It's intimidating. I think we can all agree on at least that much.
Formed in Paris in 1998, Natural Snow Buildings is an experimental lo-fi, psych-folk duo consisting of musicians Mehdi Ameziane (TwinSisterMoon) and Solange Gularte (Isengrind). They play music which can be classified (if you have to classify) as experimental psychedelic folk with noise and ambient influences. Their music incorporates lengthy raga-influenced drones which they create by layering heavily distorted guitars, acoustic instruments (particularly woodwinds and percussion), and chanted vocals, resulting in an intoxicating, often overwhelming mass of hypnotic sound. They've never claimed to be a part of any musical scene, saying in one interview that they are pretty comfortable in their outcast role, nor do they label themselves by any specific genre or style.
Their sound could be interpreted as a mixture of folk, ambient, and drone blended together with field recordings into their own unique soundscapes. Many of their interests are in remote and obscure traditions and styles unfamiliar to much of the western world.
Their sound could be interpreted as a mixture of folk, ambient, and drone blended together with field recordings into their own unique soundscapes. Many of their interests are in remote and obscure traditions and styles unfamiliar to much of the western world.
Track lengths are often, but by no means always, over 10 minutes, with some songs approaching or even exceeding an hour in length. Listening to their albums definitely changes your perception of time - after a few 30-minute drones, an 8-minute composition seems brief, even though it would represent a marathon for most other bands. Given the track lengths and the number of albums, their entire discography is well over 50 hours. One first has to go to Google Calendar and clear at least a half day's time in order to seriously listen to their music.
Changes in texture and mood both between and within songs can be jarring; some albums and some songs are extremely beautiful and textured, and some albums and some songs consist solely of monolithic harsh noise. It's a lot of music and a challenging but rewarding path to follow, and if you're shut in or under quarantine and are looking for a good time-consuming project, let me suggest using your new free time to explore the world of Natural Snow Buildings.
Changes in texture and mood both between and within songs can be jarring; some albums and some songs are extremely beautiful and textured, and some albums and some songs consist solely of monolithic harsh noise. It's a lot of music and a challenging but rewarding path to follow, and if you're shut in or under quarantine and are looking for a good time-consuming project, let me suggest using your new free time to explore the world of Natural Snow Buildings.
No small part of the challenge is that NSB have such a large number of albums to their credit - they released at least a dozen albums in 2012 alone. Many of the recordings were released in extremely limited quantities, some only on cassette and CD-R that are nearly impossible to find. Wikipedia lists 24 albums in their discography; AllMusic.com lists only five, and disagrees with Wikipedia on the release date on many of them. Only four of their albums are currently on Spotify. The definitive source is probably the IDreamOfNaturalSnow YouTube channel, which has 37 albums uploaded.
Their first release was a 2003 CD-R titled Ghost Folks, although IDreamOfNaturalSnow has uploaded two even earlier demo albums. Although interesting, the sound quality of those demo albums renders those two recordings suitable for hard-core fans and completionists only. Fortunately, the Ghost Folks debut album is an excellent introduction to the band.
The album begins and ends with two short compositions both of which are titled Nuclear Winter. Both tracks evoke wintry winds and apocalyptic blizzards of fallout. It's not the cheeriest of opening cuts on a debut album, but the two tracks nicely bookend the moody music in between.
The first Nuclear Winter is followed by If I Can Find My Way Through The Darkness..., a beautiful 8½-minute instrumental that's one of the highlights of the album and as good an example of NSB's more melodic side as anything I can think of. With its background field recordings and repeated guitar figure, the track sounds a lot like Godspeed You! Black Emperor's post-rock without being derivative. If you want to get a good idea of what you might be in for with NSB, listen to this track and decide for yourself if you want to continue. Warning! - this rabbit hole is particularly deep.
The following cut, titled . . . I Came Down Here, opens with some melancholy strings before the field recordings and guitar kick in and move it back into Godspeed territory. Sun, the next track, sounds at first like something between raga and a spaghetti western soundtrack, and supports a brief vocal by Solange before disappearing into shimmering strings. The Haunted Falls (Let Us Now Praise Harry Powell), named for the preacher portrayed by Robert Mitchum in the 1955 film noir The Night of the Hunter, sounds like it was recorded underwater or in a dream, and the difference in tone and mood of this short piece with the other tracks on the album hints at the diversity of sounds in the NSB catalog.
