SILO 10: silo 10

silo 10

silo 10

© 2004 Warren Rivera/James H. Sidlo (036434447111)

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Psychedelic ambient symphonic soundscapes

notes

"SILO 10" is Warren Rivera (guitar/synth/effects) and

James Sidlo (fretless guitar/effects/loops). Recorded in one

of the grain silos clustered outside The Blue Star Art

Complex in San Antonio, Texas. Robert "Bobdog"

Catlin (Pseudo Buddha) captured the natural reverb of the silo

utilizing the Doghouse Mobile Recording Unit.

These instrumentals range from the lilting beauty of

"winter/spring" to the psychedelic winds of "wildlife crossing".

Overused references are: Tangerine Dream, Fripp/Eno

and Terry Riley.

reviews

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  • Inner wandering
    author: Ben Naga

    Soothing, unobtrusive, but by no means devoid of character and interest.

  • author: drt

    This CD is absolutely fucking beautiful. This is just, frankly, breathtaking. Fabulous. Thank you.

  • This is an album that demands headphones
    author: Space Rock

    If you want avante garde, ambient, post rock then you can’t go far wrong with a DogFingers / Uncle Buzz release, and this is no exception. Recorded live in Silo 10 (aha!) in San Antonio, Texas, this showcases the experimental sounds of Warren Rivera on guitar / synth effects and James H Sidlo on fretlesss guitar with sympathetic strings / loops / treatments. Much of it sounds like the soundtrack to a post nuclear holocaust diorama with the occasional side trip to a slaughterhouse after dark. And I should know, having been to a slaughterhouse after dark. Fortunately, I have yet to witness a post nuclear holocaust diorama. This is an album that demands headphones, and there's little point listening any other way, as the almost non-sounds will pass you by, as they crawl slowly through your consciousness. Picking favourites is a bit stupid but I keep getting drawn back to the extreme slow motion of 'Winter / Spring' on a regular basis. Too melodic to be drone, this is a late night mood enhancer.

  • Hypnotic minimalism recorded in an empty grain silo
    author: Hypnagogue-Ambient Music News and Reviews

    Here's your pitchline for this CD: Hypnotic minimalism recorded in an empty grain silo. Warren Rivera and James Sidlo hit the improvisation trail and bring back a series of thickly layered, engaging drone-based tunes that maximize the natural reverb of the empty silo. (No, really!) Clear, repetitive licks off their guitars rise up out of the dense sound-river that forms the base of their explorations. This is at once a soothing and challenging CD. In rare instances, such as on "memory game," the reverb, in conjunction with percussive elements, wreaks a touch of havoc, seeming to pit competing rhythms against one another. "therapy refuge" is a great opening track. It pulls the listener under and holds him there. From drifty simplicity to industialesque borderline noise, Silo 10 makes for an interesting ride well worth repeat listens.

  • The more musically adventurous should check this out
    author: Review by John Pegoraro (StonerRock.com)

    Warren Rivera and James Sidlo, the two members of Silo 10, recorded this eight-song suite live in a grain silo in San Antonio, Texas. The end result is minimalist ambience that has much in common with Gavin Bryars’ The Sinking of the Titanic or the soundtrack to Blade Runner. Silo 10’s work flows together, evolving slowly. Because of the structure of their “studio,” there’s a natural reverb to the sparse instrumental work. This lets the individual tracks grow organically, at an almost subconscious level. Listening to this is like finding shapes in passing clouds. Before you know it, hours have gone by. Obviously, this won’t be for everyone, but I enjoyed the trip. The more musically adventurous should check this out.

  • then it slowly blooms into semi-abstract melodies
    author: WIRE -Adventures in Modern Music # 253

    Silo 10’s name is somewhat literal, since this Texas duo’s debut album was in fact recorded in a grain silo with a mobile recording unit. Given the setting’s acoustics, the music of Warren Rivera and James Sidlo relies heavily on reverb for its atmospheric charge. Much of it is based around sustained guitar drones, accompanied by the gentle background patter of electronica, but then it slowly blooms into semi-abstract melodies, partially submerged beneath an Ambient layer. These transformations are repeated throughout the album, with distant guitar arpeggios floating over overlapping reverb effects and booming echoes. At it’s heart lies a simple, if not formulaic approach-it’s repetitiveness is its strength, as themes are quietly reinforced with a dreamlike, somnambulant insistence. WIRE issue 253. Reviewed by Tom Ridge. Avant Rock, page 68. March 2, 2005

