Peter Kember

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Peter Kember
File:Sonic Boom 2013.jpg
Kember in 2013
Background information
Born (1965-11-19) 19 November 1965 (age 58)
Rugby, England
Genres Alternative rock
Drone music
Electronic music
Experimental music
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Electric Guitar
Analog synthesizer
Keyboard
Years active 1982–present
Labels SpaceAge
Associated acts Spacemen 3, Spectrum, E.A.R. (Experimental Audio Research), Panda Bear, MGMT

Peter Kember (born 19 November 1965) is an English musician and producer, more usually known as Sonic Boom, and was a founding member of alternative rock band Spacemen 3.[1]

Since the disbandment of Spacemen 3 in 1991, Kember has recorded as Spectrum and E.A.R. (Experimental Audio Research) - the two projects have existed in parallel, and recordings under both names occasionally only feature Kember. He has occasionally performed live under both monikers, most recently in 2008-11 as Spectrum, touring as a band in America and Europe.

Kember has played and collaborated with a number of artists, including Stereolab and Yo La Tengo.

Kember has also collaborated with other artists as a producer. He performed production duties on MGMT's 2010 album Congratulations and Panda Bear's albums Tomboy and Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper.

Music career

Spacemen 3

See main article: Spacemen 3

Sonic Boom

Kember's first solo album, Spectrum, was recorded in 1989 while Spacemen 3 were still a going concern, and featured the other members of the group.

File:Peter kember.jpg
Kember playing as part of Spacemen 3 in 1989

Spectrum

Kember recruited new musicians for the group Spectrum in 1991. Initial Spectrum releases carried on from the sound of late-period Spacemen 3, featuring conventional songs and a regular band. First single "How You Satisfy Me" was an original composition reminiscent of 1960s garage bands, based as it was upon the Chip Taylor-penned pop hit "Can't Let Go". 1992's Soul Kiss (Glide Divine) album was split between songs and longer experimental pieces featuring drones and repetition, and Highs, Lows and Heavenly Blows (1994) was also mainly song-oriented. Kember has occasionally collaborated with Jessamine and The Silver Apples under the Spectrum name.

Since 1996 the Spectrum name has been used for Kember's solo work, sometimes with Pete Bain from the original Spacemen 3 lineup and recording engineer/musician Alf Hardy. The music made with Bain and Hardy was often in the same vein as E.A.R., reflecting an increased interest in vintage analogue synthesizers, especially those made by EMS. After issuing 1997's Forever Alien album, there were no further releases of new material under the Spectrum moniker until 2008's Indian Giver collaboration with Jim Dickinson. Kember has also worked with Füxa's Randall Nieman.

During 2008-11, a four-piece Spectrum toured extensively in America and Europe. This included providing main support for the 2009 reformation tour of My Bloody Valentine, and a performance at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in May 2011. An EP, War Sucks, was released in 2009.

E.A.R.

see main article E.A.R.

Although the first E.A.R. album to be released (Mesmerised, 1994) was Kember on his own, the initial intention of E.A.R. was to record experimental "soundscape" music with collaborators. The second album (the first to be recorded, however) was Beyond the Pale (1996, recorded 1992), which featured Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine, Kevin Martin and AMM's Eddie Prévost. The album was remixed by German musician Thomas Köner in 1997, and released as The Köner Experiment. Prévost also appeared on Phenomena 256 (1996) and Millennium Music (1998), both of which featured a larger group of musicians. Data Rape (1998) was recorded solely by Kember, using the technique of circuit bending, which he continued to use on the EP Vibrations (2000) and album Continuum (2001). The latter two releases were made with assistance from Delia Derbyshire, formerly of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, who also had a track named after her on the Spectrum album Forever Alien. The most recent E.A.R. release is Worn to a Shadow (2005).

Other musical collaborations

Kember has also played and collaborated with Birmingham band The Field Trip, Stereolab, Yo La Tengo, Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham, Cheval Sombre, Cloudland Canyon, and Pat Fish of The Jazz Butcher, The Fields of Hay and with the Italian band Julie's Haircut.

