A duo formed by David and Giovanni, who met by chance, or maybe not, in Brussels, Belgium, during the autumn of 2011. David is a guitarist, synth and sample player, already active on the Brussels scene with his electro / experimental project “Drawing Virtual Gardens” with several releases on Time Released Sound, Flaming Pines, Shimmering Moods and Krysalisound. Giovanni played guitar, voice and samples for the North-East Italian band “Fuji Apple Worship”, involved in a melting pot of drones, field recordings and minimal sound sculptures. Since its beginning in November 2011, Tropic of Coldness focused on drones / ambient / electroacoustics originated from improvised session, with layers of processed guitars and synths, surrounded and filtrated by field recordings in a sort of acoustic archaeology. The sound research permeates every single note and the harmonic pattern is oriented towards both instrumental and compositional exploration, in a combination of ambient and electronic elements. The imaginary recalled refers to a concrete reality made present from time to time by field recordings or track titles created with the intention to establish ideally an immediate connection between listener and physical space. Tropic of Coldness have performed live in Brussels, London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna as well as touring in other cities of Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
Paul Schütze has worked for over thirty years as an artist in the fields of, photography, video, sound and installation. He was a founding member of Australian experimental band Laughing Hands and of Phantom City: an international collective of musicians working both live and virtually from points across the globe. He has performed with sound & film works in over a dozen countries and released over thirty albums of original music. His works have been exhibited in numerous international galleries and museums (V&A, The Hayward, Reina Sofia, IVAM, British Museum). His photographic work is held in both public and private collections including The British Museum, Pallant House and the Speed Museum. He has collaborated with major international artists including James Turrell, Josiah McElheny & Isaac Julien and musicians including Bill Laswell, Lol Coxhill, Toshinori Kondo, Raoul Björkenheim, Clive Bell, Dirk Wachtaeler, Max Eastley, Jah Wobble, Robert Hamson and David Toop. Paul runs the online sensory archive Dressing The Air and in 2014 introduced olfactory elements into his artwork. In 2016 He launched fragrance house Paul Schütze Perfume with partner Chris Rickwood.
Northaunt is the ambient project of Norwegian Hærleif Langås, and has since the late nineties released 4 albums where the signature sound is a mix of field recording from nature, soundscapes and ambient, inspired by norse nature and landscapes and our role as a part of nature.
The composing of ISTID came as a reaction to our modern lifes, our world and how it sometimes seem confusing, stressful and noisy. Put of by all this and inspired by books about earths history, iceages and the forces that formed the landscapes we have today, Hærleif started making ISTID, Iceage in Norwegian, to imagine a world of silence before man. This is the 3rd album in the series and we can now imagine man is about to start his lonely quest for meaning in the desolation.
The frozen winds of the north lash and temper the soul. Their constant breath drags the listener towards the more organic part of “Istid III”. Dark ambient made in Norway, third chapter of the Northaunt trilogy, hinged between the horizons of a remote Ice Age. Imperceptible the continuum between Part I and Part II. Some will-o'-the-wisps indicate the way to go. Mystic tolls, indecipherable background noises. Strategic field recordings. A female voice in the distance seals the apex of the loss even inside the body. The dull shades fade. Part III is the watershed track of the album, full of nostalgia. A slow flowing in a placid forest of sounds. Section of a moment. The hypnosis induced by Part IV breaks on a handful of words pronounced this time by a man. A net change of pace during the ten minutes of Part V. The atmosphere of meditation is favored by shy keyboard notes. The subterranean tensions lose their vigor. Glows radiate the darkness of the night. Deep and desolate. The embers that burns the last farewell to our day. Once it was fire on Earth.