by request
downtempo, chill, ambient
Artist Biography by Sean Cooper
Woob
is U.K.-based ambient-dub musician Paul Frankland, whose albums for
Em:t Recordings are among the most praised and encompassing documents of
post-rave ambient of the last several years. Incorporating Middle
Eastern instrumentation and vocalese with Jamaican dub-style production,
tight, snappy breakbeats, blankets of synth drone and melody, and heaps
of treated samples and field recordings, Woob
is a sort of state-of-the-art snapshot of heavily hybridized post-rave
experimental ambient. Frankland first came to attention through his
participation in a Future Music talent competition held at London's
Wembley stadium, refereed by, among others, Mixmaster Morris (of Dreamfish and Irresistible Force fame). Frankland's entry in the seminar/competition -- a four-track demo tape -- was praised highly by Morris
and subsequently passed to a number of British music journalists,
eventuating Frankland's relationship with the Nottingham-based Em:t
label. Frankland released his first album as Woob,
1194, through Em:t and has since contributed tracks to many of their
compilations, as well as releasing a follow-up full-length, 4495. Stateside reissue of 1194 by the widely-distributed Instinct label has also given a boost to Woob's
visibility, and Frankland's popularity is at or near that of his
comparatively more prodigious contemporaries. In addition to his Woob work, Frankland also records (together with DJ Colin Waterton) as Journeyman
for the Ntone label. The pair's work is similar to Frankland's own,
although the Middle Eastern elements are largely replaced by less
localizable, heavily treated and manipulated influences. [See Also: Journeyman]
Tracklist
| 1 | On Earth | 32:13 |
| 2 | Odonna | 13:15 |
| 3 | Amoeba | 1:45 |
| 4 | Wuub | 9:29 |
| 5 | Strange Air | 10:32 |
| 6 | Emperor | 4:28 |
