Hey Kidz,

 

Jamie Barnes has a new free EP available through Sundays in Spring ( http://www.sundaysinspring.net ).  It takes a little navigating to find it, but it's there & it's free.

 

There have been those of you interested in the ability to get more Silber clothing, so we have put up a bunch of stuff via Café Press (or your own printer with an iron-on transfer).  Just go to www.silbermedia.com/apparel to check all the stuff out.

 

Below are some recent reviews.

 

Thanks for your interest & support, it means a lot to us.

 

hrt

Brian John Mitchell

 

KOBI: DRONESYNDROME

 

Organic, free-flowing, beautiful, Kobi's Dronesyndrome travels amongst meditative moods of calm, interweaving improvisatory dialogues with droning soundscapes. Like a carefully detailed relief map, the sounds glide gracefully over a varied landscape, creating intricate and compelling textures infused with the spontaneity of improvisation and the careful mixing of electronic and acoustic sound sources.

Mellowed synthetics and soft electronic loops create a backdrop for distant lines of guitar, percussion, and strings. The textures shift with enough movement to keep the music interesting, and despite the implication of "drone" in the title, the complexion of Dronesyndrome is actually quite varied.

As an electro-acoustic work, Kobi achieves a perfect balance of color and seamless intermingling of acoustic instruments, electronics, and natural sounds. The percussion and string instrument performances are of particular note . . . scraping, rummaging, pulsing; adding dimension and topography to the recording.

Inevitably the nature of Dronesyndrome is searching . . . unresolved. But the journey is one amongst many smaller moments of truth, satisfaction.

~ Static Signals

 

For practitioners of ambient drone music, there is a danger of creating a situation that leads to built in obsolescence. How do you make composition after composition of slowly evolving drones without duplicating yourself, without making the listener wish you'd just released an EP and been done with it?
Fortunately, Norwegian dronemeisters Kobi, led by Kai Mikalsen, are sensitive to this concern. They weave one sonic landscape after another of gradually evolving drones, but are sure to supply subtle shifts of texture and instrumentation to differentiate them. Effects-laden guitars and Mikalsen's synthetics are accompanied by a wide range of sounds, from the "dinosaur moans" and murmuring percussion of "Yellow Scales" to spoken word passages on "This Inclusion is not a Simple Operation." The result is nearly an hour of intriguing, often spooky, music that is anything but homogeneous.

~ Christian Carey, The Daily Copper

 

 

IF THOUSANDS: I HAVE NOTHING

 

On this, their sixth release, Duluth, Minnesota's If Thousands deliver fifteen stark, haunting dronescapes that evoke the loneliness (and beauty) inherent in wide open spaces. The album opens with "Push," a track whose droning organ and chattering guitars brings to mind Ry Cooder's work on the PARIS, TEXAS soundtrack. "Providence" is a dark, brooding piece, which sets up the flying saucer landing electronic flourishes of "Cymbal" nicely. "Children with Horns" (great title, and potentially a great band name) is more layered, with a horn section skronking over a drone bed. Within the context of the rest of the album the carnivalesque organ and upbeat, percussive plucking of "Crispin Glover" may seem slightly out of place, but again, the short piece serves to prepare the listener for another surprise; after a dronefest entitled "Alpha," the album ends with a sidestep into some high-lonesome banjo picking courtesy of Paul Metzger.

Had If Thousands main-men Christian McShane and Aaron Melina just strung these songs together, they would have had a kick-ass disc. Their close attention to sequencing and the ebb and flow of the songs makes it brilliant.

~ Neddal Ayad, Dead Angel

 

If Thousands comes from the snowy world of Duluth, Minnesota and is the project of both Christian McShane and Aaron Molina. I Have Nothing is their fourth release and is a return to their more experimental style established on their earliest releases. They use instruments in their recordings that they have little or no training on to make ambient, subtle music. They combine Indian textures with ambient soundscapes, among other things. Channeling the landscape where they live, If Thousands brings to the table a mix of interesting sounds that really communicate their environment.

“Push” begins this experimental exercise with Indian inspired textures floating upon slow drones sprinkled with other contrasting sounds. An accordion seems to breath in and out and the soundscape begins to stretch out for the listener. “Wisconsin Bomb” has a very lo-fi feel with stringed instruments and maybe a harpsichord or something that sounds similar. Pictured in my mind is the quietness of slow falling snow that wisps in the wind. It’s elegant even though it seems clunky at that same time. “Providence” flows out of this elegance with a loud, distorted drone. It’s almost angry as it travels along a bed of soft, quiet ambience.

“Marianas” begins in a more serene mood. Small, subtle ripples of sound wash over the listener while small layers of sound can be found midst the beautiful textures. This turns into a more chaotic rumble and includes some spacey sounds. “Cymbol” is a much darker piece with a more chaotic beginning. There are layers and layers of different sounds that eventually swim in a lighter toned chorus of ambience. This flows into “Walking Otis” with the chaos dropping out and a peaceful ambient piece starting. Keys rattle and a door opens, giving this peace a story telling feel. A bird chirps in the background as footsteps indicate someone, probably Otis, walking and going about his business.

“Caterwaul” has a beautiful, listful beginning with soft wind like sound and a glimmering drone that is almost playful. Quiet sliding guitar comes into the mix and adds a bit of a folk feel to the track. “Children With Horns” is a track that displays If Thousand’s abilities to play with volume. They are able to take you through a gamut of emotions and feelings with this track. “Trout” is a short track showcasing some guitar work mixed with miscellaneous sounds. This probably displays their experimental side the most.

“Shaitan” is also a very short track with a lo-fi style drone that whispers to the listener in tones like a whale. “Eventide” has a low rumble that fades in and out of the speakers. This is a very patient track that seems almost like something one could call ambient slocore. “2i.gst” plays off of “Eventide’s” sounds and mixes horn sounds to create a very deep and layered affect. “Crispin Glover” has more of a song structure with organ and some strange sounds keeping tempo. The track almost has a spooky, hypnotic feel. “Alpha” has a low drone with a high-pitched layer to it. The movement in the song has tension and beauty and really comes of the speakers as a dramatic piece. “Stella and Me” begins with Sufjan Stevens style banjo and has what sounds like the accordion. This folksy track finishes out the album on a light note and is quite apropos for the feel of the disc.

~~ Jason Lamoreaux, somewherecold.com