Phill Niblock

Phill Niblock

Phill Niblock (born in Indiana, 1933) is a seminal figure in “drone” music who crosses the Downtown and Improv scenes. A characteristic of Niblock’s drone style is its subtle, gradual alteration of pitch which leads one to lose a sense of “time” and draws one deeper and deeper into the sound itself. The remarkable thing is that Niblock achieves this effect by almost always using traditional acoustic instruments.

Niblock is an intermedia artist using music, film, photography, video and computers. He initially was trained in the visual arts and worked as a photographer; he takes inspiration from minimal artists, including Rothko, Judd and Andre.

He turns 70 this year and will be honored with many festivals and retrospectives of his music worldwide.