the jack bohlen book club

"Sweet relief comes in the form of Allegory & Violence, the first hardcopy release by The Jack Bohlen Book Club. Being somewhat of an elusive figure, we won't focus too much on the man behind the JBBC, but what that leaves us with is an intriguing collection of field recordings, found sounds and numbers-stations, all either obscuring or collectively building tonalities, drones, little dissonances and hidden melodies that could be accidentally recorded from some distant brittle radio signal just as easily as they could be composed and performed. A true cross-pollination of academic sound-collage and careful compositional placement happens here, and we're pleased to be the ones to bring it to you."

< Install on 'Allegory & Violence' >

"A dense ultra-minimalist approach to ambience perfectly blending meticulous sound design and field recording. Distant voices and faint commotion emerge softly from gentle static and tones. Touches of slowly morphing melodies get sprinkled in along the way originating from various organic and synthetic sources. The album in its whole creates a truly unique melancholic experience perfect for those rainy Sunday afternoons and late nights. Falling asleep during a late night marathon of The Twilight Zone. Three in the morning at the abandoned warehouse. Two way radio interference delivering snippets of indecipherable conversation. The midnight hum from a nearby airport. A truly beautiful album intended not only for the sole purpose of listening...but of experiencing. Preferably in complete darkness and isolation where this album is sure to have its most profound effect."

< Experimedia.org on '1979' >

"Kevin Murphy comes from the U.S. of A. and mainly works around ultra-minimalistic compositions based on drones and electro-acoustic frequencies. The unusual alias he has picked up - The Jack Bohlen Book Club - was probably taken from a Philip K. Dick sci-fi novel called 'Martian Time-Slip', where the main character is a skilled repairmen and recovering schizophrenic. The story takes place on planet Mars around the year 1994. Why would there be a Book Club with his name? I honestly don't know. As for 'Lion & Lamb', it's a 39 minute two-dimensional drone trip. Not much happening here if you don't appreciate this kind of minimalist composition. For those who get high with this kind of sound, hell, just crank up the volume and trip your way into mars of some other planet! Get this!"

< Test Tube on 'Lion & Lamb' >