“New York City’s Phantom Limb & Bison consists of multi-instrumentalists Shawn Hansen, Chris Heenan, Jaime Fennelly and Chris Forsyth, the latter two also members of the stellar Peeesseye. Where that group deconstruct rock, Noise and Improv in surprising ways, Phantom Limb & Earth’s Hypnagogia take a simpler tack, concentrating on minimalist drones often made in collaboration with guest artists. The Bison portion of their name disappears during these partnerships, such as on their excellent disc Hot Ginger wherein the ever inventive Japanese guitarist Tetuzi Akiyama took Heenan’s place.
”In Celebration Of Knowing All The Blues Of The Evening isn’t a collaboration; it was performed by the duo of Fennelly and Hansen (as the sleevenotes put it, ‘When one is absent, all are present’). So it’s not apparent who or what Earth’s Hypnagogia are, but what remains clear is the simplicity of the music, this time composed by Hansen and played on Farfisa organs and sinewave oscillators. Of the six long pieces presented here, the first half (titled ‘Civil Twilight arts 1-3’) consists of slow-moving drifts that barely change, the large columns of sound akin to the massive drones of Phill Niblock.
“In the subsequent three parts (titled ‘Darkness - Nautical Almanac’), the pair’s forward progress grows clearer. During the second part, timid Farfisa chords become dark, dramatic waves, as if Fennelly and Hansen had levitated from a quiet room into a cavernous chamber hall. Part three turns that trick even more ferociously, unfurling sheets of howling noise that sounds refreshingly angry. The arc of this performance, which took place in a photography studio, was meant to mimic the transition of the outside light from day to night. That’s a simple enough goal, but one that the duo achieve with the subtlety of dusk, shifting and adjusting in beguiling fashion.”
– Marc Masters in The Wire, June 2009

Each CD comes in a letterpress die-cut sleeve with folded color insert and two postcards.