I remember sitting in Niblock's loft in Soho as early as 1970 watching one of his films as his music played (he is also a fine film maker). At that age I had a hard time sitting still for his music, but I appreciate it all the more now. Truly original, truly "ahead of its time". Meditative sonic experience that at first may make you uneasy, but with time is very beautiful and hypnotizing. For me, Niblock suceeds in making me rethink my listening and my surroundings...
I suppose you could define Niblock as a "drone minimalist" and a conceptual, art-gallery composer like, say, Alvin Lucier or LaMonte Young. Despite the radical nature of this music it seems to have a very intelligent, musical edge to it. "Early Winter" in particular is pretty interesting. At first it sounds like a single, sustained tone, but as you get used to it that tone opens up into a world of timbral subtlety. (Niblock is also helping you along by making things happen - the music isn't as resolutely static as it may seem.) It is difficult to actually find the time and circumstances to really appreciate this kind of thing. And I suspect that the Mp3 encoding must alter the intended effect at least somewhat. But it is worth checking out to see what Niblock is about.
