Phonophani / Oak or Rock
Album: Oak or Rock   Collection:General
Artist:Phonophani   Added:Dec 2004
Label:Rune Grammofon  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2005-04-03 Pull Date: 2005-06-05
Week Ending: Jun 5 May 15 Apr 24 Apr 17 Apr 10
Airplays: 1 1 2 2 2

Recent Airplay
1. Oct 20, 2010: More-Brownian-Than-Usual Motion
You Must Welcome the Strange
4. Feb 25, 2008: Emphysema For Emphasis
Earth Diver
2. Jul 31, 2009: Trailways
Earth Diver
5. Nov 17, 2006: Carrots & Sticks... But Mostly Sticks
Earth Diver
3. Mar 27, 2009: Elastic Waistband
Earth Diver
6. Jun 09, 2006: The Top Shelf Of Vaselines
Earth Diver

Album Review
Gabe
Reviewed 2005-03-29
Shimmery textures layered on top of deeper than deep basses. Sort of like a fjord. Yeah, that was a roundabout way of saying that these are some Norwegians on the famous shimmer-and-rumble label Rune Grammofon. Actual melodies are rare but the atmosphere is rich with potential melodic bits that your mind can assemble on its own depending on where you focus your attention. I’m picking the more melodic pieces for recommendation because they’re still far from mainstream pop but they offer the novice a grip, whereas some of the more abstract pieces will have limited appeal and accessibility.

1. Chirpy
2. Flutes and voices samples collide in a sort of bad acid trip
3. “Boiling Fjords” in the title is appropriate, as this track slow builds through a simmer into a sort of turbulent unease
4. Mild racket
5. Drony, but not mellifluous for the most part; chimes tinkle aimlessly
6. Bits of Maja Ratkje’s singing – relatively straight here – woven into a blanket of buzzing noises
7. Chimes and nice sounds give way to blurping noise
8. An almost-song with an ethereal female voice singing over a stuttery backing
9. Processed vocals looped into another almost-song
10. Looping crescendoing treatment into an ECM-record-from-hell type of sound

Track Listing
1. Earth Diver   6. Cloudberry
2. A Lion Lies Listening   7. The Melancholic Giant
3. The Boiling Fjords Orchestra   8. Animals
4. Blind Birds of the Anarctic   9. You Must Welcome the Strange
5. Take Off Your Wooded Coat   10. Oak or Rock