February 1–8, 2001

six pick

Pelt

When Pelt — big favs on the "Drone-On" e-mail list — dropped their first album, Brown Cyclopaedia (Radioactive Rat) in 1995, the trio yielded a masterstroke of basement acid rock, combining Indian-inspired improv with some twisted folk within a very loose structure. Six years later, their fascination with early minimalists out of the ’60s and ’70s may be part of the reason why Pelt has turned to simple intonation. On their latest 64-minute, three-track CD, Rob’s Choice (VHF), as well as on the stage, the drone-sters improvise harmonic intervals extended over long periods of time — often sitting on the floor amid a swamp of gadgets — using guitars, violins, bowls and other homemade instruments with little or no outside electronic effects. Within the somber yet moody wall of atmospheric buzz and feedback, Pelt maintains a system based on natural harmonics — not on the Western 12-tone scale. Pelt doesn’t just experiment with intonation, Pelt is intonation.

—Sean O’Neal

Sun., Feb. 4, 7-10 p.m., with DJ Asop. Silk City’s Sonic Sunday, Fifth and Spring Garden Sts., 215-592-8838, $4.