Hey Kidz,

 

Rollerball’s third free EP associated with Catholic Pause/Catholic Paws entitled Companion 3 The Thief on the Right (this one’s a mix of free jazz funk & songs, I highly recommend the track “Remodel”) is now available for free on our download page along with some free stuff from Kobi & Remora, www.silbermedia.com/downloads

 

We also have a few mini-sales going on where if you buy multiple items you can save some money at www.silbermedia.com/sale

 

Below are some recent reviews of the new discs by Kobi & If Thousands.

 

hrt

Brian John Mitchell

 

KOBI: DRONESYNDROME

Blending haunting atmospherics with percussive elements and spatial experimentation, Norwegian experimental/drone collective Kobi are here with their second release, Dronesyndrome. Shunning many of the ideas and restrictions associated with traditional formal musicality, the group, fronted by Kai Mikalsen, combine processed loops of electronic origin with found sounds and more organic instrumentation, also heavily processed. The album's nine tracks, adding up to over 50 minutes, flow together to form one long, cohesive piece.

Most of the tracks here, while instrumentally and sonically separate, carry a similar, almost tangible watery quality and share a similar broad spatial sense. Many are also commonly unsettling, dissonant organic swirls, unpredictable percussion, and familiar yet alien electronics and processed sounds/instruments providing a dark and eerie framework. "Faint Echoes Ran Round the Unseen Hall (Part 1)" is an appropriate introduction, heavily percussive albeit random, uneasy sonic swells bubbling up into a dark, lush sound. A heartbeat-like background loop provides the percussive drive for "Coined and Put Into Circulation" before its low-key ambience evolves into a spatially wider, less coherent blend of ambience and noise.

"Yellow Scales Slid Across Oily Rolls of Flushed Skin", on the other hand, is one of the disc's sparser, more noise-oriented offerings, an eight-and-a-half minute blend of processed electronic squeals and underlying, ever-changing percussion anchored by minimal low-pitched sounds. The following "Interspersed with Semi-Conscious Moments", even longer at nearly eleven minutes, continues in a similar noise-oriented fashion, replacing the electronic squeals of the former with more organic percussive and metallic sounds and, eventually, disconcerting string drones.

"Anchored to a Central Core of Saturated Intensity", the shortest track here, is also one of the most disturbing, a primal drone beneath a steady, reverb-drenched seemingly pre-recorded spoken word passage and strong spatial atmospherics. "The Evening was Unusually Sultry and Heavy", another rather impressive track, continues the drone of the former but throws in moody, melodic guitar and increasing strong distortion and noise elements as the track slowly folds in upon itself. An oddly mesmerizing spoken text about the coming of spring and the hunting and fishing traditions of a native population comes to the forefront on "This Inclusion is Not a Simple Operation". Its layered drones and watery noise fade into the background and grow into "The Existence of Another Goal" as the text loops and fades. The closing "Such Variations Will Be Encountered Again" returns to minimalism and noise, random string notes and scrapes atop percussive noise and subtle loops.

Both sonically interesting and emotionally effective, Kobi's Dronesyndrome is a rather compelling work. While its appeal may be largely limited to those with more experimental tastes, its haunting, uneasy soundscapes and cold, watery, unsettling atmospherics are oddly mesmerizing and powerful. Those interested in the darker side of drone shouldn't miss this one.

~ Joshua Heinrich, Grave Concerns

 

Norwegian Kobi is primarily the work of Kai Mikalsen, but Dronesyndrome shows how closely knit the Norwegian underground scene is as it includes contributions from a number of the most capable Norwegian droneheads and improvisers. Dronesyndrome is just like the title suggests an ocean-deep, slightly claustrophobic drone affair that is almost collage-like in its overall structure. I realize that I use that term loosely here as we’re talking about microscopic fragments and densely knit drone webs. Found sounds wrestle gently with conventional instruments like cello, double bass, accordion and guitar, but it’s rather the feel of a consistent and cohesive whole that best describes this darkly seducing drone machine.

~ Mats Gustafson, The Broken Face

 

 

IF THOUSANDS: I HAVE NOTHING

Hailing from Minnesota, duo Aaron Molina and Christian McShane, better known as If Thousands, have been dabbling in sonic experimentation and musical soundscapes since 2000. I Have Nothing, the band's fourth full-length, is the result of a two-day improvisational recording session with guests Paul Metzger on banjos and GST and 2i on horns. Blending more traditional, albeit sometimes unstructured, ambient/ethereal musical pieces ("pull") with experimental/noise collages ("marianas"), or sometimes combing the two (the lush ethereal synth and found sound blend of "walking otis", for example), the album is sonically interesting yet maintains a certain level of musicality. Impressively layered and processed, whether it be the disc's sparser ambient offerings or lush, rich sonic textures, the material here is an organic balance of strong improvisational instrumentation, processing that runs the gamut from reverse looping to pitch-shifting, and strong post-production and mixing.

While the album provides a fairly consistent, flowing soundtrack, certain pieces of the puzzle are rather inconspicuous while others definitely stand out. The aforementioned "providence" is rather compelling, a strong, full drone built around what appears to be processed strings and noise. "Cymbols", too, is particularly poignant, powerful synth passages atop layers of both straightforward and reversed metallic/percussive instrumentation. "Push", "caterwaul", and "trout" all add something of an eastern vibe to the music. The latter two are exceptionally strong with "caterwaul" focusing on the interplay between a lush ambient background and reverb-drenched string arpeggios, bends, and slides and "trout" taking a much more low-key approach with a sparser noise backdrop and more straightforward clean picked banjo.

"2i.gst" is another stunning track, largely horn based and blending the melodic and dissonant in an unsettling way not entirely dissimilar to Lydia Lunch's early work. The closing "stella and me" is, on the other hand, notably the most traditional musical track here, unexpectedly ending the album in a low-key bluegrass-tinged manner. The brief but memorable "cripsin glover" is, perhaps, its only competition in traditional musicality, simplistic and childlike in terms of sound and instrumentation; partially underpinned, however, by a darker layer.

If Thousands' I Have Nothing, as a whole, is a relatively solid and consistent album whose blend of sonic improvisation, instrumentation (and non-instrumentation) and interesting layering and production will likely appeal to those drawn to the experimental/noise end of the spectrum. However, from its sparser ambient drones to its lush, layered soundscapes, the album's overall sound and sometimes more melodic instrumentation and arrangements may also attract ambient and ethereal fans not typically drawn to…say…albums that use found sounds. At the very least, it's an interesting sonic excursion with lo-fi, organic appeal that deserves a listen from fans of the aforementioned genres.

~ Joshua Heinrich, Grave Concerns

 

Whilst shopping from Silber you might also want to check out If Thousands’ I Have Nothing, which also resides in the drone stratosphere but which offers something a whole lot less aggressive and more varied. Finely textured cloths of warm drones a la Stars of the Lid meet up with Indian ragas and dense clusters of sound dust that has me thinking about Flying Saucer Attack at their most abrasive. Nice.

~ Mats Gustafson, The Broken Face