Ian Holloway & Darren Tate - Wet Rat Year

A dark and brutal set third time out from this pair as Holloway takes Tate's guitar and adds layers of dense and bleak instrumentation and atmospheres.

This is from Touching Extremes...

'Typically lovely cover artwork, with two nice dancing rats that just ask to be joined. The music is, one should say, “Dadaist as usual”: absolutely impossible in fact to predict what these men will do from a record to the next, especially when Darren Tate is involved. In this case, we have less drones and field recordings than the norm (except a beautiful conversation of honking ducks at the beginning of a track) and LOTS of distorted/warped guitars, digital delays in “hold” mode and, I presume, nonconformist analogue synthesis. In parts, the whole is unambiguously alluring, principia of acid degenerations reinforced by utter corrosions of the audio message (which is a desired effect). At the end of the CD, an FM radio station appears to further destabilize the residual comfort. Those who expect something along the coordinates of Monos, or the most bucolic sides of both artists, are going to remain seriously deluded. This is harsh stuff, achingly dissonant at times, but the substance is clearly visible for the knowledgeable ones.'

Wet Rat Year

Ian Holloway - Where have we been in the world today?

Holloway's albums seem to come in two varieties. The longform single track minimalist drone pieces (All God's Children, She Loves To See The Sky) and the more eclectic short track psychedelic electronica (Walking Through Fireflies, The Magpie Rhyme). This is the latter. If you like the Fireflies album then definitely give this one a go.

This is from Temporary Fault...

'The content here is definitely more variegated from one track to the next, ranging from broad-minded explorations of the galaxies of low frequency – the initial “Froodles” comes to mind - to unsympathetically discordant superimpositions of permanent keyboard clusters, as it happens in “Alpha Riddle”, often travelling through infinite repeats of hypnotic patterns and quivering waves ransacking our misrepresentation of a regular Saturday evening. In general, this is a less-uniform-than-usual record by Holloway, psychedelic to a degree; it doesn’t look for eminence in its relative poverty of compositional means, yet manages to appear as a bizarre embodiment of disguised fears right in the middle of an apparently calm setting. A piece such as “Wherewithall” (sic) might turn out to be a panacea for obsolescent babblers in need of a well-deserved rest, and the conclusive, wonderful “Jute” puts many self-professed shamans of artificial drone to shame. As constantly occurring in this man’s presentations, honesty can literally be smelled: this is the main reason of my appreciation and support.'

Where have we been in the world today?

Banks Bailey - Vibrations From The Holocene

Field recordings are always going to be a bit of a love / hate thing but there are some people who make deciding on the former much easier and Bailey is one of them. VFTH is a beautiful set of recordings sourced in and around the mountains of Arizona and a town in Ohio.

This is from Aquarius Records...

'Having contributed to a very nice collaborative drone record with Darren Tate and Ian Holloway about a year ago, Banks Bailey presents a solo offering of field recordings that mostly focus on the desert environs of his native Arizona. On this album, Bailey proves to be a very patient phonographer, as his recordings reveal a considered approach to choosing the sites to record and then waiting for those environments to erupt with sound. Anybody who has listened to Chris Watson's impeccable recordings and thought, "hmmm, I could do this too." has no doubt suffered from the frustration that such a task is far from easy. We'll be honest in saying that Bailey's aren't quite as good as Watson's (seriously, he's the best for a reason!), but don't take that as a swipe against Bailey's richly detailed sounds.'

Vibrations From The Holocene

Adrian Shenton - The Measuring of Moments

Nice set of gently melodic ambient strategies.

This is from Aquarius records...
'Shenton is less inclined toward the all consuming drone evocation, and more about steering Eno's ambient strategies into territories with a bit more drama incorporating plenty of light and shadow into this particularly autumnal album. At his darkest and perhaps most compelling, Shenton works unsettled punctuations of ominous strings into his sustained tones, half formed melodies caught in reverb cascades, and clusters of electronic shimmer. He also revisits some Tubular Bell motifs around soft arppegiations of synthesized chiming, not only bringing Mike Oldfield into the mix but also some of John Carpenter's incidental scores and sound design.'


