sunn O)))

Sponsored by Record Collector Sunn O)))) formed in March 1998 in Los Angeles. A synthesis of diverse: drone, ur, noise, metal, minimalism/maximalism; supported by a cast of collaborators, O))) has two core members: Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson. For twenty years, Sunn O))) have been challenging the way we think about music. In that relatively brief time, core members Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson have forged connections between the worlds of Metal, Drone, Contemporary Composition, Jazz and Minimalism with startling results while remaining true to the eternal principles of volume, density and weight. The release of The Grimmrobe Demos (1999) sent tremors throughout the underground with its bold realisation of hitherto unimagined heaviness. Building on the innovations of Seattle pioneers Earth – and naming a track in honour of their leader Dylan Carlson – Sunn O))) forged even deeper into a realm of reverberating darkness. However it was with the release of ØØ Void (2000) that the duo staked their claim as an outfit that would redefine how we view – and hear – guitar music in the early 21st century. There were detractors and skeptics, of course. But, undeterred, O’Malley and Anderson continued to refine their sound with 2002’s Flight Of The Behemoth, featuring contributions from legendary Japanese Noise artist Masami Akita aka Merzbow. Evolving at a rate contrasting with the pace of their diurnal riffs, Sunn O))) unleashed White1 in 2003. This ambitious sonic document constituted many listeners’ first contact with the outfit and demonstrated the flexibility of their aesthetic. Contributions from Runhild Gammelsaeter (Thorr’s Hammer), Joe Preston (Melvins/Thrones) and the arch-drude himself, Julian Cope, assisted the music’s rapid radiation from its molten core of heavily amplified ambience. Around this time, the mainstream music media started to take an interest: the baffled curiosity that greeted ØØ Void gave way to the suspicion that something not unlike a paradigm shift was taking place. In interviews, O’Malley and Anderson revealed themselves as engaged and articulate ambassadors for the world of sound they had created. Meanwhile, rumours of hooded figures grinding out immense, immersive riffs suggested that Sunn O))) were a live experience to be reckoned with. This was confirmed by a succession of actions including a thunderous performance at London’s Underworld on Halloween 2003, an event preserved for posterity on the live album The Libations Of Samhain (2004). Sunn O)))’s live career is littered with such landmark shows. The group’s performance at Bergen Cathedral, Norway as part of the Borealis Festival in 2007 was immortalised on vinyl as Dømkirke in 2008, for example, and they have staged similarly memorable interventions at many international music festivals including Barcelona’s Sonar (2009), Krakow’s Unsound (2009), CTM Berlin (2013), Japan’s Earthdom (2007) and Leave Them All Behind (2012), North Carolina’s Hopscotch (...