Fieldhead is P Elam (a resident of Vancouver, BC). He produces ambient/electronic music that delights in tape hiss, geography, bleak landscapes and decaying analogue loops. He is also a full time member of Hood side project The Declining Winter and a part time member of Glissando’s Fleeting Glimpse Ensemble. He is ably assisted by violinists S Kemp and E Reynolds.
Fieldhead's latest release is the 'Riser' EP, a limited edition 10" vinyl out now on Gizeh Records. Riser was borne out of a desire to bring the sound of the human voice to the core of Fieldhead's music, and to rally against an idea of it as peripheral, as an afterthought to the music. The EP continues the love of tape hiss, grainy textures and dusty loops married with brevity and melody to be found in the album preceeding it ('They Shook Hands for Hours'), but this time the palette has been stripped back to just the human voice and minimal, organic synthesisers. His debut release was the ‘Introductions’ EP, self released in 2008, followed by the acclaimed album ‘They Shook Hands for Hours’ on Home Assembly Music in 2009. The now sold out split ‘Crest’ EP with Copenhagen’s Iris to Hypnos was released on Static Caravan in February 2010. Fieldhead tracks have appeared on compilations from Second Language Records (alongside Vashti Bunyan, Hauschka, and Peter Broderick, amongst others) and Japan’s Nothings66 records (alongside Helios, Goldmund and The Sight Below, amongst others). Live Fieldhead have shared stages across Europe with Tim Hecker, Lusine, Library Tapes, Machinefabriek, Jenniferever, Grouper, Jasper TX and more. PRESS: "...paints atmosphere better than a whole ream of his electronica comtemporaries ever could, creating unhealthy amounts of awe with his string slices and distortion washes..." ROCK A ROLLA "This debut by Leeds, UK native Paul Elam rolls sixes on all fronts....rather than a collection of loose ideas, They Shook Hands for Hours manages to combine seemingly contrary energies into a compelling fabric." EXCLAIM "This is an intelligent and interesting work. It’s refreshing. It’s exciting. And it’s simply brilliant." THE STEINBERG PRINCIPLE "...quite magical, perhaps suggesting what a Grouper/William Basinski collaboration might end up sounding like." BOOMKAT "...frozen laptop-generated soundscapes that generate a warmth beyond their contents via the twin violins veering off at different baroque angles in the most slow-burningly lovely way possible." THE LIST |
