Pelt is a

drone music Drone music, drone-based music, or simply drone, is a minimalist genre that emphasizes the use of sustained sounds, notes, or tone clusters – called drones. It is typically characterized by lengthy audio programs with relatively slight harmon ...

group formed in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

in 1993.

History

The band was originally formed in 1993 by violinist Mike Gangloff.Keenan, David (2012) "Incredible String Band", ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...

'', October 2012, p. 32-37 The rest of the early lineup left on the verge of series of live dates, and in 1995 Gangloff recruited Patrick Best and guitarist Jack Rose, both of the band Ugly Head, to replace them. Inspired by traditional American music, Indian

raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

, and artists such as John Fahey and

The Dead C The Dead C are a New Zealand based music and art trio made up of members Bruce Russell, Michael Morley and Robbie Yeats. Russell plays electric guitar, Morley sings and plays electric guitar or laptop, and Yeats plays drums. They have been c ...

.Wilmoth, Charlie
Pelt Biography
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, retrieved October 7, 2012 After releasing ''Burning/Filament/Rockets'' in 1995 they released ''Brown Cyclopedia'' a year later on their own Radioactive Rat label.Foster, Patrick
''Brown Cyclopedia'' Review
,

, retrieved October 7, 2012 It was reissued by

VHF Records VHF Records is an American record label, known for their extensive work with several major experimental artists. The label is based in the Washington, DC suburb of Fairfax, Va., and it initially focused on indie and experimental bands from that reg ...

, the label that the band stayed with until 2009. ''Max Meadows'' followed in 1997, the first of ten albums recorded for VHF, and featured homemade and modified instruments.Foster, Patrick
''Max Meadows'' Review
,

, retrieved October 7, 2012 Current members Mikel Dimmick and Nathan Bowles joined the group in 2004 and 2006 respectively. Rose left the group in 2006 to concentrate on his solo work. He died in December 2009.Keepnews, Peter (2009)
Jack Rose, 38, founding member of noise band Pelt
, ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', December 10, 2009, retrieved October 7, 2012 The band has recorded in unusual locations to achieve particular sounds, including in caves and grain silos. Their 2012 album ''Effigy'' was recorded in former opera house.

Musical style

The band make drone music using a variety of instruments. They began using electric guitars with a

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

element and influences such as

La Monte Young La Monte Thornton Young (born October 14, 1935) is an American composer, musician, and performance artist recognized as one of the first American minimalist composers and a central figure in Fluxus and post-war avant-garde music. He is best kno ...

and

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

, but have moved more towards drone and expanded to use instruments such as

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

esraj The (from the pa, ਇਸਰਾਜ) is an Indian stringed instrument found in two forms throughout the Indian subcontinent. It is a relatively recent instrument, being only about 300 years old. It is found in North India, primarily Punjab, whe ...

tanpura The tanpura (), also referred to as tambura and tanpuri, is a long-necked plucked string instrument, originating in India, found in various forms in Indian music. It does not play melody, but rather supports and sustains the melody of an ...

, Tibetan bols, and

lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ...

.Burns, Todd (2003)
Pelt ''Pearls from the River''
, Stylus Magazine, October 13, 2003, retrieved October 7, 2012Wilmoth, Charlie
''Ayahuasca'' Review
,

, retrieved October 7, 2012 Best said of the band's relationship with traditional music: "Folk music has always used drone as a technique for adding depth to the music. Drone is just so fundamental to all music that is good." Bowles described their music as "improvisational but not necessarily experimental", with the compositional process based around their choice of instruments for a particular piece, sometimes deciding in advance on "a specific scale, rhythm, or method of attack".

Side projects

Gangloff also formed the Old-time band

Black Twig Pickers The Black Twig Pickers is an Appalachian old-time band consisting of Mike Gangloff on fiddle/ banjo/ jawharp/vocals; Nathan Bowles on banjo/percussion/vocals; Isak Howell on guitar/ mouthharp/vocals; and Sally Anne Morgan on fiddle, flat-fo ...

, with which Rose also recorded, Best played in GHQ, and Rose recorded extensively as a solo artist both while a member of the band and after leaving.Masters, Marc (2010)
Jack Rose ''Luck in the Valley''
,

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

, February 24, 2010, retrieved October 7, 2012Mortifoglio, Richard
''Jack Rose & the Black Twig Pickers'' Review
,

, retrieved October 7, 2012 Best and Dimmick also performed as The Spiral Joy Band, which has also featured Karl Precoda of

Dream Syndicate A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, alth ...

.Shanahan, Joel (2011)
Interview: Pelt’s Patrick Best and Mikel Dimmick
, ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'', June 15, 2011, retrieved October 7, 2012 In 2003, the Rose-Gangloff-Best lineup of Pelt,

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a member of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Moo ...

, and drummer

Chris Corsano Chris Corsano is an American drummer, improviser, and composer. Career Alongside his solo work, Corsano has performed on over one hundred records with artists including Evan Parker, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Six Organs of Admittance, Dredd ...

, under the name of The Din, were the backing band for

Dredd Foole Dan Ireton (born February, 1950, in Camden, New Jersey), known professionally as Dredd Foole, is a vocal improviser and songwriter based in New England whose various collaborative backing bands have been known as The Din. Mission of Burma Din ...

on his album ''The Whys of Fire''. All of Dredd Foole's backing bands are known as The Din.

Discography

*'' Brown Cyclopaedia'' (1995), Radioactive Rat *'' Burning/Filament/Rockets'' (1995), Econogold *'' Max Meadows'' (1997),

VHF Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter. Frequencies immediately below VHF ...

*'' Empty Bell Ringing in the Sky'' (2000), VHF *'' For Michael Hannas'' (2000), VHF *'' Técheöd'' (2000), VHF *''

Ayahuasca AyahuascaPronounced as in the UK and in the US. Also occasionally known in English as ''ayaguasca'' (Spanish-derived), ''aioasca'' (Brazilian Portuguese-derived), or as ''yagé'', pronounced or . Etymologically, all forms but ''yagé'' descen ...

'' (2001), VHF *'' Pearls from the River'' (2003), VHF *''

Pelt Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

'' (2005), VHF *'' Skullfuck'' (2006), VHF *'' Dauphin Elegies'' (2008), VHF *'' A Stone For Angus MacLise'' (2009), VHF *''

Effigy An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...

'' (2012), MIE Music *''The Eighth Day, The Eleventh Month, The Two-Thousand & Twelfth Year (2012)

References

{{Authority control 1993 establishments in Virginia Rock music groups from Virginia Musical groups established in 1993 Musicians from Richmond, Virginia