STILL by True Silos

True Silos is a contemporary recording project by Miles Thomas, Brendan Clark and Novak Manojlovic from Sydney, Australia.
Drawing from minimalism, drone and electronic aesthetics, the trio utilises overdubbing techniques to explore the concept of ‘exponential improvisation’, whereby improvised performances are layered atop each other to create vast mosaics and monolithic sound worlds. By interacting with and responding to previous iterations of their own performances, the ensemble expands from a trio into a spectral orchestra where melodies and structures emerge from spaces in between the ‘now’ and ‘then’.

Their measured approach eschews the common trend in long form works to strive towards profound dynamic realisations and cathartic climax, True Silos instead construct pieces which seek to hold to a stillness amongst the noise and find what beauty exists in the lowlands of the everyday.

Thomas, Clark and Manojlovic are three distinct and established voices across the Australian music landscape, having worked individually and together across an almost incalculable array of genres and with artists as diverse as Lior, Meg Mac, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, NGAIIRE, Montaigne, Chris Abrahams, Matt Keegan’s Three Seas and more. Their depth of experience is belied only by their rare ability to maintain an individualistic and persistent musical voice across all these contexts. This ability is no more on display than in STILL, where Thomas, Clark and Manojlovic’s rich musical history, their deep creative connection and their quiet artistry form the heartbeat of the music.

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Recorded at Miles Thomas’ studio in Sydney in October of 2024, STILL is the debut release by contemporary trio True Silos. The project was initiated by an interest in contemporary recording practices as well as an exploration of temporality within improvisation contexts, asking the questions; in responding to our own creative modus, how do we interact with the ghosts of ourselves in the creative process? How do we reckon with our own fundamental limitations? How do we build spaces for the decisions we have already made that we cannot change but only bend to?

Engineered by Miles Thomas in a single room across a day, the trio - Miles Thomas (drums and objects), Brendan Clark (bass and objects) and Novak Manojlovic (keyboards) performed a 36~minute improvisation based around a simple three-note gesture on a malfunctioning Korg M1. The trio then recorded two further 35~ minute improvisations on top of the initial bed - responding in real time to the artistic decisions they had already made, and sympathetic to the possibility that there may be further layers yet to come.

This compositional process, colloquially named ‘exponential improvisation’ by the band, resulted in the construction of a kind of spectral ‘orchestra of the self’ - three drum sets, three basses and a multitude of keyboards all interacting other across the span of the work, and each member weaving around the ghost of themself to explore new structures, new ideas and new melodies. The ensuing sound is at once both searching and surreal - like a dream folded over a dream.

Mixed by Tim Whitten, STILL is a record that blurs the line between ‘performer’ and ‘audience’, ‘other’ and ‘self’, ’then’ and ‘now’. By deconstructing what a trio can be in the contemporary landscape, True Silos ushers in an exciting new era in the rich pedigree of creative Australian music.

non-singing music from Miles Thomas.

Check out https://milesytee.bandcamp.com for singing music

milesthomas.com.au