AmbientBlack

For more than 30 years, Jim Henriques and David Graves have been composing, recording and performing a wide variety of music and audio works. They grew up with the “ambient” concept since the term was first coined, listened to a lot of it, and have never stopped creating new pieces in the genre.

During a 2005 recording session for an unrelated project, they discovered a like-minded love for eccentric electronic textures and the works of other ambient artists. Their first work, released in 2006, was not originally intended to be a formal album; it was a day of experimentation while they learned about each other’s melodic sense, timing, and responsiveness. Almost immediately, they recorded on Ellipse of Fifths, a double album devoted to specific tonal centers; subsequent concept albums (Interstellar Diamonds, Serpentarium, The Eleusinian Mysteries) demonstrate a maturity, familiarity and cohesiveness. However, the elements of suspense, drama and experimentation remain.

Programming and setup for an AmbientBlack session usually takes several hours (or days). This has enabled all of their albums to berecorded live in San Francisco’s solar-powered Fine Vermin Studio. This preparation results in very spontaneous - but highly varied - atmospheres of synthesizer, guitar, and other audio. This is the sort of density and complexity that most ambient artists achieve only with post-session overdubs.

In addition to AmbientBlack, David and Jim have embarked on a number of professional music projects, including teaching, commercial music, various studio works, concerts, film scores, theatrical sound design/performances, and symphonic orchestral composition. They draw on all of these experiences when creating a new AmbientBlack work.