Aarktica
| Aarktica | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New York, New York, United States |
| Genres | Ambient, post-rock, shoegazing |
| Years active | 1998–present |
Aarktica is a musical collective based in New York City which was initially a pseudonym for Jon DeRosa, the collective's principal member.
Origin
Aarktica was conceived in the winter of 1998 with DeRosa's permanent loss of hearing in one ear as a distraction from his other musical interests. As his hearing loss became less of a distraction and more of a new way of listening, Aarktica became a means to execute the soundtrack of the life in mono now thrust upon him. One of audio distortions, aural hallucinations and a reliance on painkillers. The outfit's debut album, No Solace in Sleep, was recorded on a dying 4-track cassette recorder in various New York University dorm rooms and released on Silber Records in 2000.
After releasing the now out-of-print Morning One EP on Ochre Records in the UK, Aarktica signed to Darla Records and released Or You Could Just Go Through Your Whole Life and Be Happy Anyway (Bliss Out v.18) in 2002 and Pure Tone Audiometry in 2003. These releases would combine lo-fi electro and shoegaze, with the ambient textures of modern composers like Morton Feldman and Ingram Marshall, defining Aarktica's innovative drone-pop hybrid.
Roster
Over the years, Aarktica has evolved from a solo project into a collective. While DeRosa remains the principal member, the project regularly features a revolving lineup of musicians, so that drones and textures arise from the timbres of the ensemble, not solely from reverb units and delay pedals. Recent members include:
- Aaron Spectre (beats/sequences, Drumcorps/AdNoiseam Records)
- Chris Carrico (guitar)
- James Duncan (trumpet, of Le Systeme Records/Metro Area)
- Mike Pride (drums, of Dynamite Club)
- Nate Wooley (trumpet)
- Harry Rosenblum (saxophone)
- Ernest Adzentoivich (upright bass, Plexus)
- Seth Misterka (saxophone, of Dynasty).
Additional past contributors have included Andrew Prinz & Lorraine Lelis (Mahogany) and Gretta Cohn (cello, of Cursive).
Aarktica's fourth full-length release, Bleeding Light, was released in April 2005 on Darla Records, followed by a limited split 12" with Aaron Spectre on Berlin's Moonbunny Records. In 2007, Aarktica released their fifth full-length recording, Matchless Years, with producer Charles Newman, best known for his work with The Magnetic Fields.
Discography
- No Solace in Sleep (2000)
- Morning One EP (2001)
- …or you could just go through your whole life and be happy anyway (2002)
- Pure Tone Audiometry (2003)
- Bleeding Light (2005)
- Matchless Years (2007)
- In Sea (2009)