Pontone presents mixtape dedicated to Khate, one-woman conjurer hailing from Virginia. Her last LP “Pareidolia” is one of the finest examples of using ambient sound, found sound and other oddities to take the listener elsewhere in the world.
Download the mixtape (right click > save as)
PLAYLIST:
- Rain (“Apertif” no label, 2004)
- Black Skies At 5:30 AM (“Circadian” no label, 2006)
- Isabel (“Detrititivore” Just Not Normal, 2009)
- Low Tide (“Detrtitiivore” Just Not Normal, 2009)
- Liquid (“Pareidolia” SMTG Limited, 2009)
- Eight Volt House (“Phi” no label, 2008)
- Salsuginus (“Circadian” no label, 2006)
- Tired (“Pareidolia” SMTG, 2009)
- Bravo Zulu (“Parts” no label, 2006)
- Coffee & Casios (“Circadian” no label, 2006)
- Wreckage (“Wreckage / Disgust” Intelligent Machinery Productions)
Khate is one woman and her orchestra of odd instruments. Circuit-bent toys, vintage synths, antiquated media, field recordings, shortwave radio and other assorted electronics are used both live and in the studio. Sometimes ambient, sometimes beaty, sometimes noisy — the operator is at the whim of the gear, not the other way around. Seasons, the supernatural, and science inform the themes.
Boomkat review of “Pareidolia” lp:
“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”.
