First things first, “Drone Poets” is a double-CDR compilation that features over two hours of sound tapestries created by the following artists: Andrew Weathers, Brian Grainger, Euhedral, Royal Train, Operations, Nicholas Szczepanik, Rogaland Hot Club, Apalusa, Textured Bird Transmission, Wereju, Stefan Kushima, and Ekca Liena.

The other night I was having dinner with some folks and when somebody asked me what kind of music I listened to, one of the descriptors I used was “drone.” My interlocutor chuckled a bit, and I can’t say I blame him. There is something inherently ridiculous, at least from within the dominant picture of understanding music and sound, about listening to drone. Many unfamiliar with drone assume that it is nothing more than a single, uninterrupted note that goes on forever, stretching into the distance and trapping the listener within eternal boredom. At times, this is the case, but it’s also critical to acknowledge that such perpetual and monochromatic notes are only boring when we approach them from within a picture of the world that equates sound with action or entertainment. As John Cage taught us, boredom can be an exciting and challenging place. And, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my journeys into ambient sound and drone, it’s that falling asleep isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

However, drone does not have to be a cold, boring, and lifeless place, and this compilation succeeds in revealing this frequently overlooked fact. By bringing together compositions created by a plurality of sound artists and projects, “Drone Poets” provides a healthy look into the diverse and vibrant possibilities of a seemingly limiting aesthetic. The minimal structures are not necessarily limiting, but instead allow the listener to focus on other aspects of sound, like texture, space, variation, process, and the act of listening itself. The selections here linger among the assorted flavors of contemporary drone music, from ordered to chaotic, hyper-minimal to maximal, meditative to violent, earthbound to cosmic, and everything in between.

Since there’s so much to choose from here, I’ll only mention my three favorite tracks. Royal Train’s “When You Return” is a long reflective piece that produces a deeply oceanic mood, incorporating warm tones and soothing vocal layers. The sensation of floating in the vastness of space and sound–terrains is pleasantly absorptive. The gain-heavy distortion rumble that kicks things up around the 5 minute mark stretches out into a more haunted and unexpected region. Rogaland Hot Club’s 11-minute “Electronic Spaghetti” opens up disc 2 with a fabulous blast of random banging and impossible-to-locate sounds. The synth-ray almost stretches out for the duration, vanishing for a moment in the middle of the track, and a crowd of clicks and falling objects rain down upon it. The sounds here are most comparable to the kitchen gamelan work featured on Black To Comm’s stunning “Alphabet 1968” release. Textured Bird Transmission deliver the heaviest moment of the compilation, ripping right into a dark Robedoor rumble of static and Alejandro Jodorowsky-inspired this-worldly mysteriousness. The sparkles of sound get temporarily devoured by a wonderful blast of noise but then rediscover themselves and return to join the static.

This collection is highly recommended to those who hold that drone and diversity are mutually exclusive. 7/10 -- Elliott Sharp (16 December, 2009)