Kenneth James Gibson is a musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter and a founding member of Bell Gardens, Furry Things, Eight Frozen Modules, and [a]pendics.shuffle.
Career
Kenneth James Gibson was born in Canada, grew up in El Paso, Texas and currently lives in Los Angeles, California. He first learned how to play guitar on his fathers acoustic and got his first 4-track recorder at age 19.Romero, Dennis "Kenneth James Gibson: Hollywood Shuffler" , LAweekly.com, Retrieved Dec.18, 2014. Gibson founded the 1990s noise rock band Furry Things,Raggat, Ned Furry Things, Big Saturday Illusion, Allmusic.com, March 6, 1996. Retrieved April 18, 2014. who released most of its material on King Coffey's (of the Butthole Surfers) Trance Syndicate / Touch and Go Records imprint.
He has also released music that spans across many genres under aliases such as [a]pendics.shuffle, Eight Frozen Modules, dubLoner, Reverse Commuter, and Hiss & Buzz (with Jack Dangers of Meat Beat Manifesto). He founded the electronic music record label Adjunct Audio in early 2005 with friend Konstantin Gabbro, through Kompakt records.
Gibson along with Brian McBride of the drone-based ambient music duo Stars of the Lid, started the band Bell Gardens in 2009.Rees, Thomas Stars of the Lid And Apendics.shuffle Are Bell Gardens, Release EP , XLR8R.com, May 21, 2010. Retrieved April 18, 2014. Through the music of Bell Gardens, the two explore the realms of Americana, chamber pop, folk, and psychedelic pop.Romero, Dennis Kenneth James Gibson: Hollywood Shuffler , LA Weekly, June 6, 2009. Retrieved April 18, 2014. He also recently collaborated with Douglas McCarthy of Nitzer Ebb on a track called Whispers In on his latest Reverse Commuter album titled Exposure. In April 2016, Gibson released his first full ambient album under his real name titled The Evening Falls on Kompakt Records and returned for a second album in March, 2018 titled In The Fields Of Nothing.Admin Dubspot interviews Kenneth James Gibson, dubspot.com, Retrieved 7 July 2015Admin Kenneth James Gibson interview, www.astrangelyisolatedplace.com, Retrieved 18 October 2016Girou, Baptiste Kenneth James Gibson interview, inverted-audio.com, Retrieved 18 April 2020
In 2017, Gibson started the band Toler Gibson with Gavin Toler Of The Winter Flowers. According to his website the group makes music that fits under the “Cosmic American Music” banner.Admin Toler Gibson mention, worldofkennethjamesgibson.com, Retrieved 18 April 2020
In 2021 Gibson started a new record label called Meadows Heavy Recorders. This is also the name of his studio in Idyllwild, Ca. 2022 saw the release of his 3rd ambient and experimental album titled Groundskeeping under his given name on his new label. Later in 2022 he also released a guitar based drone album titled Ssih Mountain.Admin Kenneth James Gibson interview about Ssih Mountain, 7 November 2022, www.sun-13.com, Retrieved 13 December 2024 2023 saw the release of the remix album Further Translations featuring remixes by artists such as Jack Dangers, Scanner, Brian McBride, Christopher Willits, and others.Admin Kenneth James Gibson interview, 16 July, 2024, www.xlr8r.com, Retrieved 13 December 2024Admin Further Translations review, 9 Nov., 2023, www.theletter.co.uk, Retrieved 13 December 2024
In 2024 Gibson collaborated with saxophonist Paul Carman on an album titled Murals For Immersion which was released on Important Records. Paul Carman is most known for being the saxophonist on recordings and tours with Frank Zappa in what Zappa called The Best Band You Never Heard In Your LifeAdmin Murals For Immersion at Forced Exposure, www.forcedexposure.com, Retrieved 13 December 2024 In 2025 Gibson joined forces with artists Marine Eyes and James Bernard to form the ambient post-rock band Almost An Island. The trio released their self-titled debut album on the label Past Inside The Present.Admin Almost An Island review, https://acloserlisten.com, Retrieved 7 May 2026Admin Almost An Island review, https://sun-13.com, Retrieved 7 May 2026
He has directed music videos for artists such as Francis Harris and Dance Spirit as well as his own projects Reverse Commuter and Bell Gardens.The Sun Also Rises Premiere , wonderlandmagazine.com, Retrieved Oct. 9,2015.Whispers In Premiere, vice.com, Retrieved Oct.9, 2015."You Can Always Leave" premiere, vice.com, Retrieved Oct.9, 2015.
