bindlestiff
consisting of keyboardist/looper bryan helm and energy bow
guitarist/looper dave stafford , bindlestiff was formed in 1992 to explore the
possibilities of working within an electronic framework. their original goal was to create
totally ambient, atmospheric music, which was best realized in their 1995 masterwork
"quiet". during the course of the band's musical development, they also created
some unique jazz/experimental works (which still contained ambient elements) in works like
"LOUD", also from 1995.
bindlestiff was a group that really came to terms with the difficulties of
live looping/performance. without benefit of MIDI or other sophisticated technology the
band effortlessly synced up their respective contributions in real time, and the bulk of
their recordings are entirely live to tape. their mastery of peaceful, quiet, ambient
atmospheres is balanced by their more adventurous works, with many a burning guitar or
synth riff in evidence. the challenge for two people to create a live sound that engaged
and challenged the listener was satisfactorily discharged. some of these performances
ended up on a rolling tape, while other tracks (such as their minimalist energy bow driven
version of hendrix's "burning of the midnight lamp") were never captured for
posterity.
it has been suggested that their ambient works (perhaps best represented by
"quiet" from 1995 and "distant" from 1996) are eminently suited for
meditation. although this was not the intent of the work at the time, hindsight indicates
that this indeed is a reality, and a beneficent one at that. their non-ambient works, on
the extreme other hand, challenge the precepts of what is "acceptable" in modern
music, but do so in an endearing and sometimes even amusing fashion.
