Weaving elements of ambient electronica, dub, hip-hop, and experimental noise into immersive environments of sound. Like being somewhere familiar: and realizing you've never been there before...
Wavespan was formed in 2003 by Phil Garrison and Alex Lumb. In 2006, Garrison assumed complete creative control.
Reviews:
"Wavespan sneak a fantastic record under the radar here with their self-titled release...like some of the classic FAX records, Wavespan crosses some of the traditional genre markers...it changes from start to finish -- charting a course across the musical landscape. You step into it where you may and find something different each time. Fabulous stuff."
-Igloo Magazine
"Wavespan LP, released by Wavespan on the illustrious Monotonik netlabel, instantly reminded me of my favourite 90s ambient tracks - yet veers off this course quite quickly into more modern territories. What will remind you of Orb and KLF classics is the use of witty and rare vocal samples, and ambient synth sounds, with dub as the core musical influence. Despite the obvious influences, don’t be fooled into thinking Wavespan is just a simile of greater things -- it’s quite simply one of the best ambient releases on any netlabel to date."
-Milieu
"Wavespan takes you into the atmosphere with Liftoff...then drops into Concentration Dub, gently showing you the way to bliss. On the Nature of Consciousness is a superb track...In Origin of Species, the sounds evoke images of smiling Buddhist monks slowly gliding in outer space...Wavespan makes a nice start with this release."
-Sothzine
"I gather that tracks that use a huge amount of echo and reverb are often dubbed as...dub. So it is with some confidence that I state that today's first recommendation, Concentration Dub, is a dub track. Plus it has the word "dub" in the title, thus cleverly reinforcing my ice-cold logic in these matters. Anyway, it's a treat for the ears. My second recommendation, Single Bullet Theory is an atmospheric recounting of the Kennedy assassination. Any song that can do that and also mention the discrepancies between the official report and eye-witness accounts, while being both spooky and groovy, man, is definitely providing value for money. Especially when it's free, courtesy of Wavespan (a duo from Santa Cruz, California), their eponymous album, and the Monotonik netlabel. The whole album sounds terrific."
-Catching the Waves
"Wavespan's debut netlabel release is a rich album of mostly ambient work. It harks back to the sounds Pink Floyd and Tangerine Dream (without the 38minute meanderings!!)"
-Investigata.com (Top 10 Creative Commons releases for 2006)
"Origin Of Species is almost ambient in feel and tone...produced spotlessly, the track slips in and out of your ears like summers breeze, the wide angle stereo sound giving the track a spaciousness that you don't often here associated with experimental music -- moreso of course with ambient and new age which it has more in common with...if you are a sucker for a well-decent ambient/new age track with a marked difference then this would be that endangered species."
-Steve Gilmore (Soundclick.com)
"Wavespan initially was a duo, but from 2006 onwards Phil Garrison continued solo...The netlabel Dark Winter has just released his latest album, "Tilling The Soul", and although this is clearly limited to one genre (namely drones / dark ambient), there is more scratching at the surface then you would initially expect...Altogether this is a powerful and diverse album for lovers of drones and dark ambient. And for those who think that "drones" as a genre must be rather limiting, this album is a showcase of its potential. Recommended!"
-Leon Vlieger, IkEcht (original review in Dutch)
"For Tilling the Soul, Santa Cruz, California-based musician Phil Garrison, who records as Wavespan, made music from the sounds around him, much of them recorded in the Santa Cruz area...not that the end results are directly correlative to the source material. Wavespan, true to his name, takes sounds and lays them out wide, splaying them so you can investigate them up close, all sinew and texture."
-Disquiet
"These are not field recordings of traditional musicians...these pieces...from a set called Tilling The Soul...are often somewhat spooky, with a weird sense of building-but-never-resolved tension that made me think of those creepy Japanese horror movies like The Ring."
-No Notes
Albums and Compilation Appearances:
Wavespan LP [mtk161]
(c) 2006
Disturbing Music Project [jon7net029]
Track: "The Bridge"
(c) 2007
Webbed Hand Records Presents String Ambient [wh101]
Track: "Harmonic Evolution"
(c) 2008
Constant Remix [ttk050]
(c) 2008
Particular Streams Remixes [ttk007]
Tracks: "Particular Streams Remix" & "The Piano Tuner"
(c) 2008
Tilling the Soul [dw053]
(c) 2008
Infinite Space [earman109]
(c) 2009
Podcasts featuring Wavespan tracks:
Halcyon Days (square.one podcast 005)
Melyvarazs 143 (mixed by phalanx)
Safecast 043
Safecast 051
Safecast 054
Bleepshow 117
Bleepshow 270
