Search - E.A.R. - Experimental Audio Research :: Koner Experiment

The sounds of outer space brought down to earth

J. Rossi | 07/16/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Koner Experiment is a mystery to me. I guess it has to do with using the same basic textures with different minimalist phrases on top. And if it sounds like it wouldn't translate very well to an album, give this one a whirl. The songs may sound the same on initial listens, but repeated spins show something deeper and more intricate. Sonic Boom knows what he's doing. Most closed-minded people will tell you "synthetic" music can't evoke or express the same emotion as instrument based music. They are wrong. Playing this album allows me to slip inside of myself and find things that have been lost since birth. This music is a distant cousin to Sonic's compositions on late era Spacemen 3 albums, but nonetheless a logical progression of those sounds. A must have for those who know."

Deep Space ambience for headphones

J. Rossi | Downers Grove, IL | 06/27/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Pete "Sonic Boom" Kember started his solo career following the same path he had first forged is Spacemen 3, working with pop-based formats and including synthesizers and effects. His Experimental Audio Research moniker was an excuse to dabble in ambient experiments. Kember has pretty much thrown away his song based leanings and dove headfirst into ambient/drone work. Which is a good thing, especially when you make an album like this. The tracks don't vary much in sound or structure, but there is a soothing edginess present here that makes this album more than background noise. Only track three lags behind; it is similar to earlier Sonic Boom solo material but doesn't fit with the rest of these songs. All the other songs are superb for headphone listening late at night, on rainy days, or during space travel. This is probably what it sounds like when you travel down the tunnel to the white light to stand before the pearly gates."

Space travelling in a sonic trance

J. Rossi | 06/21/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When Pete "Sonic Boom" Kember was in Spacemen 3, he was partly responsible for melding the sonic assault of the Stooges, the screaming noise of Suicide, and the avant-gard lyrics and textures of the Velvet Underground into one massive music explosion. Now to hear a Sonic Boom project is to woneder what would have happened if Sp3 stayed together. This album uses most of the same background elements on every song but overlaps them with analog synth trance-phrases. The results are quite similar but purely genius in the intracacies of the changes. If you like Sonic Boom's material from late era Spacemen 3 or his earlier solo work, then you must own this album and play it while looking at the stars before you go to sleep."