Album Notes

Theselah: (self-titled)
KOA001
released November 1999

Joseph Kim - guitar, vocals
Peter Yang - bass, vocals
David Yang - guitar, vocals
Nam Kim - drums

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"There's something wholly entrancing about Theselah's sound. The recordings may be beyond Lo-Fi (there's a track where you can hear someone coughing in the background), but peel back the layers of 4-track grime and the music reveals itself as a delicate moebius strip of serene guitars which slope back and forth, electric fuzz that drifts along until it doubles back in the form of gentle wah-wahs, and moody vocals that resonate with sadness. If you could rinse these recordings off, you'd get the full effect of the layers of dreamy guitars, the tinny but impassioned drums, and the swirling bits of noise that zoom in and out."
- Kali Holloway, Listen.com

The members of Theselah first met in Flushing 1994 when they were in their early teens. Brothers Peter and David Yang bonded with Joseph Kim and Nam Kim (no family relation) by learning to play their instruments together and over the years developed an uncanny skill at telepathic "jamming" and spontaneous song composition. In 1999, Joseph formed and began operating K.O.A. Records out of his college dorm room to put out Theselah's first self-titled album- a somewhat crudely recorded document, but filled with the poppy/experimental urges which would mature in their subsequent works. 2001 saw the release of their second album No Sleep, More Fun which became the object of much critical admiration, regarded as a sort of obscure schizophrenic lo-fi gem. Theselah itself had never considered its approach lo-fi despite their limited selection of recording equipment- the focus was always on delivering the highest fidelity recording possible with the available means. In 2002, their third and final album to date Nice International was released. This album continued in the unpredictably eclectic vein of NSMF but with the addition of minimalistic electronic drumbeats and the musical corroboration of Lauren Camarata. It became apparent in early 2003 that Theselah could no longer continue actively, causing Joseph and David to form a new band called Kite Operations.