Biography
Emerging in the early 1990s, the influential drone ensemble Pelt cultivated an improvisational approach grounded in psychedelia and contemporary composition while incorporating Appalachian folk and Indian raga elements on certain releases, notably the 2001 album Ayahuasca. Its longstanding core members Mike Gangloff, Patrick Best, Mikel Dimmick, and Nathan Bowles were joined for eleven years by guitarist Jack Rose; across its history the group has issued dozens of forward-thinking albums such as Pearls from the River (2003), Effigy (2012), and Reticence/Resistance (2021). Related projects encompass Eight Point Star, Black Twig Pickers, and the Spiral Joy Band.
The Richmond, Virginia-based collective debuted with Brown Cyclopaedia on its own Radioactive Rat imprint in 1995, an album later reissued by VHF; its follow-up, Burning/Filament/Rockets, also appeared that year. Two further titles arrived in 1997—Snake to Snake and Max Meadows—the latter juxtaposing dense, cathartic electric-guitar drones with passages that were subdued and meditative. Expanding its palette on the 1998 release Técheöd, the band wove in tabla, flute, and lap steel amid a growing folk and ethnic-music orientation. Subsequent efforts included Empty Bell Ringing in the Sky, which combined home and concert recordings, and the limited-edition live set Rob’s Choice featuring Tom Carter of Charalambides on saxophone.
Ayahuasca surfaced in 2001 alongside the limited live collaboration United Supreme Council Oastem Vibe Orchestra with Rake—captured in Richmond in 1997—and Keyhole, a joint recording with Keenan Lawler and Eric Clark. Pearls from the River followed in 2003, then the self-titled Pelt in 2005, which introduced Mikel Dimmick to the studio lineup. Nathan Bowles became an official member in 2006 and appeared on Skullfuck; Jack Rose departed the same year to focus on solo work. Dauphin Elegies emerged in 2008 and A Stone for Angus MacLise in 2009, the year Jack Rose died following a heart attack.
Effigy, tracked inside a former opera house, and the concert album The Eighth Day, The Eleventh Month, The Two-Thousand & Twelfth Year both appeared in 2012. The band performed at London’s Café Oto across two nights in 2017, with the resulting tapes issued in 2021 as Reticence/Resistance.
The Richmond, Virginia-based collective debuted with Brown Cyclopaedia on its own Radioactive Rat imprint in 1995, an album later reissued by VHF; its follow-up, Burning/Filament/Rockets, also appeared that year. Two further titles arrived in 1997—Snake to Snake and Max Meadows—the latter juxtaposing dense, cathartic electric-guitar drones with passages that were subdued and meditative. Expanding its palette on the 1998 release Técheöd, the band wove in tabla, flute, and lap steel amid a growing folk and ethnic-music orientation. Subsequent efforts included Empty Bell Ringing in the Sky, which combined home and concert recordings, and the limited-edition live set Rob’s Choice featuring Tom Carter of Charalambides on saxophone.
Ayahuasca surfaced in 2001 alongside the limited live collaboration United Supreme Council Oastem Vibe Orchestra with Rake—captured in Richmond in 1997—and Keyhole, a joint recording with Keenan Lawler and Eric Clark. Pearls from the River followed in 2003, then the self-titled Pelt in 2005, which introduced Mikel Dimmick to the studio lineup. Nathan Bowles became an official member in 2006 and appeared on Skullfuck; Jack Rose departed the same year to focus on solo work. Dauphin Elegies emerged in 2008 and A Stone for Angus MacLise in 2009, the year Jack Rose died following a heart attack.
Effigy, tracked inside a former opera house, and the concert album The Eighth Day, The Eleventh Month, The Two-Thousand & Twelfth Year both appeared in 2012. The band performed at London’s Café Oto across two nights in 2017, with the resulting tapes issued in 2021 as Reticence/Resistance.
Albums
Reticence / Resistance
2021
Effigy
2012
Dauphin Elegies
2008
Skullfuck (Bestio Tergum Degero)
2006
Untitled
2005
Rob's Choice
2000
Brown Cyclopaedia
1996
Singles
