The Texas Tapes: An Interview with Kenneth James Gibson

The world of Kenneth James Gibson has always been one that has sparked intrigue. From the beginning, Gibson has oscillated between contrasting sound worlds like few others (from post-hardcore favourites, Furry Things to the electronic adjacent, Eight Frozen Modules; also, from his solo ambient works to the left-leaning idyllic alt-country of Bell Gardens).

Following last year’s excellent collaboration alongside Paul Carman, Murals of Immersion – a releases that gracefully explored the landscapes of deep listening – Gibson returns with his first new music in 2025. Well, in a sense…

The Texas Tapes – a series of unreleased recordings from 1993-1997 that, in the words of Gibson, “Have been attracting dust in the archives for many years.” Ahead of tomorrow’s official Bandcamp only release of The Texas Tapes (1993-1997), exclusive to Sun 13, you can listen in full below.

Recorded on a 4-track during Gibson’s time in Austin, Texas, The Texas Tapes (1993-1997) are a concoction of seamless soundscapes made from guitar, field recordings and delay looper pedals. The results offer a snapshot of Gibson’s earliest works that would form the foundation of his future releases that remain some of the most prominent across the ambient and experimental composition sound world.

Despite being produced so long ago, The Texas Tapes (1993-1997) both sounds and feels like a product born in this times. Like a Heavy Blanket One and Her East Texas Rose Never Wilted, part eerie, part filmic, and it’s these moments that dots can be connected to Gibson’s eventual work in television and film; his music featuring in the likes of The Simpson’s, Californication and The Best and the Brightest.

Elsewhere, and Upon the Arrival of the Sun (For Tyler & Jesse) is one of the most captivating pieces in the Kenneth James Gibson canon – a sweet mist of magenta, yellows and greens, and it’s these soft colours through sound that bathe the listener in bliss.

So too Texas Disco and Like a Heavy Blanket Two, where Gibson produces an undulating sea of dreamscapes and drones that sit somewhere between kranky and Kompakt (Gibson’s The Evening Falls and In The Fields Of Nothing LPs would feature on the latter in 2016 and 2018, respectively).

To celebrate the release of The Texas Tapes (1993-1997), Gibson is set to play a show this Saturday as part of the Dallas ambient music night Damn, which takes place at the Texas Theatre with a line-up that includes Stuart Chilton, Howiquit Crack, S. English, Polarimetry, Kitbashes and more.

Earlier this week, Gibson answered some questions about The Texas Tapes (1993-1997).

Sun 13: Had you remembered recording these tapes, or was it something that you stumbled across in your tape collection all these year later? 

Kenneth James Gibson: “I definitely remember recording bits, but some of the sounds came as a total surprise. I hadn’t listened to any of this stuff for close to 25 years. I started to pull stuff off the tapes and do some additional processing a couple years ago when I got another 4-track – but didn’t really plan on releasing any of it until very recently. While searching for a tape to record on for another project a couple of months ago, I found the loops that made up the track Upon The Arrival Of The Sun and I really liked the way it sounded – so with a show in Dallas coming up I thought it was a fun time to go ahead and put some of it out.”

S13: Do you remember the creative process behind these tracks?

KJG: “Well, as you can tell this stuff is pretty stripped down. It’s mostly just guitar loops and field recordings with a bit of drum machine. What I was using at the time was a Fender Mustang (which I still use now), a Digitech delay looper, Alesis HR-16, an Alesis midiverb got added later, as well as an Ensoniq EPS sampler – going direct into the 4-track. Most of the sounds that ended up on this album were likely intended for Furry Things or Eight Frozen Modules tracks that never materialised. I switched over to recording on computers in 1998 – so for years the tapes just followed me around until it was time to reopen the vault I guess you could say.”

S13: What were you listening to when you recording these?

KJG: “Zoviet France was a big influence at that time… My Bloody Valentine, the first Electric Company record, Seefeel, Brian Eno, Stars the of Lid, The Orb, Flying Saucer Attack, and Nurse With Wound quickly come to mind as inspirations. That was an extra exploratory time in music for me. Since there was no streaming, you had to really search record stores and be turned on by friends to exciting new and old sounds.”

S13: There’s an early Kompakt vibe here, I think. Do you feel as though these tracks were the gateway to you ending up recording on the label?

KJG: “I don’t think so, but that’s cool you made that connection. I love Gas, but probably didn’t really hear that stuff until the early 2000s.”

S13: Stars of Lid had their own trajectory during this time. Had you known Brian and Adam at this point and, secondly, had you been talking and exchanging these ideas with them?

KJG: “I met them in 1994 I believe. I met Wiltzie first because King Coffey got him to record part of the first Furry Things album and following EPs. I got to know Brian a bit too then, but we didn’t really connect until I toured with them in 2002. We collaborated on Bell Gardens much later. I was actually just looking at a few unfinished drone-y guitar tracks Brian and I started working on a while before he passed, but I haven’t had it in me yet to open up the sessions.”

S13: How much do you think Austin, Texas and your immediate surroundings played a part in these recordings?

KJG: “I think it played a big part actually. So many great weirdos there at that time. Growing up in Texas I was a big Butthole Surfers fan, so working with King and Trance Syndicate on my earliest releases was pretty exciting. There were multiple amazing record stores in Austin at that time. I was young and just soaking in as much music as possible.” 

The Texas Tapes 1993-1997 is out tomorrow. Purchase here.