NOS PHILLIPE - SHH... CAMILLE

(confront collectors series ccs 07)

 

Robert Hopps : prepared guitar, electronics 
Jonathan Webb : turntable, electronics

 

Recorded by Simon Reynell, Hackney, London 2007

 

"London outfit comprised of Jonathan Webb and Robert Hopps combine processed field recordings with electro-acoustic improvisations generated by guitar, turntables, electronics, and found sounds-the group name, incidentally, inspired by an acquaintance whose visage bears similarities to both actor Ryan Phillippe and Nosferatu (presumably the Max Schreck or Klaus Kinski characterization). Shh.. Camille spends its first eight minutes clumping through a subterranean chamber of hazy atmosphere and cavernous rumbling before breaking through to an industrial zone where seething tones violently pierce the air. The mood turns nightmarish, so much so that one imagines the unwitting explorers moving beyond the factory floor to a burning-hot torture chamber where eviscerated victims cling to life and wail in vain hope of rescue. To their credit, Webb and Hopps choose not to have the piece detonate in an immolating fireball but instead ease it down gently in a well-handled decompression." (Textura)

 

"Compared with the Confront label's more esoteric and thought-provoking releases, Nos Phillipe's Shh... Camille seems comparatively accessible, and more locked into dominant trends within the drone-o-sphere. For one thing, this record features that tried and tested combo of guitar (albeit prepared) and field recordings, with turntable-derived experimentalism also rearing its head. The outcome is a smudgy twenty-three minutes of grainy, almost lo-fi tones cast with a slightly metallic finish. There are shades of Wiliam Basinski about this. Shh... Camille is certainly an enjoyable listen, and an outing that followers of labels like Room40 and Under The Spire will most likely lap up with great enthusiasm."  (Boomkat)