless, the instrumental aesthetic suits the broadest demographic -- even if only used for background music.

Just relax...