Parnham, Brian

Artist: Brian Parnham
P: 2005
From the expansive atmospherics and rich textures to drones, didgeridoos and ethno-ambient inspired grooves, Brian Parnham creates a deep listening space to immerse the self and remove the awareness from the chaotic lifestyle that has become America.
Utilizing a variety of synthesizers, didgeridoos, percussion, programming and processing, Brian Parnham is an emerging contributor from the next generation of electronic composers, following in the footsteps of the pioneers of ambient electronic soundscapes.
"Brian Parnham first made contact with me when he was in his early 20's, around the time of my releases ORIGINS and ARTIFACTS. His affinity to the shamanic-desert spirit aspects of my music especially resonated with his own deep calling to create his finely crafted, evocative Southwest-inspired pieces -- not to mention the fine Agave digeridoos he creates which I use in concert and on recordings.
"Although he already released a debut CD, this release BETWEEN HERE & THERE should be considered an outstanding debut in the first order. The pieces were originally created in unison with images for a DVD of austere desert zones captured by his brother. This DVD will see a release in the near future, I am told.
"Brian shaped the pieces over the course of a few years, with some final tweaks in the Timeroom where I added some dusty harmonica in just the right places. Aficionados of the expansive, tribal-ambient sonic terrain will feel right at home between here and there."
Steve Roach

Artist: Brian Parnham
P: 2007
This outstanding release plays like a surreal subterranean walkabout within the folds of Utah's alluring slot canyons. Steve Roach commissioned long-time friend and accomplished electronic artist Brian Parnham to drop into the deep end of his sound carving skills. The result presents an adroit sound artist coming into full form within this shadowed sonic wonderland drawn from the Earth's inner realms.

Artist: Brian Parnham
P: 2011
The album winds its way to the quiet finality of "Last Breath", meditative flow marked with heartbeat pulses that, without a hint of morbidity, slow over time. It brings this superbly-made ride to a calm close. If you like Brian Parnham, SEE NONE, HEAR NONE, SPEAK NONE is a disc well worth the five-year wait. If you haven't been familiar with him until now, this is an amazing place to start.
In his most ambitious release to date, and his first solo album of new material since 2007's MANTLE from the steveroach.com label, Sound craftsman Brian Parnham offers an outstanding, intense electro-acoustic-trance/ambient experience in his latest work SEE NONE, HEAR NONE, SPEAK NONE. All the stops are pulled, and he is clearly working at the top of his evolving skills as a fine-tuned artist in sound. The pieces and moods shift like storm cells over a vast auditory range of churning internal mind states. With 15 definitive tracks, this album provides the listener with a dynamic ride of electro-acoustic-tribal ambient with an edge. Thought-provoking titles offer a few angles to ponder upon as well, deeper thoughts to existential bliss and the opposite places inbetween. Find your own way and meaning into this great must-have release.

Artist: Brian Parnham
P: 2000 / 2010
Out of print almost as soon as it was released in 2000, “The Broken Silence” is re-visited, re-stored and re-released ten years after the clocks rolled over in solitude. Ambient-electronic artist Brian Parnham has created a series of highly nuanced, beautifully recorded evocative tribal-ambient releases over the years, including MANTLE on our own steveroach.com label. After 10 years, his first official solo release has been re-released in a new way. Originally composed and recorded between December 1999 and April 2000, the original source and pre-master files were revisited, enhanced and remixed. A few brushstrokes were added and a melted down album mix "Forged From Silence" was created in March 2010. The result is a release that feels like it's from the near future, steeped in a heat-altered landscape that effectively pulls you in deeper with each listen. An auspcious release that stands the test of time, and a vital piece of tribal-ambient magic. THE BROKEN SILENCE displays an important artistic developmental phase for Brian Parnham. First released as a limited edition, the original album contained three distinct tracks that explored hazy, swirling trance grooves, extended free-form, flowing textures and tribal percussive rhythms expressing surreal desert vistas and the long roads that lead you to and from these places of allure. Highly recommended.
Instrumentation: digital synthesizers, processing, sequencing, samples, loops, didgeridoo, chatter stik, clay pot, voices, whispers, ocarinas, various percussion, shortwave and trace elements.

Artist: Steve Roach + Brian Parnham
P: 2011
Steve Roach's unique soundquests continue to take him and his listeners on powerful journeys to worlds at once alien and familar. On The Desert Inbetween, Roach teams up with fellow synthesist/percussionist/didgeridoo player Brian Parnham to explore a hybrid electronic acoustic soundworld sure to please listeners of Suspended Memories and Origins-era tribalism as well as The Serpent's Lair-styled electronics.
The blending of highly-altered organic sounds and instruments (voices, bells, didgeridoo & percussion, Waterphone), electric guitar and a vast array of analog and digital instruments connects deep into the primal mind. Drawing inspiration from the stark and magnificent expanses of the desert southwest, this project explores the outer edges of solitude: psychological states accessed when the imagination is cut free from daily concerns and permitted to focus on the essentials.
The Desert Inbetween expresses a longing for a state of beautiful isolation. The desert bakes away the superfluous to bring about a heightened state of self awareness, the expanse in between ordinary reality and special states of connected, creative awareness.
The desert has long been a lanscape that holds great inspiration for musical artists, writers and painters. To the receptive, it immediately provides a more direct path to the deeper self and source of one's artistic impulses. As the land of extremes, the desert is alive with beauty, stark vastness, magnificent vistas and silence. All of these places are expressed on The Desert Inbetween. Both artists know this desert realm after years of being immersed in this environment. Either as a metaphor for the inner world or a direct interpretation, the dynamic and subtle interweave of this experience is clearly alive here.
The Desert Inbetween is a masterwork collaboration of organic, tribal ambient rhythms, nuanced hand-made sounds and searing textures.