  • Ambient soundscapes, shoegazer space and cosmic avant-garde space voyages are al
    author: Aural Innovations

    Silo 10 is the duo of Warren Rivera on guitar, synth and effects and James Sidlo (Crevice, Dreamland, Pseudo Buddha, TransCollaboration) on fretless guitar, effects and loops. The name Silo 10 comes from the grain silo outside the Blue Star Art Complex in San Antonio, Texas where the album was recorded. I chucked at the promo sheet saying "Overused references are: Tangerine Dream, Fripp/Eno and Terry Riley". After all, it's hard to escape the analogies that give potential listeners at least some frame of reference. That said, I'll tell you that if you're a fan of Tangerine Dream, Fripp/Eno and Terry Riley then you're pretty well guaranteed to like Silo 10. The album is chock full of slowly rolling guitar and electronic ambient drift, though I hesitate to use the term ambient because this is way beyond ambience. The music gets high volume and mightily intense at several points, while continually evolving and reshaping itself. There's a rock element at times, and I loved the high energy moments that blend the soundscapes with bashing guitar patterns and instrumental wails and screams, all done at high volume. Ambient soundscapes, shoegazer space and cosmic avant-garde space voyages are all the order of the day. And the silo was an excellent choice for a place to record because the howls, rings and pulsations, along with the tones and textures Rivera and Sidlo produce are a large part of what makes Silo 10 such an engaging experience. "Trip" is a standout in this regard. The guitar sounds, textures and effects are simply beautiful. Even the distinct sound of fingers darting across the neck fits neatly into the larger whole. And "Wildlife Crossing" is probably my favorite track, being a sort of soundscape acid freakout piece, with volcanic eruptions, ghostly alien screeches and howls, and gripping, spaced out, edge-of-your-seat intensity. Excellent! If you dig stretched out space voyages with an avant-garde edge then you'll find lots here to enjoy.

  • lush, hypnotic waves of sound
    author: Splendidmagazine

    Although the idea of a Texan album driven by atmospheric guitar work and dissonant loops urges comparison with fellow statesmen Explosions In The Sky, Silo 10 is more akin, both sonically and texturally, to the work of composer Cliff Martinez. Like Martinez's Solaris score, the album merely hints at the dangers around the corner, preferring to skirt the edge of chaos and avoid the heaving soundgasms for which Explosions are best known. That isn't to say that Rivera and Sidlo fail to deliver; the aptly-named "Pulse" makes good on the lush, hypnotic waves of sound that precede it, building into a kaleidoscope of haunting notes and plucked strings. "Winter/Spring" calms those rough waters, then falls into a seductive two-note loop that drifts through a murky sonic fog without ever getting completely lost.

  • The compositions here are extremely atmospheric
    author: Music Extreme

    James H. Sidlo continues delivering amazing compositions of pure experimentation. This time he is joined by another great improviser, Warren Rivera and they have decided to record in a silo ! The compositions here are extremely atmospheric as it is shown in "Therapy Refuge". Sidlo plays a fretless guitar and using some effects he delivers amazing arpeggios and sounds that will take you to a completely different musical dimension from what you are accustomed to listen. While Rivera developes interesting and dark atmospheres with his synth Sidlo developes sounds with feedback and with some notes that are sustained and twisted beyond limits. There are some melodies but they are twisted out of form to reach new heights in experimentation

  • Want some real ambience? Get the sound from the very bottom.
    author: Dmitry Epstein

    Silo 10 is not concept - it's rather a place, a real one, in San Antonio. The place where James Sidlo continues his soundscape explorations. Yet, unlike his previous experiments with DREAMLAND and RE:COOPERATION, this project adds another dimension to the man's deep thought: the folk one. While all the signature elements - floating guitar notes, pulsating loops, fathomless spaceness - are in place, an acoustic, John Renbourn-patented ring finds its way into the aural web to weave in the "Therapy Refuge" blurred finale. If that's an influence of guitarist Warren Rivera, more plaudits, then, to Sidlo again - for his ability to find a perfect partner. The twosome are majestically wholesome in the buzzing "Pulse", the splinters of a tune working a real acupuncture on a listener's brain, but there's no division bells on the record: it swirls and mesmerises constantly. Still, "Trip" and "Wildlife Crossing" that clock in just under eleven minutes each, are mind-bending in their own right and pass before the soul window in a blink of an eye. Well, sitting in a silo one cannot help but navel-zoom - epecially when silo's a wishing well.

