"‘Permafrost’, which was originally issued in 1993, marked the conclusion of Thomas Köner’s epic and influential trilogy which included ‘Nunatak’ and ‘Teimo’. Darker and even more subdued and minimal than its predecessors, ‘Permafrost’ is for many the pinnacle of Köner’s early work. This was the album where he truly stripped the sound back to the bare essentials; gone were the hints of harmony found in ‘Teimo’ and the discernable gong sounds of ‘Nunatak’. All that remained were the deep, shadowy resonances, roomy ambience and gaseous drones that would become Köner’s calling card in the ‘dark ambient’ genre.

Listening to the record almost twenty years after its creation, the most shocking thing is how little it has aged. Its sound is so absolutely other worldly – the creeping low-end rumbles, distant icy tonal blasts and croaking occidental winds – that it contextualizes the record with little else composed. Sure there have been countless attempts at creating supposed alien soundtracks to one imagined movie or another, but rarely have others come close to expressing the truly haunting unknown as Thomas Köner did on ‘Permafrost’.

The restraint Köner shows is his true skill – there are few other records that use silence (or near silence) so effectively. The quieter passages are used to enhance the terrifying thrill of the more abrasive, rumbling peaks and the result is an enviable narrative of unfaltering power. For instrumental music, ambient or otherwise, ‘Permafrost’ is an essential piece of listening. The word ‘classic’ can be bandied about all too much these days but twenty years later, ‘Permafrost’ is just as powerful as it ever was, and still absolutely unmatched in its quality."

-Type

"Originally released in 1992, ‘Tiemo’ is probably the most ‘tuneful’ of Thomas Köner’s legendary triptych (Nunatak, Teimo and Permafrost). I say that lightly of course, but the submerged drones he made his signature are tempered slightly on this album to give a hallowed, mournful edge which has been echoed on so much of today’s darker drone music. Indeed at times throughout the cavernous album there are almost hints at something orchestral in the mires of reverb and dense clouds of harrowing sound. It is hard to believe that Köner pieced this record together using the sound of gongs – close mic’ed to reveal their subtle overtones and resonance. At times the resulting sound is so gloriously alien and so synthetic that you would be forgiven for thinking it is a trick of synthesis, but the textures are indeed organic.

‘Teimo’ is music which like its companion pieces inspires a rich, visual world; and if ‘Nunatak’ suggested human ice exploration then this record is set somewhere deep, deep underwater. The low-end resonance which was later co-opted by so many drone and dark ambient practitioners places us on the sea bed, muffled and disorientated as sounds bubble and wash overheard. The distant sounds are almost dreamlike, yet through the water are cracks of light and solace in the powerful harmonic elements.

Unlike so much ‘dark ambient’ music that appeared later Köner’s music was notable for its absolute maturity. ‘Teimo’ is not theatrical or comical, rather the darkness comes from the very particular sound-set and Köner’s intense compositional skill. With a measured, economic hand (this album again is surprisingly brief given so many other in the genre hitting the hour mark) he has created a record that revels in distance and silence and is not afraid to show the occasional beauty of the underworld."

-Type

"I can barely remember the first time I heard Thomas Köner’s music. Described tentatively as ‘dark ambient,’ I was sure it would be something I liked so I grabbed the disc on sight, hoping for something deep and mysterious. What greeted my ears was more than I could have hoped – soundscapes crafted by a true master of the genre, creations that would come to influence the inception and direction of the then non-existent Type imprint.

It is with a certain amount of pride then that we can reveal this re-issue of Thomas Köner’s debut album, the first in a set of three, on vinyl for the very first time. Originally introduced to the world in 1992, ‘Nunatak’ (then named ‘Nunatak Gongamur’) was shockingly ahead of its time, and it is hard to believe that it has been out of print and difficult to obtain for so long. Koner created the album with mood in mind; he has since been described as a ‘media’ artist, and it’s easy to see why. While the music can be described as ‘dark ambient’, these soundscapes elicit a widescreen collection of images. Through careful and measured use of gongs (recorded in different rooms and underwater) as well as homemade wind instruments, Köner created an album that would become a cornerstone of the genre and part of a tryptich of records which to my mind have never been bettered. While the album is almost twenty years old at this point, it still sounds totally alien and totally unique.

In these eleven brief, unnamed tracks, Köner guides us among battered lands, barren ice plains and damaged caves. Through the low-end resonance of his percussion we are dragged into a hallowed chasm of doom-laden drone. There have been many tries at this style since ‘Nunatak’ was first birthed, and many attempts to draw the genre into fresh and re-imagined territory, but few have come even close to the shadowy exclusion of Thomas Köner."

-Type