Experimental Audio Research (commonly shortened to E.A.R. or EAR) is an experimental music collective formed around
Peter Kember
Peter Kember (born 19 November 1965), also known by his stage name Sonic Boom, is an English singer and record producer. He was a founding member, vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist of alternative rock band Spacemen 3, lasting from 1982 until ...
(a.k.a. Sonic Boom), formerly of
Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3 were an English neo-psychedelia space rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce, known respectively under their pseudonyms Sonic Boom and J Spaceman. Their music is known for its brand of " ...
.
While Spacemen 3 were a relatively traditional
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...
band with strong experimental leanings, E.A.R. is essentially a
free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician(s) involved. The term can refer to both a technique (employed by any musician in any genre) and as a recognizable genre in its ...
project, creating instrumental music characterized by lengthy, droning textures and slowly evolving structures.
The line-up often included Sonic Boom (
Spectrum
A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors ...
, Spacemen 3),
Kevin Martin (
God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
),
Kevin Shields
Kevin Patrick Shields (born 21 May 1963) is an American-born Irish musician, singer-songwriter, composer, and producer, best known as the vocalist and guitarist of the band My Bloody Valentine. They became influential on the evolution of alter ...
(
My Bloody Valentine), and
Eddie Prévost
Edwin John Prévost (born 22 June 1942) is an English percussionist who founded the free improvisation group, AMM.
Early years
Of Huguenot heritage, Prévost's silk weaving ancestors moved to Spitalfields in the late 17th century. He was bor ...
(
AMM).
Past collaborators include
Lawrence Chandler of
Bowery Electric,
Nick Kramer,
Delia Derbyshire
Delia Ann Derbyshire (5 May 1937 – 3 July 2001) was an English musician and composer of electronic music. She carried out notable work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop during the 1960s, including her electronic arrangement of the theme ...
and
Thomas Köner
Thomas Köner (born 1965 in Bochum, West Germany) is a multimedia artist whose main interest lies in combining visual and auditory experiences. The BBC, in a review of Köner's work in 1997, calls him a "media artist," one who works between instal ...
, plus various members of Spectrum, though it is generally considered a Kember solo project. The collective is one of Kember's several post-Spacemen 3 projects, which also include Spectrum, as well albums released under the Sonic Boom moniker.
Discography
Albums
*''Mesmerised'' (Space Age Recordings, 1994)
*''Beyond The Pale'' (Big Cat, 1996, recorded 1992)
*''Phenomena 256'' (Space Age Recordings, 1996)
*''The Köner Experiment'' (Space Age Recordings, 1997)
*''Millennium Music'' (Atavistic Records, 1998)
*''Pestrepeller'' (Ochre Records, 1999)
*''Data Rape'' (Space Age Recordings, 2000)
*''Live At The Dream Palace'' (Ochre Records, 2000)
*''Vibrations'' (Rocket Girl, 2000)
*''Continuum'' (Space Age Recordings, 2001)
*''Worn To A Shadow'' (Lumberton Trading Company, 2005)
EPs
*''Falling / Tail Chaser'' (
Sympathy For The Record Industry
Sympathy for the Record Industry (also known as Sympathy Records or Sympathy 4 the R.I.) is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by Long Gone John. The first Sympathy release was the Lazy Cowgirls' ''Radio Cowgirl'' ...
, 1995)
References
External links
Official siteKember's Trouser Press entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:EAR (band)
British electronic music groups
British experimental musical groups
Rocket Girl artists
Atavistic Records artists