  • let yourself be carried into a different mental state by Silo 10
    author: IMPACT Press

    Silo 10 probably got its name from the fact that they recorded this album inside a grain silo in San Antonio in order to capture its natural reverb capabilities. This duo plays instrumental ambient music with guitars, synths and other effects that lend itself well to the use of reverb. Just don't drive your car while listening to this, or you are liable to fall asleep and kill someone. Otherwise, let yourself be carried into a different mental state by Silo 10.

  • Fans of ultra psyche take note
    author: Zookeeper Online

    Super spacey guitar stuff a la Eno or Fripp recorded in a grain silo with all the spacey trippiness reverb and echos you’d expect. Quite beautiful and hypnotic. Fans of ultra psyche take note (Acid Mothers, Flying Saucer...).

  • These boys know what they're doing.
    author: Aiding and Abetting

    Just James Sidlo and Warren Rivera playing guitars and messing about with effects and electronics. Of course, when I say just, I am being facetious. Yes, I am talking about highly abstract improvised fare. But the pictures painted by the sounds on this album are extremely discrete and vivid. Some folks know how to work within this type of construct, and some don't. These boys know what they're doing. This says it was recorded live at Silo 10. I don't know if we're talking about a real grain silo or simply a studio, but wherever it is, the acoustics are pretty spooky. The choice was a good one. I'm always at something of a loss reviewing albums like this, as appreciation of this particular style of improvisational music is very much in the ear of the beholder. I liked the contemplative nature of the pieces, and I found myself quickly sucked into the atmosphere of the work. That's good enough for me.

  • Here’s an interesting little disc.
    author: ffroyd

    Here’s an interesting little disc. Silo 10 is Warren Rivera and James H. Sidlo from San Antonio, Texas. This CD showcases the duo improvising ambient guitar soundscapes. The unusual aspect of this project is the interesting location where they’ve decided to record the music: a grain silo! The aluminum walls of the silo provide a unique swirling reverb effect for the guitarists to interact with. The music and the ensuing resonations were recorded by Robert “Bobdog” Catlin and the Doghouse Mobile Recording Unit. There isn’t really a whole lot to say about this disc other than the music is beautiful, warm and very relaxing. This is a joint release from the Dog Fingers and Uncle Buzz labels. Check it out. Minimalism isn’t dead, it’s just

  • ...between somewhat dark, melancholic...
    author: Bernhard Wagner

    The reverb on this album is natural, being recorded in the silo that inspired the album's title. The mood is refreshingly varied and moves between somewhat dark, melancholic to bright and very soothing. The whole album is very meditative and inspires you to your own personal movie in your head. It is thoroughly crafted by two musicians who really listen to each other. I highly recommend it!

  • a "concept album" of improvised instrumental music, soundscapes and loops
    author: Johnny Love

    Silo 10 is the latest joint release on the Dogfingers/Uncle Buzz label; essentially a "concept album" of improvised instrumental music, the material for this disc was recorded live inside an abandoned grain silo located in the warehouse district of King William, near the Blue Star Art complex overlooking the San Antonio river. The pieces were performed and composed by Warren Rivera and James H. Sidlo, two guitarists who play a variety of guitars, fretless and otherwise, through synth effects, delays, and loops creating a transcendant and etheral vibe. The CD features a moving collection of soundscapes which have a sublime meditative quality at times, evoking an introspective and emotional response upon the listener. The songs "flow", slowly and quietly building gentle crescendos and sometimes surprising divergencies, but never slipping into cliche or pure guitar wanking. This is not meandering stuff, but rather thoughtful, structured "composed" music. "Winter/Spring" evokes Tibetan bells or gongs and distant landscapes, while the beautiful opening track "therapy refuge" features looped harmonics which gradually fade into a journey of building momentum. All the while, we are aware of the ambient echo and the presence of the musicians within the silo; this ambient "noise" captures the essence of the live quality of the playing. Robert "Bobdog" Catlin brilliantly records the material on the "Doghouse Mobile Recording Unit, and the feeling is that we are truly there and present with Sidlo and Rivera in this setting, within the context of the performance. Overall, a wonderful CD and moving document of a moment captured in time; if you are a fan of ambient music, soundscapes or looping, you will not be disappointed with this beautiful disc. Highly recommended!! -- Johnny Love

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