Phonophani Discography of CDs

Phonophani music CDs Creator: Espen Sommer Eide. Personnel: David Grubbs (guitar). ...

Phonophani discography Reissue of Norwegian electronic outfit's debut album featuring three bonus tracks. Originally released in a limited edition of 500 in 1998, this album is often cited as one of the very best electronic albums to have ever come from Norway. Phoniphani (A.K.A. Espen Sommer Eide) has been compared to other trendsetting electronica acts such as Alog and Boards Of Canada. Rune Grammofon. 2006. First released in 1998 in a limited-edition run then re-released in 2006 with three bonus tracks, Phonophani's self-titled debut is a darkly enjoyable, quite haunting example of electronic music near the turn of the century. Heard nearly ten years on from its original release context, it actually holds up quite well. While much of the sound places it firmly in the year of its creation, Phonophani's sole member, Espen Sommer Eide (also half of the duo Alog), has a definite ear for subtle, slowly coalescing pieces that harken more to the moodier side of the Touch label than to Warp, say. Opening "I. F. A." shows this well, with dramatic swoops and swells that sound like a John Barry orchestration echoing through deep water, setting a general tone of keeping the most easily accessible parts of his compositions distanced to one extent or another. There's a general tension at play between more conventional melodies and dank textures throughout the album; "Zurnas" has a deeply buried, hummable synth initially hidden behind much closer skronks and boogiemen-who-come-in-the-night noises (even what sounds like a tentative cough at one point), while the more prominent "Order of Disappearance" still has an unsettling, crackling rhythm that holds pride of place. Throughout the album Eide often aims for the minimal rather than overload: "Ring," with its extended loop of what sounds like a scattering of water in a vast cave, or the soft children's voice sample that fades away at the center of "Sol." At other points Eide embraces a slightly more conventional drone approach but through his own particular filter, thus the flowing muted-siren feel of "Duration-happiness," given a recurrent loop and understated rhythm shot through with sudden echoes of glitch. The biggest surprise in context is "C," which starts with a straightforward enough acoustic guitar figure that plays through the entire song. [The 2006 release contains bonus tracks.] ~ Ned Raggett Phonophani: Espen Sommer Eide.

Phonophani songs Rune Grammofon. 2003. Genetic Engineering: Espen Sommer Eide.

Phonophani CD discography Phonophani is multi-instrumentalist and digital electronics expert Espen Sommer Eide. Born in 1972 in Oslo, Sommer Eide has been playing music in one form or another since childhood; for the last decade his priority has been computer music. In 1998 he released his first, now deleted, album Phonophani on the Biophon label run by Geir Jenssen (aka Biosphere). His second album, Genetic Engineering (RCD 2016) was released by Rune Grammofon in 2001 to critical acclaim. He is also a member of Alog, the duo with two albums on Rune Grammofon (Red Shift Swing from 1999 and Duck-Rabbit from 2001). It´s difficult to place Phonophani in todays musical landscape, Espen himself says that Oak or Rock is all about rediscovering the great mystery of music. Through dissecting the sound of ordinary or 'real' instruments and dissolving melodies into their elementary particles, he seeks to excavate the 'ur' music ...