Middle Pillar Presents

KOBE - Economy of Movement

KOBE's Economy of Movement is an instrumental percussion-based experimental album inspired by Japanese Taiko or Kodo drumming and Western industrial music. Sonic extremes permeate the album, combining elements of tribal percussion, dark ambiance, experimental noise, electronic soundscapes and industrial primal intensity.

"Avatar" conjures imagery of costumed dragons dancing in celebration, "Seppaku" shows the duality of order conflicting with chaos, "Harbinger" is pure drum corp mixed with dark ambiance. Standout cuts include "Lotus", "Mouth" (which have appeared on comps) and "A Drought of Fear" which have dance floor appeal. The closing track, "An Opening", is a collaboration between KOBE and Bryin Dall's electronic experimental project 4th Sign of the Apocalypse.

The composer, Kevin Dunn, is a member of the New York-based dark apocalyptic band Loretta's Doll. Prior to his joining, Kevin spent years studying martial drumming and percussion as well as playing drums in various bands in the NYC underground goth and punk scenes.

The name KOBE was chosen from the Japanese city that was devastated by a catastrophic earthquake in January 1995. The methodology of producing KOBE songs relied upon an adherence to spontaneous composition followed by intensive layering to emulate the feel of a group of live players. Some layers were then converted into electronic soundscapes adding ambience and allowing the tracks to have a fierce organic, rhythmic attack combined with experimental composition and textures.

KOBE's Economy of Movement is available from Amazon.com