The Measuring of Moments

Ian Holloway - A Lonely Place

Dark drone album that appeared on loads of best of 2008 lists over christmas and new year.

this is from Aquarius Records -
"[...] A Lonely Place is a breathtaking composition for time-stop dronemusik, achieving a similar stasis and similar dark beauty as Andrew Chalk did on his masterpiece East Of The Sun. It's hard to say what Holloway used as a source material for the album -- maybe guitar, maybe long-thin wire constructions, maybe field recordings, or maybe not. Like plenty of dronemusik before, it's the production that guides Holloway's success, as his deft manipulation of acoustics and electronics generates smoke, fog, and mirrors through sound that result in this amazing piece of long-form drone-smear. There's billowing swells of deep architectural space. Kosmiche electronics, rasping gong tones stretched toward infinity, and subharmonic thrumb swaddled in soft focus reverb. Think Expo '70 gone ashen black or Aidan Baker's ambient work at his most somber. Altogether wonderful, altogether very limited."

A Lonely Place

Banks Bailey, Darren Tate & Ian Holloway - Summerland

Second collaboration between Tate & Holloway this time with the added presence of Arizona field recordist Banks Bailey. His presence means that there's a significantly more organic feel than on The Moon As A Hole but the disquieting psychedelia is still there in spades.

this is from Rumbles -
Quite possibly sold out by now Summerlands is a calm and drifting mix of guitar and field recordings created by Banks Bailey, Darren Tate and Ian Holloway. Like watching the clouds drift past this is for fans of Pink Floyd circa "UmmaGumma", a highly inventive and playful collection the sounds of bees, birds and water taking the listener out into the hills.

Summerland

Ian Holloway - Mote

This is from the Psychic Space Invasion myspace blog...

Posted out over the weekend were all the copies of this years 'Xmas card' release by Ian Holloway, a mini-cd, called 'Mote'.

Like last years 'Ashram Psych Tip' album, Mote was produced in a very limited run and sent free of charge to a selection of friends and supporters of the music we make here in the Quiet World.

Ian Holloway - Mote

Itto - sound on an empty road

Itto is Ian Holloway of Psychic Space Invasion and Neil Rowling of Goatboy here producing a slow and sublime piece of dark ambience.

this is from Rumbles:-
Recently released on ecr Records, “Sound On An Empty Road” is an earthy, ghost filled drone that slowly evolves over 38 minutes creating a fragile archaic ritual that fills the room and pulls the listener in. Working under the name Itto, Ian Holloway and Neil Rowling have succeeded in producing a beautifully complete work that has a rich vibrant quality allowing the music room to breathe.

sound on an empty road

Darren Tate - Small Worlds

Darren Tate is one of the foremost musicians working in the UK drone scene. He has been active since the late 80's through collaborations with Andrew Chalk (as Ora) and Colin Potter (as Monos) as well as with people such as Andrew Liles, Paul Bradley and Ian Holloway.

This is from Evening of Light - "The second release on Welsh drone/ambient label Quiet World is this one: Small Worlds by one of England's most experienced drone artists, Darren Tate (also of Ora and Monos). It seems the collaboration between him and Quiet World owner Ian Holloway was so pleasant that the latter decided to release one of Tate's albums as well. Another good turn of events for the label, because although Small Worlds is again a record only for obscure ambient connoisseurs, it definitely fits the label. I haven't heard any of Tate's other works yet, but on this one, he presents an approach to ambient that is minimalistic and estranging, yet betrays a subtle touch of someone who knows what he's doing. The first of the three untitled tracks, the shortest one, is based on some spacy floating melodies, with added drones, little touches, and effects. The second track is a bit heavier, with a thick distorted drone in the background, which is joined later by faint electric guitar sounds: random notes, delay, tuning and detuning. The final track, which takes up over half of the album's duration, starts off with a fluctuating drone, occasional bits of organ, and more guitar sounds. These elements all go through a gradual development, which especially the drone increasing in intensity. As befits the title of the album, Tate conjures up little worlds of his own, each with a distinct sound and mood. Literally otherworldly. I think the album should be interesting for lovers of deep drones, calm and quiet listening sessions, and the like. But, like many of the releases from the people around Quiet World, this isn't for casual listeners an account of its being very minimalistic. Similarly, the release doesn't transcend its genre boundaries: it's a quality drone album for insiders, plain and simple."

Small Worlds

Ian Holloway - Walking Through Fireflies

A slight change in direction here with a softer, more musical, ambient release. I like the way this album straddles the psychedelia of the early Psychic Space Invasion albums with the drone minimalism of the later ones.