The main event of the album is the long track right in the middle of the album, Fallen Lords Were Riding Half Horses, a 14½-minute mini-symphony with several movements and tonal shifts. The first several minutes sound like a formal performance by a particularly somber chamber ensemble, but the strings are eventually overtaken by a droning organ. Shimmering guitar notes and spoken-word recordings emerge from the drone and eventually lead the composition to a graceful conclusion.
A sister composition of sorts, With A Stolen Red Lipstick Bible On Her Side is another long piece (7½ minutes) with spoken field recordings (N-word warning!) over a repeated guitar figure that make it sound like some imaginary documentary movie.
The album concludes with three relatively short compositions (by NSB standards), including one very, very quiet, untitled track, and then closes with the second and final Nuclear Winter.
According to Mehdi and Solange, Ghost Folks was originally recorded in a few weeks between September 2001 and January 2002 at their Paris home. The tracks were mostly written at the same time, except for Guns & Rifles, which was written earlier in March 2001. For reference, the track titles and times are as follows:
So there you have it! One hour and 5½ minutes later and you've made it through the very first Natural Snow Buildings record. Congrats, only 49 more hours to go!
The album begins and ends with two short compositions both of which are titled Nuclear Winter. Both tracks evoke wintry winds and apocalyptic blizzards of fallout. It's not the cheeriest of opening cuts on a debut album, but the two tracks nicely bookend the moody music in between.
The first Nuclear Winter is followed by If I Can Find My Way Through The Darkness..., a beautiful 8½-minute instrumental that's one of the highlights of the album and as good an example of NSB's more melodic side as anything I can think of. With its background field recordings and repeated guitar figure, the track sounds a lot like Godspeed You! Black Emperor's post-rock without being derivative. If you want to get a good idea of what you might be in for with NSB, listen to this track and decide for yourself if you want to continue. Warning! - this rabbit hole is particularly deep.
The following cut, titled . . . I Came Down Here, opens with some melancholy strings before the field recordings and guitar kick in and move it back into Godspeed territory. Sun, the next track, sounds at first like something between raga and a spaghetti western soundtrack, and supports a brief vocal by Solange before disappearing into shimmering strings. The Haunted Falls (Let Us Now Praise Harry Powell), named for the preacher portrayed by Robert Mitchum in the 1955 film noir The Night of the Hunter, sounds like it was recorded underwater or in a dream, and the difference in tone and mood of this short piece with the other tracks on the album hints at the diversity of sounds in the NSB catalog.
The main event of the album is the long track right in the middle of the album, Fallen Lords Were Riding Half Horses, a 14½-minute mini-symphony with several movements and tonal shifts. The first several minutes sound like a formal performance by a particularly somber chamber ensemble, but the strings are eventually overtaken by a droning organ. Shimmering guitar notes and spoken-word recordings emerge from the drone and eventually lead the composition to a graceful conclusion.
A sister composition of sorts, With A Stolen Red Lipstick Bible On Her Side is another long piece (7½ minutes) with spoken field recordings (N-word warning!) over a repeated guitar figure that make it sound like some imaginary documentary movie.
The album concludes with three relatively short compositions (by NSB standards), including one very, very quiet, untitled track, and then closes with the second and final Nuclear Winter.
According to Mehdi and Solange, Ghost Folks was originally recorded in a few weeks between September 2001 and January 2002 at their Paris home. The tracks were mostly written at the same time, except for Guns & Rifles, which was written earlier in March 2001. For reference, the track titles and times are as follows:
- Nuclear Winter (Dispatches)
- If I Can Find My Way Through The Darkness. . .
- . . . I Came Down Here
- Sun
- The Haunted Falls (Let Us Now Praise Harry Powell)
- Fallen Lords Were Riding Half Horses
- With A Stolen Red Lipstick Bible On Her Side
- They Are Still Hanging Around
- . . .
- Guns & Rifles
- Nuclear Winter
So there you have it! One hour and 5½ minutes later and you've made it through the very first Natural Snow Buildings record. Congrats, only 49 more hours to go!
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