Phill Niblock

Nothin' to Look at Just a Record

★★★½

Niblock's work is intense, not in the way of say free jazz or improv, but because of its density and on-the-surface simplicity. When you dig deeper into his drones however it's quite obvious that there's nothing simple about his music. Each piece is living and massive. 

Listening to this you can pick up some of the music that inspired Niblock, such as the avant music of the time. People like Tony Conrad or La Monte Young, he brings his own approach to what they had already paved out in the music scene. There's only two pieces here; both simply made up of trombone playing and edits.

The first piece, aptly named "A Trombone Piece", is a drone that shifts in and out of two main areas. One is light and fluffy, while the other immediately sinks to the darkest reaches of the Earth's core. I prefer the second, but it's quite lovely to see the transformations. Each one seems to hit you like a wave until you're moved to place completely different from where you started. Quite the strong current. 

The second piece called "A Third Trombone" seems to be a lot more stable and constant. There's less of a change or shift, everything is immobile and sturdy. This isn't unlike the rest of Niblock's work but I know after he went digital everything took on this grander and more vivid form. Good to see the beginnings. 

Favorite Song: A Trombone Piece