Numün is a trio of New York City soundscape designers who combine a wide range of music and visual influences to create hypnotic aural and visual experiences. The band members include “ambient country” pioneer Bob Holmes (from SUSS) as well as new music composer and artist, Joel Mellin, and percussionist and multi-instrumentalist Chris Romero (both from Gamelan Dharma Swara). Their influences range from sonic artists like Brian Eno and Morton Subotnick, to the environmental visual artists Olafur Eliason and Elias Romero, to Balinese composer I Nyoman Windha and shadow puppet master I Wayan Wija. As individual artists, their work has been seen and heard at MOMA, The Met, Basilica Hudson, The Bali Arts Festival, NPR, New Sounds, Echoes, and has been featured in Mojo, Wire, Pitchfork and Aquarium Drunkard.
Numün’s first album, “voyage au soleil”, will be released on Musique Impossible in Fall 2020. The original sessions came out of a project to commemorate the 50th anniversary of man’s first landing on the moon. The initial track, “Tranquility Base” was featured on... more
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released September 4, 2020
Bob Holmes bass, guitar, harpsichord, synths, violin static
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"There are two things that I really like about this song. The first is that it reminds me of a child’s pop-up book, in that in starts off very flat, and then in the middle you turn a page and a beautiful 3D landscape pops up right in front of your eyes, seemingly out of nowhere. Second, the song has this beautiful coda with the fretless banjo that reminds me of the end of Buffalo Springfield’s “Bluebird” and like that song, a completely psychedelic song turns into a peaceful interlude when you least expect it." - Bob Holmes
"The çumbuiz is a very interesting instrument I came across at the Music Inn store in NYC. I had been interested in finding a twelve string instrument for some time but hadn't found quite the right thing (although the Veilette Gryphon came close). I have played fretless guitar off and on for many years, so when I found this çumbuz hanging from the ceiling I was immediately interested. It sports a body with twice the depth of a standard banjo so has a deeper tone, and has a system for replacing the neck by loosening a wing nut! The melody that comes in at 3:40 is the very first one I came up with on the instrument, I'm so glad to hear it here in the midst of the travel epic that is First Steps. I find this piece dramatic and like many of the numun pieces it travels a lot of ground -- it does not end up where it started. "--Chirstopher Romero
Somewhere between Beck's 'Morning Phase' and Anton Newcombe, 'voyage au soleil' is a mission that only goes in one direction - forward.
Numün is a trio of New York City soundscape designers who combine a wide range of music and visual influences to create hypnotic aural and visual experiences. The band members include “ambient country” pioneer Bob Holmes (from SUSS) as well as new music composer and artist, Joel Mellin, and percussionist and multi-instrumentalist Chris Romero (both from Gamelan Dharma Swara). Their influences range from sonic artists like Brian Eno and Morton Sobotnick, to the environmental visual artists Olafur Eliason and Elias Romero, to Balinese composer I Nyoman Windha and shadow puppet master I Wayan Wija. As individual artists, their work has been seen and heard at MOMA, The Met, Basilica Hudson, The Bali Arts Festival, NPR, New Sounds, Echoes, and has been featured in Mojo, Wire, Pitchfork and Aquarium Drunkard
credits
from voyage au soleil,
released September 4, 2020
Holmes / Melin / Romero
Since forming an ambient country band ( Aux Meadows ) I’ve been exploring the genre on Bandcamp and finding many fantastic like minded bands. SUSS is a major favorite! I keep coming back to this album. Excellent job, guys!! Joe Imwalle
The hushed songs on “Céus” summon, “a sacred place to which we confide our fears, desires, and search for answers.” Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 22, 2022