.gif)
Austere (band)
Encyclopedia
Austere is an anonymous
, obscurantist electronic music
'band' that has covered a wide variety of styles in their releases: psybient
, psychedelic ambient, ambient
, dark ambient
, drone
, glitch-ambient
, downtempo
-style drum and bass
and Classical Minimalism music. The group started working together in 1997, with their first release on 01 January 1998
, and is loosely based in the Pacific Northwest
in Portlandia
, Oregon
due to their connection to Sound-O-Mat Recordings which is located there.
The two members have lived in various places, such as New York City
, NY
; London
, UK
; Portlandia
, OR
; Seattle, WA;Brighton
, UK
and SF, CA
amongst many.
Their Classical
Minimalism recordings: "Convergence", "Eco", "Pulse" and "Vox" all draw upon composer
Steve Reich
's Process Music
approach, as defined by his 1968
manifesto
"Music as a Gradual Process."
They have collaborated with a number of musicians/bands including Abstract Audio Systems (New York City
), In The Now (Brighton
, UK
) and Stephen Philips, owner of Dark Duck Records.
They have contributed to videos and films: the soundtrack for The Thin Horizon, an independent film written, directed and produced by Michael Peters of Artifexwerks located in Forest Grove
, Oregon
; a track from the Dark Duck Records Drone Download Project was used Claude's Room, also an independent film. They have also contributed to several music videos, such as the Abandon video, and most recently, the Tiny Danser.
It had been confirmed that both the members of the band are avid lovers of the popcorn variety of "Dum Dum's
" lollipops.
Austere's members have recorded solo works, as The Mystifying Oracle and Freq. Magnet. The latter has released three full CDs, a DVD, and a recent track on a Hypnos compilation CD.
s, four extended play
CDEPs, ten compilation appearances
, including several on Hypnos and a 6 hour compilation box set of previously released and three unreleased tracks.
All Austere releases are distributed by the ambient label Hypnos Records, and the band has signed with the labels Hypnos
and Blue Water Records in 2007.
Anonymous
- People :* Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an anonymous, undisclosed, or unknown creator or author* Anonymous IV, a 13th century English student of medieval music theory whose works are a major source for modern scholars of that era...
, obscurantist electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
'band' that has covered a wide variety of styles in their releases: psybient
Psybient
Psybient, also known as ambient psy, psychedelic chillout, psychedelic ambient, ambient goa, ambient psytrance and more commonly within the Goa/psytrance scene as psychill and psydub, is a genre of electronic music that combines elements of psychedelic trance, ambient, world music, new age and even...
, psychedelic ambient, ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
, dark ambient
Dark ambient
Dark ambient is a subgenre of ambient music that features foreboding, ominous, or discordant overtones. Although it had its roots in the 1970s, Dark ambient emerged in the 1980s and 1990s with the introduction of newer, smaller, and more affordable Effects units, synthesizer and sampling technology...
, drone
Drone music
Drone music is a minimalist musical style that emphasizes the use of sustained or repeated sounds, notes, or tone-clusters – called drones. It is typically characterized by lengthy audio programs with relatively slight harmonic variations throughout each piece compared to other musics...
, glitch-ambient
Glitch (music)
Glitch is a term used to describe a genre of electronic music that emerged in the mid to late 1990s. The glitch aesthetic is characterized by a deliberate use of glitch based sonic artifacts that would normally be viewed as unwanted disturbances reducing the overall sound quality and are thus...
, downtempo
Downtempo
Downtempo is a laid-back electronic music style similar to ambient music, but usually with a beat or groove unlike the beatless forms of Ambient music. The beat is sometimes made from loops that have a hypnotic feeling...
-style drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
and Classical Minimalism music. The group started working together in 1997, with their first release on 01 January 1998
1998 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...
, and is loosely based in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
in Portlandia
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
due to their connection to Sound-O-Mat Recordings which is located there.
The two members have lived in various places, such as New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, NY
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
; London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UK
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
; Portlandia
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, OR
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
; Seattle, WA;Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, UK
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and SF, CA
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
amongst many.