Work as a Producer

Kember produced Blair 1523's debut album, Beautiful Debris. He remixed Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham's L’Avventura album, releasing Sonic Souvenirs in 2003. In 2010, Kember undertook superervisory production on MGMT's second album, titled Congratulations;, in 2011, he mixed and mastered Panda Bear's fourth album, Tomboy, in 2012 he produced TEEN's record In Limbo. In 2015, he co-produced Panda Bear's fifth album, Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper.[2]

Discography[3][4]

As Sonic Boom

Albums:

  • Spectrum (1990)

Singles/EPs:

  • Angel (1989)
  • Octaves/Tremolos (1990)
  • Drone Dream (1991)
  • Mechanical Man (1994)
  • The Sundowner (2000)

As Spectrum

Albums:

  • Soul Kiss (Glide Divine) (1992)
  • Highs, Lows and Heavenly Blows (1994)
  • Forever Alien (1997)
  • A Lake Of Teardrops [Spectrum & Silver Apples LP] (1999) (with Silver Apples)

Compilations and special releases:

  • What Came Before After (1994) [compilation]
  • A Lake of Teardrops (1999)
  • Live Chronicles Vol. 1 (2001) [live recordings]
  • Live Chronicles Vol. 2 (2001) [live recordings]
  • Refractions: Thru the Rhythms of Time 1989-1997 (2004) [compilation]
  • Indian Giver: Spectrum meets Cpt. Memphis (2008) [with Jim Dickinson]

Singles/EPs:

  • How You Satisfy Me (1992)
  • True Love Will Find You in the End (1992)
  • Super Sympathy Spectrum Stocking Stuffer (1992) [split EP with The Field Trip]
  • Indian Summer (1993)
  • Undo the Taboo (1994)
  • California Lullabye (1994)
  • Songs For Owsley [EP] (1996)
  • A Pox On You [Spectrum and Jessamine EP] (1996) [with Jessamine]
  • Feels Like I'm Slipping Away (1997)
  • Interface/Come Out to Play (1999) [split EP with Imajinery Friends]
  • War Sucks [EP] (2009)

As E.A.R. (Experimental Audio Research)

Albums, etc.:

  • Mesmerised (1994)
  • Beyond the Pale (1996, recorded 1992) [with Kevin Shields]
  • Phenomena 256 (1996)
  • The Köner Experiment (1997)
  • Millennium Music (1998)
  • Data Rape (1998)
  • Living Sound [E.A.R. & Jessamine] (1999)
  • Pestrepeller (1999) (Limited to 1900 copies)
  • Vibrations (2000)
  • Continuum (2001)
  • Worn to a Shadow (2005)

Packaging and formats

Spectrum and E.A.R. releases have often featured elaborate packaging, unusual formats, or limited editions. Some notable examples are:

  • The LP version of the Sonic Boom album Spectrum came with a revolving "Op art" sleeve. 2000 copies came with a slip allowing purchasers to also buy a limited 10" coloured vinyl EP. The EP contained experimental drone recordings, with instructions to play at 16, 33, 45 or 78 r.p.m.
  • The group Spectrum's first album Soul Kiss (Glide Divine) was originally released in a transparent PVC sleeve, with a blue oil and water mixture contained within it. (these notoriously burst when being shipped to record store) The LP was pressed on transparent vinyl.
  • E.A.R.'s first single release was Pocket Symphony, a 5" vinyl record with cover art by Anthony Ausgang.
  • E.A.R.'s "Sub Aqua / Tidal / Lunar" (1995) was an 8" vinyl release, a picture disc with a locked groove at the end of the second side.
  • "Sputnik" (1997), a split single with Thurston Moore and Don Fleming on the other side, was pressed on glittery 7" vinyl.
  • Another 7" single, "Data Rape (part 9)" has a drawing by artist Savage Pencil scratched onto the B-side instead of music.
  • 1998's "Death of a Robot" is pressed on 9" clear vinyl.

References

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External links

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