This is from Touching Extremes - "There are records that just don't ask for more than their sheer existence, and that people play hundreds of times without any real reason, simply content of keeping them functioning in that fragment of time in which they're enjoyed. Ian Holloway's "Walking through fireflies" is one of these items. This music's constituents are few and not necessarily new: familiar-sounding low frequencies (probably deriving from synthesizers), processed guitars, piano, altered voices (I'm not fond of the latter, but Holloway being a serious man I'll gladly accept this, too) and, whenever a melody appears, it's extremely simple, slow, almost uncertain. This would seem to depict a customary darkish ambient outing, one of the dozens that visit my CD player once, then will be forgotten until I die. Not so, as this album gains its strength when we insert its unassuming tranquillity amidst the regular activities, especially if the weather allows us to leave windows open. Yes, I'm aware that I keep repeating this advice in too many occasions. Still, take advantage of quietness when you have a chance: barely hinted keyboard clusters and echoing resonant waves can work wonders together with the hiss of the wind, a distant barking dog or the faraway cars accelerating for a quicker return to home. Everything seems to fall in place, our soul finally distracted from preoccupations but, at the same time, conscious that another difficult tomorrow is knocking at the door. We all know that music (meaning the essential vibration, not Mozart or Madonna) is not what prevents mankind from getting nerve-wrecked; unfortunately, this depends on the absence of an actual cerebral evolution, because instead it could. Working on such a subliminal level, this stuff goes well beyond the surface of a distract judgement. Remember: whispering volume in a peaceful environment, otherwise it won't help."

Ian Holloway - New Seasons


Walking Through Fireflies

Psychic Space Invasion - Pendulum

My favourite of all the Psychic Space Invasion albums.

This is from Evening of Light -

"Psychic Space Invasion is Ian Holloway's main project, and Pendulum is already the eighth release by this project, if I understand correctly. Mr. Holloway has thus had ample experience in electronic music, and that shows. This album is built up solely of drones, loops and effects, but he makes into a gripping adventure that is quite unlike most drone albums, and indeed also different from the other PSI material I've heard so far.

The album consists of six untitled tracks that are all built up using the same technique. Many layers of looped drones are combined with effects. Now, where your usual drone or ambient album often lacks a pronounced rhythm, that is not the case here. The loops work in such a way that they put forth a distinct pulsating cadence, realised not only in the swell of the drone, but also accented perfectly by the soft glitches between loops. Various effects add different frequencies to the whole, and provide additional depth. Like I said, all of the tracks are built up in this same manner, but that definitely does not mean they all sound alike; rather, each has a unique character and sound palette. The low drones don't claim the lead role as they often do in this kind of music, but they are but one of the elements in these tracks. Many higher frequency sounds provide the necessary variation.

This combination of sounds and subtle rhythms make this an extremely hypnotic and engrossing album. Rather than aiming for a particular visual or concrete atmosphere, this music completely immerses you in pure, warm sound, and it does it well. This is definitely something for trippy electronic music freaks only, as it might be somewhat of an acquired taste, but I'll be returning to this album often. "

Pendulum

Experimental Audio Research - Continuum

EAR is essentially the work of Pete Kember of Spaceman 3. As much as i loved the old band it is his EAR output that I'm most besotted with and this is my favourite (although data rape runs it a very close second). Continuum is a beautifully stoned electronic swirl I hope you dig it.

Continuum

Nurse With Wound - The Ladies Home Tickler

This is the album that got me hooked on the wonder that is NWW. It's two tracks of dada wonderfulness. I still love this more than any of the others simply because it's just so daft.

Are you a real doctor?

The Ladies Home Tickler

Elliott Sharp & Zeena Parkins - Blackburst Psycho-Acoustic

A firey and focused collaboration by harpist Parkins and instrumentalist Sharp. It's not often you get to hear two musicians responding to and playing off each other to quite this extent. The music feels angular and jagged but also wonderfully intimate.
I recently dug this out from the recesses of my collection and it was better than i remembered so i thought i'd share it with you lovely people.

Blackburst Psycho-Acoustic

Ganger - Fore

This is a collection of early cuts from this fantastic scottish band.
they parted ways a while back but the records they made are still fantastic. They made one album - Hammock Time (click the tab for it) - a variety of singles and eps. the early ones are impossible to find so they were collected here.
This is my favourite of them all. i love this album.