Their Classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
Minimalism recordings: "Convergence", "Eco", "Pulse" and "Vox" all draw upon composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
's Process Music
Process music
Process music is music that arises from a process. It may make that process audible to the listener, or the process may be concealed. Primarily begun in the 1960s, diverse composers have employed divergent methods and styles of process...
approach, as defined by his 1968
1968 in music
-Events:*January 4 – Guitarist Jimi Hendrix is jailed by Stockholm police, after trashing a hotel room during a drunken fist fight with bassist Noel Redding.*January 6 – Gibson Guitar Corporation patents its Gibson Flying V electric guitar design....
manifesto
Manifesto
A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...
"Music as a Gradual Process."
They have collaborated with a number of musicians/bands including Abstract Audio Systems (New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
), In The Now (Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, UK
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) and Stephen Philips, owner of Dark Duck Records.
They have contributed to videos and films: the soundtrack for The Thin Horizon, an independent film written, directed and produced by Michael Peters of Artifexwerks located in Forest Grove
Forest Grove, Oregon
Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, west of Portland. Originally a small farm town, it is now primarily a bedroom suburb of Portland. Settled in the 1840s, the town was platted in 1850 and then incorporated in 1872 and was the first city in Washington County...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
; a track from the Dark Duck Records Drone Download Project was used Claude's Room, also an independent film. They have also contributed to several music videos, such as the Abandon video, and most recently, the Tiny Danser.
It had been confirmed that both the members of the band are avid lovers of the popcorn variety of "Dum Dum's
Dum Dum
Dum Dum is a city and a municipality in North 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is a neighbourhood in North-west Kolkata and the location of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, formerly Dum Dum Airport.Dum Dum is a well known place in greater Kolkata...
" lollipops.
Austere's members have recorded solo works, as The Mystifying Oracle and Freq. Magnet. The latter has released three full CDs, a DVD, and a recent track on a Hypnos compilation CD.
Discography
The discography of Austere, includes thirteen studio albumStudio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
s, four extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
CDEPs, ten compilation appearances
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, including several on Hypnos and a 6 hour compilation box set of previously released and three unreleased tracks.
Albums
| Released | Title | Other information | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 January 1998 | Convergence (CD) | Originally a CDR released by the band. Reissued on CD by Sound-O-Mat Recordings in 2005. | Sound-O-Mat Recordings (SOM#01) |
| October 1999 | Monodia (CDR) | Limited edition of 50 and 15 promo copies (65 total), long out-of-print. | Sound-O-Mat Recordings (SOM#02) |
| February 2000 | fade (CDR) | Sound-O-Mat Recordings (SOM#03) | |
| October 2000; reissued 2006 | Curio (CDR) | First limited edition of 50 with gold foil. Reissued by Sound-O-Mat Recordings in 2006. | Sound-O-Mat Recordings (SOM#05) |
| March 2003 | Remission (CDR) | "Unreleased" in January 2004, replaced by Remittance CD. | Sound-O-Mat Recordings (SOM#06) |
| December 2004 | Remittance (CDR) | A "re-release" of Remission with two changed tracks and a remastering job. Free copies were offered to those who bought Remission via a "replacement kit". | Sound-O-Mat Recordings (SOM#08) |
| 2005 | Eco (CD) | Artwork by Cat Rayburn. First CD design done by someone other than one of the band members. | Sound-O-Mat Recordings (SOM#09) |
| 2005 | faded (CDR) | A "demix" collaboration between Austere and Stephen Philips of Dark Duck Records, using their original CD release fade. | Sound-O-Mat Recordings (SOM#10); co-released by Dark Duck Records. |
| 2007 | Pulse (CDR) | The third of their Steve Reich Steve Reich Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music... inspired process music Process music Process music is music that arises from a process. It may make that process audible to the listener, or the process may be concealed. Primarily begun in the 1960s, diverse composers have employed divergent methods and styles of process... releases. |
Hypnos Secret Sounds Hypnos (label) Hypnos is an independent record label, located in Portland, Oregon. Started in 1996 by M. Griffin to release his own recordings, both solo and for his collaborative project Viridian Sun, and has since become one of the most established and respected ambient labels.The music released tends toward... (hss10). |
