khate

Pareidolia

The Richmond, Virginia based SMTG Limited label pluck out a real treat for all fans of low-lit drone electronics with the debut full length release from Khate. Hailing from the same district as the label itself, Khate has attracted attention for her live performances, where she combines circuit bent toys, synths, drum machines and other sound making equipment to brew an ominous brand of ambience, at times reminding us of Mika Vainio or the ghostly vistas of Deathprod. To start the darkness 'Additives' feeds classic sci-fi atmospherics inherited from Delia Derbyshire through analog oscillator tones and creeping synth pads. 'Autumn' crafts delicate drone environments with wispily resonant distortion and waves of static, while 'Liquid' lightens the mood slightly with spherical bell tones and sea-sick rhythms oddly reminiscent of Moondog. 'The Slender Man' again sinks back into the murk, featuring silvery synth tones peering through the darkness with the feeling of Mordant Music's 'The Tower' project, leaving the closing highlight 'Comforting The Meat' to incorporate cinematic string samples of the Caretaker variety with creaking electronics rendered from some unknown source. Unlike Mika Vainio or Delia Derbyshire, Khate's sound doesn't rely on well-trained dynamics to create her sounds, it feels more of an experimental and improvised approach and works well in crafting lo-fi and slightly uncomfortable background atmospheres in the truest sense of the "ambient" term. An amazing debut - grab a copy while you can.