Ganger - Fore

Jebus - The Ants Are Eating My Head

Suitably silly title for this fully improvised electronic psychedelic soundclash from Ian Holloway (of Psychic Space Invasion) and Nik Jenkins & Neil Rowling (of Goatboy). On the original release track 4 was hidden after 2 or 3 minutes of silence at the end of track 3. This version has the two tracks separated out.

This is from Touching Extremes - 'This record is the outcome of a 6-hour session where the musicians exchanged roles amidst an array of instruments including guitars, samplers and theremin bathed in effects and assorted "electrical gadgetry". Three long improvised tracks containing noise, drones and surprises in large doses; these psychedelic pastiches of incorporeal abrasions have their own character, yet they function best as filling material for your head to forget about life's troubles. Nevertheless, the partially menacing environment surrounding the atmosphere is enough to keep an eye open, even when concentration starts dwindling.'

The Ants Are Eating My Head

Jean-Herve Peron at the LMC

This is Faust bassist / vocalist JhP performing Faust tracks at the LMC festival on 29th May 2000. he's joined by Chris Cutler (Drums) and Simon King (Guitar).
It's pretty lo-fi but great fun. the version of it's a bit of a pain is the best I've ever heard.
This is taken from the Faust-Pages site which you really should check out for more goodies including the entire Faust- Redux album.

Jean Herve-Peron at the LMC

Monos - Nightfall Sunshine

Monos is the long standing duo of Darren Tate and Colin Potter.
Between them the pair have amassed a massive discography both together and separately. This wealth of experience really shines on what I think is their finest work - this one. I don't really have much to say on this so i'm going to let the music talk for me. It's been a while since the last Monos album but apparently there's a new one imminent.
Enjoy.

this is from All Music Guide - 'Darren Tate (of ORA) and Colin Potter (Nurse With Wound affiliate and of ORA too) have created a beautiful album of understated music. The title Nightfall Sunshine translates surprisingly well the feelings of strange serenity washing through the listener. Tate has provided field recordings that Potter electronically processed in the studio, the pair adding what appears to be analog electronics along the way. Each of the five pieces provides an ambient soundscape of nature sounds, processed drones, background textures, and light, tasteful synthesizer accompaniment. This is dreaming wide awake in the post-industrial world. The pair has achieved a high level of aesthetic beauty -- almost plastic -- without turning the music into something formalist, cold, or clichéd. "In the Wood" amalgamates the sounds of a water stream, a rising shroud of electrical textures, and almost unnoticeable synth notes to create a compelling piece. The closing "Sunrise," with its bird songs and fragile electric piano motif, may be just a bit too new age for its own good, but it finds its place in the context of the album. Nightfall Sunshine sure sounds less experimental or challenging than most productions released by the German label Die Stadt, but the obvious care and love that were put into it make it a rewarding listen.'

Monos - Nightfall Sunshine

Keith Berry - A Strange Feather

a nice little digital sounding soundscape from UK drone musician released on Twenty Hertz.

This is from the Wire - 'Over recent years, Keith Berry has quietly produced an evocative body of glassine minimalist music that flirts along the event horizon of audibility with releases on trente oiseaux and Crouton. Heavily indebted to the contemplative quiet of Zen teachings, Berry works with sound from the inside out, moulding delicate fragments of sound into timbrally radiant swells that tumble in and out of silence through evolving patterns and repetitions. The thoroughly compelling A Strange Feather emerges as a snowdrift kaleidoscope in cold greys, wet greens and luminous whites. Within these elegant swells of wintry sound, gestural events punctuate Berry's blurred orchestration with down-pitched tactile bristlings and delicate electric vibrations. With the possible exception of Thomas Köner and William Basinski at their very best, no one else gets close to the overwhelming beauty and sombre tranquillity of Keith Berry's work.'

A Strange Feather

Psychic Space Invasion - The Magpie Rhyme

One of the more angular entries in Ian's discography. 'The Magpie Rhyme' is a piece of dark psychedelic whimsy that brings together found sounds, acoustic instruments and assorted ephemera.

This is from Vital - ''The Magpie Rhyme' is the latest release by Psychic Space Invasion, and, again according to the information, sees a return to 'the more abstracted ambient territories that characterized previous releases'. Holloway uses here guitar, harmonica and melody horn, along with a box of broken glass. Here the music is also lurking in ambient corners, but is throughout more musical and less based on drone music. Strange percussive sounds and guitar feedback set against a wall of ambient sounds, making this is a more massive release, filled with sound from every corner.'

The Magpie Rhyme