Ben Frost
The music of Ben Frost is about contrast; influenced as much by classical minimalism as by punk rock and metal, Frost's throbbing guitar-based textures emerge from nothing and slowly coalesce into huge, forbidding forms that often eschew conventional structures in favor of the inevitable unfoldings of vast mechanical systems, and on albums like Steel Wound, released on the Room40 label in 2003 (Pitchfork: "An exemplary ambient experience") and Theory of Machines on Bedroom Community in 2007 (Boomkat: "The Future of electronic music...") Frost's music is more than a cerebral exercise and has an undeniable visceral presence, felt as much as heard.
His compositions are created with an acute awareness of the listener and their comfort thresholds, exploiting every extreme of pitch and volume. Notorious, building-shaking performances on various international stages including Montreal's Mutek, and Barcelona's Sonar ("awe-inspiring, the most visceral performance of the festival" -Resident Advisor) combine amplified electronics with the furious thrashing of live guitars. Frost himself has been described as "one of the most interesting and groundbreaking producers in the world today." (Boomkat).
The massive scale of Frost's music often projects a sense of remoteness and isolation and yet he remains in demand as an artistic collaborator, having performed and worked with artists as diverse and acclaimed as Björk, Nico Muhly and Amiina and his music's intense physicality has driven award-winning contemporary dance productions by Chunky Move, the Icelandic Dance Company, and several works with acclaimed choreographer Erna Ómarsdottír.
Underlying Frost's often noisy, defiant aesthetic is a quiet and welcoming humanity, and a subtle sense of emotional drama which has recently bought him to the attention of the film world. A cinematic sensibility also pervades his 2009 LP By The Throat, released by Bedroom Community ("It's a hollow, unforgiving, brutal yet utterly beautiful record full of deep intricacies that wont let you go. 'BY THE THROAT' indeed." -NME)
Selected Press
Simply awesome... Frost reminds us that minimalism was never just the polished sheen of Reich and Glass, but also the sweat and grime of Michael Gira's Swans... A deeper, darker minimalism- menacing and claustrophobic
-- WIRE Magazine
No equivocation necessary, By the Throat is a sinister album, full of moments that rattle cores... But Frost's work is more than a hall of terrors: These vivid instrumentals, which seem menacing at first, also feel somehow triumphant when heard again--new details becoming more crucial. By the Throat might frighten on the first listen, and it might shock by the 12th. But, somewhere in between, Frost--both a compelling new musical dramaturge and arranger--might just show you the silver lining of all these fears.
-- Pitchfork
A break in the evolutionary ladder, a jump across links in the Darwinian chain, a re-mapping of sonic DNA... Frost has taken modern music off the respirator and sent it once again into the wild unknown.
-- The Silent Ballet
The compositional complexity of Arvo Pärt and the sonic nothingness of Wolf Eyes... Yes, it is that good.
-- Vice Magazine