Natural Snow Buildings

Natural Snow Buildings is a duo from France, consisting of artists Mehdi Ameziane and Solange Gularte. They play music which can be classified as experimental psychedelic folk with drone elements and ambient influences.[1] Formed in 1998, they released numerous albums, many of them in extremely limited quantities.[1]

Natural Snow Buildings
OriginParis, France
GenresDrone, psychedelic folk, experimental, lo-fi, ambient, post-rock
Years active1998-present
LabelsBa Da Bing, Blackest Rainbow, Students of Decay, Digitalis Industries, Vulpiano Records, Dull Knife, Handmade Birds, Primary Numbers
Associated actsIsengrind, TwinSisterMoon
MembersMehdi Ameziane
Solange Gularte

Both members of Natural Snow Buildings release music also as solo artists: Mehdi Ameziane as TwinSisterMoon and Solange Gularte as Isengrind.

History

The beginnings of Natural Snow Buildings can be traced back to 1997, at a Paris university. They met in their school library where a film was playing.[1] Mehdi had been invited to a party that evening but declined and headed to the library instead. After their first meeting, the two saw more of each other. Although Mehdi could play a bit of guitar and Solange was a classically trained musician, the two had not yet begun making music.

It was in May 1998 that the two officially started their band and began home recording their music. They self-released two cassettes, Witch-Season and Two Sides of a Horse in 1999 and 2000, and in 2001 recorded Ghost Folks, released in 2003. Then, they self-released a double CD, The Winter Ray, in a limited edition, and, after moving from Paris to Vitré, Brittany in 2004, recorded The Dance of the Moon and the Sun (released in 2006). They then each issued solo material before producing more material as a duo.

Most of their albums have only been released in small numbers, often in hand-crafted limited editions. However, since 2012 they have released several records on prominent independent labels such as Ba Da Bing Records, which has also reissued some of their earlier recordings, including Night Coercion Into the Company of Witches and the Isengrind/Twinsistermoon/Natural Snow Buildings split The Snowbringer Cult.[2][3] Their work has been compared with such bands as Popol Vuh, Flying Saucer Attack, and Tower Recordings.[4] They make many references to the horror film genre in their songtitles; for example Santa Sangre (with the track 'Santa Sangre Part I & II' on 'Daughter of Darkness'), The Blair Witch Project (The track 'Mary Brown' on 'Dance of the Moon and the Sun' is a reference to a character from this film) and director John Carpenter (a track on 'Dance of the Moon and the Sun').

Discography - Natural Snow Buildings[5]

Albums
  • 2003 - Ghost Folks
  • 2004 - The Winter Ray
  • 2006 - The Dance of the Moon and the Sun
  • 2008 - Between The Real And The Shadow
  • 2008 - Norns
  • 2008 - Sung To The North
  • 2008 - The Snowbringer Cult (CD 2)
  • 2008 - Laurie Bird
  • 2008 - Slayer of the King Hell
  • 2008 - The Wheel of Sharp Daggers
  • 2008 - Night Coercion Into the Company of Witches
  • 2008 - Sunlit Stone (released with a special edition of re-issued 'The Dance of the Moon and the Sun')
  • 2009 - Daughter of Darkness
  • 2009 - Daughter of Darkness V
  • 2009 - Shadow Kingdom
  • 2010 - The Centauri Agent
  • 2011 - Waves of the Random Sea
  • 2011 - Chants of Niflheim
  • 2012 - Beyond the Veil
  • 2013 – The Snowbringer Cult
  • 2014 – The Night Country
  • 2014 - Live At Cragg Vale
  • 2015 - Terror's Horns
  • 2016 - The Ladder
  • 2016 - Aldebaran

EPs
  • 2008 - The Moonraiser
  • 2008 - The Sundowner

Compilations
  • 2008 - I Dream of Drone (5CDr box set, only one copy produced & given free to a friend of the band: Jed B)
  • 2008 - Tracks on the Bloody Snow (CDr, 2 known versions: one with brown sleeve, one with red. Compilation of early recordings 1998/1999)

Demos
  • 1999 - Witch-Season
  • 2000 - Two Sides of a Horse

Discography - solo

Albums
  • 2007 - When Stars Glide Through Solid
  • 2007 - Levels and Crossings
  • 2008 - The Snowbringer Cult (Tracks 9–16 on CD 1)
  • 2009 - The Hollow Mountain
  • 2010 - Then Fell The Ashes
  • 2012 - Bogyrealm vessels

EPs
  • 2008 - Rivers of Blood Ending in the Sun
  • 2009 - Bride of the Spirits

Albums
  • 2007 - Golestân
  • 2008 - The Snowbringer Cult (Tracks 1–8 on CD 1)
  • 2009 - Journey of the Seven Stars
  • 2010 - Modlitewnik
  • 2012 - Night of Raining Fire
  • 2014 - Underflesh

References
  1. Currin, Grayson; Masters, Mark. Sonic Omnivores. Pitchfork Media, April 22, 2013
  2. New album from Natural Snow Buildings. Ba Da Bing Records website, July 13, 2015
  3. Grapefruit Record Club catalogue
  4. Article on band by John Mulvey, Wild Mercury Sound, Uncut magazine, March 2010, p.10.
  5. Discography
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