| August 2007 | rirrom ("mirror") (CDR) | All information on CD package is backwards, printed on "mirror-like" material, and can be read by holding up to a mirror. | Blue Water Records . |
| 18 January 2008 | The Sound of Silence I: An "Unnatural History" of Rare and Unreleased Tracks (box set with MP3 player) | Box set comes with all tracks in 320Kbs CBR MP3 format on a SanDisk flash card in an MP3 player. Released exactly ten years after band's first release. | Sound-O-Mat Recordings (SOM#11). |
| 10 February 2008 | Solyaris (CD) | The first on Hypnos Hypnos (label) Hypnos is an independent record label, located in Portland, Oregon. Started in 1996 by M. Griffin to release his own recordings, both solo and for his collaborative project Viridian Sun, and has since become one of the most established and respected ambient labels.The music released tends toward... main label. |
Hypnos Hypnos (label) Hypnos is an independent record label, located in Portland, Oregon. Started in 1996 by M. Griffin to release his own recordings, both solo and for his collaborative project Viridian Sun, and has since become one of the most established and respected ambient labels.The music released tends toward... (hyp2753). |
EPs
| Year | Title | Other information | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| August, 2000 | distance (CDR) | A collaboration with In The Now from Brighton Brighton Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain... , U.K. England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... |
Sound-O-Mat Recordings (SOM#04) |
| 2004 | evergone (CDR) | A collaboration with Abstract Audio Systems from New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... , New York New York New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east... . |
Sound-O-Mat Recordings (SOM#07) |
Compilations
| Year | Title | Other information | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Diapason | Drone Download Project Year 1 (data 2xCD) | Dark Duck Records (DDP #1) |
| 2001 | Whainer | CD-only bonus track on The Drone Download Project Year 1 (data 2xCD) | Dark Duck Records (DDP #1) |
| 2003 | Tea-Totaled | Drone Download Project Year 2 (data CD) | Dark Duck Records (DDP #2) |
| 2004 | The Hills Are Alive | Track on Full Cold Moon: A Tribute to Jhonn Balance (MP3) | Dark Winter |
| 2005 | Big Bang into Particle Acceleration | Track on Space Collaboration (MP3) | The Ambient Collective |
| 2005 | Wend | Drone Download Project Year 3 (data CD) | Dark Duck Records (DDP #3) |
| 2006 | The Cuce | Track on Orgambient: Long Form Ambient Vol. 1 | Blue Water Records |
| 2007 | Alchemy (Gold Into Lead demix) | Track on Lena - Alchemy of Fingers and Dark CDS | Hypnos Hypnos (label) Hypnos is an independent record label, located in Portland, Oregon. Started in 1996 by M. Griffin to release his own recordings, both solo and for his collaborative project Viridian Sun, and has since become one of the most established and respected ambient labels.The music released tends toward... |
| 2007 | Puissant | Drone Download Project Year 4 (data CD) | Dark Duck Records (DDP #4) |
| 2008 | Fasciculate | Drone Download Project Year 5 (data CD) | Dark Duck Records |
| 2008 | Crystil | Track on Messages from a Subatomic World CD | Hypnos Hypnos (label) Hypnos is an independent record label, located in Portland, Oregon. Started in 1996 by M. Griffin to release his own recordings, both solo and for his collaborative project Viridian Sun, and has since become one of the most established and respected ambient labels.The music released tends toward... |
Soundtracks
| Film | Studio | Year | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fast 'n' Bulbous - A Tribute To Captain Beefheart Fast 'n' Bulbous - A Tribute to Captain Beefheart Fast 'n' Bulbous - A Tribute To Captain Beefheart was an album released by Imaginary Records in the UK in 1988, consisting of contemporary artists performing cover versions of songs by Captain Beefheart.-Track listing:... (Song "Electricity") |
unknown | 1988 | none |
| The Thin Horizon | Artifexwerks | 2006 | Artifexwerks |
| Claude's Room | unknown | 2008 | unknown |
short form
| Year | Title | Director | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | faded DVD | Austere | faded |
All Austere releases are distributed by the ambient label Hypnos Records, and the band has signed with the labels Hypnos
Hypnos (label)
Hypnos is an independent record label, located in Portland, Oregon. Started in 1996 by M. Griffin to release his own recordings, both solo and for his collaborative project Viridian Sun, and has since become one of the most established and respected ambient labels.The music released tends toward...
and Blue Water Records in 2007.
External links
- Band Web Site
- The Mystifying Oracle - solo side-project, ethnic-styled psybientPsybientPsybient, also known as ambient psy, psychedelic chillout, psychedelic ambient, ambient goa, ambient psytrance and more commonly within the Goa/psytrance scene as psychill and psydub, is a genre of electronic music that combines elements of psychedelic trance, ambient, world music, new age and even...
musick - Freq. Magnet - solo side-project, guitar-only ambient musick