Gish – Billion (Dead Pilot, 2010)

Gish
Billion
CDr Dead Pilot Records DEAD037 (UK, 12-2010)

01. Making Sasuage
02. Imagineer
03. Numbies
04. Gisted
05. Ego Surf

A collection of recordings made over summer 2009, originally intended to be released on tape. Thunderdrones, post-feedback, drumclutter-programming and euphoric melodies generated from guitars, vintage electronics and stolen samples. Lovely handmade packaging, limited edition. (Gish)

Gish is a mysterious entity with significant pedigree in the underground experimental music scene. S/He (?) has had a number of releases on Dirty Demos and Krayon and now it’s Dead Pilot who have taken up the mantle on ‘Billion’. This one is a serious exercise in minimalist sound manipulation and sustained drones. The album begins with a cheeky percussive flurry that eventually gives way for a selection of ambient tones and glacial soundscapes. The majority of it sounds like manipulated guitar sustain but other treatments include subtle distortions, mild static hums and possibly treated vocals. It’s a blissful affair unburdened by any consistent noise element and very much consistent with Eno’s vision of a ambient drone utopia. Peaceful stuff. (Norman Records)

Fantastic album from veteran of the UK underground scene, having released music on Dirty Demos and Krayon Recordings and toured with the band Sunshine Republic, Gish brings us 5 tracks of glorious experimentalism and sound art. Beginning with a frantic and uneasy burst of percussion, the album takes us through various soundscapes and textural sustains that range from minimal glassy tones accompanied by shifting static to huge waves of fractured psychedelic distortion. Every idea is perfectly executed and explored limitlessly without ever become tiresome or self indulgent. This is a gripping listen from start to finish that will please fans of noise, ambient and experimentalism. (Experimedia)

FR Encore un excellent disque noyé dans la masse. Sur les cent copies éditées, certaines sont encore disponibles chez Norman et Experimedia, où elles prennent la poussière alors que le label a entre temps cessé ses activités.
ENG Dead Pilot no longer exists, but a few copies of this album are still available at Norman Records or Experimedia. And it’s really a good one.