Years active 2013 - Present Record label The Native Sound | Associated acts Floating Room Genre Alternative/Indie | |
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Genres Experimental, Slowcore, Shoegaze, Indie Rock, Folk, Drone, Ambient, Electronic, lo-fi, Noise Pop, Post-Punk Labels The Native Sound, Apneic Void, Television Records Members Kyle Bates, Maya Stoner, Alec van Staveren, Kevin Gwozdz, Taylor Malsey, Tuesday Faust Origin Portland, Oregon, United States Albums Soon Asleep, Memory Bed, songs to sleep on Similar Planning for Burial, Velvet Cacoon, Kristina Esfandiari, Mount Eerie Profiles | ||
Drowse is the musical project of American musician and producer Kyle Bates. Based in Portland, Oregon, Bates founded the project in 2013 and released the debut album, Soon Asleep, in 2015.
Contents
Bates collaborates with other musicians during his home recordings and live shows.
History
Before forming Drowse, Bates played in local bands and recorded music on his laptop. In 2011 Bates experienced a dissociative mental breakdown that would inform the first few Drowse releases. In 2013 he released an EP, Songs to Sleep On through Television Records and began performing live with help from Portland musicians Alec van Staveren, Kevin Gwozdz and Taylor Malsey.
Drowse released its debut album Soon Asleep through Apneic Void Sounds in 2015. The album featured Portland based singer Tuesday Faust. Following the release of Soon Asleep, Drowse recorded music that was contributed to Miserable's 2016 album, Uncontrollable.
In 2016 Drowse released an EP titled Memory Bed through New York based label The Native Sound. Memory Bed featured vocal and lyrical collaborations with Maya Stoner of the band Sabonis. Drowse has shared the stage with a wide range of musical acts, including Planning for Burial and King Woman.
Musical style
Drowse derives influence from multiple genres and has been labeled "drone-pop", "shoegaze/drone", and "dream pop." Vice described the project's sound as "the aural equivalent of blood rushing back to a sleeping limb" and likened it to a "post-black metal take on" English shoegazing band Slowdive and Texas post-rock band Explosions in the Sky. Spin writer Matt Malone noted that "Drowse prioritizes music over lyrics, using vocals not to tell a story as much as add an instrumental layer to the music's soothing fog." A.V. Club critic Brian Shultz characterized the project's sound as "breathy, entrancing, and certainly a little bit eerie." Cris Lankenau, writing for Willamette Week, compared Drowse to other Pacific Northwest musical acts Mount Eerie and Grouper.
Studio Albums
EPs
Other releases
Music videos
Songs
MemoryMemory Bed · 2016
MeltSoon Asleep · 2015
iMemory Bed · 2016