Zomes

Zomes are a drone-rock duo that began as a solo project of Asa Osborne. He is best known for his work with <a href="spotify:artist:2aeccL0hsJAfsP56dRdrBI">Lungfish</a> and its subgroup <a href="spotify:artist:0jmWaEvXXh9kBQUUmHv7gI">Pupils</a>, as well as being one half of the duo Higgs/Osborne with <a href="spotify:artist:2aeccL0hsJAfsP56dRdrBI">Lungfish</a> frontman <a href="spotify:artist:0yYqHH7etiOBZdGdJNXfvr">Daniel Higgs</a>. Earlier, Osborne was an active member in the southern Maryland scene as a member of Maryland's the Clits and Pig. The Zomes project is distinct from virtually everything that he did before in that Osborne (who was highly influential in creating the drone-based sound that is prevalent in much of the 21st century post-rock sound) relies heavily on modally based harmony, and records with a very deliberate lo-fi aesthetic. The first Zomes date was a critically acclaimed, self-titled offering issued on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Holy+Mountain%22">Holy Mountain</a>. It was followed in the spring of 2011 with the even more adventurous Earth Grid on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Thrill+Jockey%22">Thrill Jockey</a> imprint. The latter album was recorded entirely on cassette tape and mastered by <a href="spotify:artist:15xLkJAIVtpeLtcRMlIAzO">Bob Weston</a>. <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Thrill+Jockey%22">Thrill Jockey</a> also issued Improvisations, an expanded LP version of a 2010 cassette on Imminent Frequencies (which also released the 2012 tape Variations, Vol. 1).

When performing at a Swedish festival in early 2012, Osborne met vocalist Hanna Olivegren through their mutual friends in <a href="spotify:artist:4Ty0FAWnmeA08kjZBnHhdd">Skull Defekts</a>. Olivegren joined Osborne during his set, offering up improvised vocal counterparts to his organ drones. The pairing worked so well that Zomes expanded into a duo to include Olivegren, and the two worked together on the comparatively expansive 2013 album Time Was. The album marked the first Zomes recordings to be made in an actual studio and included vocals on most tracks. In 2015, the duo released the full-length Near Unison on a label of the same name. A year later, the duo released a cassette titled Who Shall Be the Sun, based on the similarly titled book by Northwest American poet David Wagoner. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi