Lobe

(swim~) Releases || News

Since his early days ('88) at the Pelican club in Aberdeen, Ian Hartley has been experimenting with sound, texture and melody. A graduate of Edinburgh's Blue Room scene he has remained in that city while never indulging it's dominant 'techno' aesthetic. Indeed from the earliest days there was something different about Lobe. Although his sound is machine derived it has never been about the machines on which it was created. Perhaps this has to do with his solid refusal to make anything which is not 100 percent Lobe in order to make a quick buck from his music. In fact he has retained his 'career' as a psychiatric nurse a fact that grounds the man (he is modesty incarnate) and tempers his reponse to the praise which has been heaped upon him from certain quarters.

From his first release in 1995 the placebo 12" on swim~ everything which has engaged and captivated his small but dedicated band of admirers was present, underneath those modest exteriors lies music of great depth and beauty which somehow retains the lightest of touches. Mark Gage (vapourspace/cusp) played out the record so many times as to wear out the grooves and was heard to remark on hearing the man live 'just how does he do that?' The broadcaster and writer Desmond Hill comissioned a track for his theme tune. The writer Jon Savage was an early convert, who like many of the devotees rates Lobe as amongst the best (if not the best) that swim has to offer.

An album followed in 1996, the self titled lobe. Understated yet passionate the album gained new converts. Satrist and radio broadcaster extrordinaire Graham Duff dubbed the disc 'the album of the 90's', quite a statement coming from a self-confessed music obsessive; Neil Tennant was an unlikely convert. One of the most amusing comments came from an American radio DJ who described the album as 'the best album to fuck to...ever!!' Perhaps not quite the accolade Ian was looking for but one which demonstrates that the music will work in a diverse number of settings!

1999 sees the release of the latest album Hibernation. Already the fans are dubbing this the best work to date (just how one can better the 'best album of the 90's' is of course a moot point). Jon Savage described it as 'subliminal, melodic and emotional' - Underword magazine described it as 'simply sublime'. Above all Lobe's music is one which can fit to any setting and any season. It is quite simply a soundtrack to life.

(Biography Last updated 17 November 2000)

‘swim team #2’ by various artists [swim~ ]

Release date 5 November 2001
CD In Stock £5.00 buy || MP3 £4.50 buy

NOVEMBER 5TH and the second in swim's numbered "team" series will be delivered to the waiting world's door. With 19 tracks (of which only 3 have been previously released) and featuring 5 new artists this album can justifiably claim to offer the best of the future of swim as well ... [more]

‘Swim Team # 1’ by various artists [swim~ ]

Release date 20 January 2000
CD In Stock £5.00 buy || MP3 £4.50 buy

Swim, the label established by Colin Newman (of the currently reformed Wire) and Malka Spigel back in 1993, releases this low-price sampler CD of recent and forthcoming delights in May 2000.

A chance to dip into Swim's warm and fertile waters, Swim Team #1 melts the boundaries of atmospheric, ... [more]

‘Hibernation’ by Lobe

Release date 17 May 1999
CDR In Stock £10.00 buy || MP3 £6.00 buy
( play all tracks )

Anybody who still thinks electronic music is "cold" or "souless" should listen to lobe. For this is music with a rare warmth and humanity. Lush textures combine with constantly evolving rythms and heart breaking melodies. Unique. GRAHAM DUFF, satirist and broadcaster, Brighton.

I can heartily reccommend lobe as - subliminal; ... [more]

‘Water Communication’ by various artists [swim~ ]

Release date 10 March 1997
2CD In Stock £7.50 buy || MP3 £6.00 buy

Water Communication combines both a summing up of "the Swim story" in the 3 years up to to 1997 and some glimpses of what this label run by Colin Newman & Malka Spigel had in store for it's next set of releases. It iwas perhaps Swim's first release to show ... [more]

‘Lobe’ by Lobe

Release date 10 August 1996
CD Out Of Stock || MP3 £6.00 buy
( play all tracks )

Ian Hartley/ Lobe Biography

‘Placebo’ by Lobe

Release date 10 October 1994
12" Out Of Stock

A timeless piece of ambience, this record beautifully reflects the sound on of the classic sounds of the 90s

Latest News

Lobe V Pet Shop Boys

15 April 2006

It's Official! The Pet Shop Boys Websiite has announced that Lobe's remix of their track "Minimal" is to be included on a special edition of the Boys' new album, "Fundamental".

The news story goes on to say that the album..

".....will include a bonus dance album, "Fundamentalism", containing six remixes and two new tracks. The full track-listing is as follows:

1. Fugitive (Richard X extended mix)
2. Sodom (Trentemøller remix)
3. Psychological (Alter ... [read full article]