Musical projects
Furry Things
Kenneth played guitar, sang, and produced the 1990s Noise Pop band Furry Things. The line up also consisted of Cathy Shive (Bass, Vocals), Charlie Woodburn (Drums), and Chris Michaels (Keyboards). Furry Things released the majority of its material on King Coffey's (of the Butthole Surfers) Trance Syndicate / Touch and Go Records imprint. The band formed in Austin, Texas in 1993 and moved to Los Angeles, California in the summer of 1997.
Kenneth produced the band's first LP titled The Big Saturday Illusion along with engineer Adam Wiltzie (of Stars Of The Lid). Kenneth and Brad Laner (of the band Medicine) produced the second and last LP titled Moments Away which was released in 1998. The band also released two 7" singles and two EPs as well as being featured on The Kahanek Incident: Volume 2, which was a remix trade between Furry Things and Electric Company.Beets, Greg Furry Things Band profile, austinchronicle.com. Retrieved Aug. 20, 2015.
Bell Gardens
Bell Gardens is the musical collaboration between Kenneth and Brian McBride of Stars Of The Lid. Through the music of Bell Gardens, they explore different styles such as chamber pop, folk rock, psychedelic pop, and Americana. Their first EP Hangups Need Company was released on their own imprint Failed Better in 2010. Southern Records released their first LP Full Sundown Assembly in late 2012. Rocket Girl released the band's second LP titled Slow Dawns For Lost Conclusions in October, 2014.Kealy, John Brainwashed "Bell Gardens, Full Sundown Assembly" , Brainwashed.com, 4 November 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2014.Bland, Ben Bell Gardens - Full Sundown Assembly (Album Review), Stereoboard.com, 5 September 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2014.Heller, Jason Pitchfork reviews Slow Dawns For Lost Conclusions, pitchfork.com.com, Retrieved 4 April 2015
Eight Frozen Modules
Eight Frozen Modules (also known as 8FM) is one of Gibson's experimental electronic music projects. Eight Frozen Modules' recorded material is a mix of IDM, Techno, Dub, electro, breakcore, dancehall, and Noise. The project started as a side project to the now defunct noise-pop band Furry Things and like Furry Things, was also released on King Coffey's Trance Syndicate label. As 8FM, he has released music on labels such as Phthalo, Planet Mu, Orthlorng Musork, Tigerbeat 6, City Slang, Shockout, Mutant Sniper, Mille Plateaux, Warp, In Vitro Records, Lo Recordings and Tino Corp to name a few.Eight Frozen Modules "Crumbling and Responding" Review , BBC.co.uk, 2005. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
[a]pendics.shuffle
[a]pendics.shuffle is Gibson's main electronic music alias. Under this alias he creates a mix of minimal house, techno, micro house, and experimental electronic dance music. [a]pendics.shuffle has released music on many labels such as Trapez, Orac, Adjunct Audio, Mo's Ferry Prod., Lick My Deck, We Are, Leftroom, Sunset Diskos and more. As apendics.shuffle, Gibson has collaborated with and remixed a number of other artists such Mr. C of The Shamen, Mikael Stavöstrand, Mark "Blakkat" Bell, Damian Lazarus, Brad Laner, and Vladislav Delay.Levisman, Sean apendics.shuffle on His Sound: interview , Miami New Times, July 13, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2014.Yoder, Sean-Michael apendics.shuffle & Mr.C "Something Strange" review , Ibiza-Voice.com, Retrieved April 18, 2014.
dubLoner
dubLoner is a dub project from Gibson. Dubloner's output ranges from deep and spacious dub techno and house to more rootsy dirty dub experiments. He has, as Dubloner, remixed and collaborated artists such as Meat Beat Manifesto, Jack Dangers (a duo of dubLoner and Jack Dangers called Hiss & Buzz), Isaac Haile Selassie,"The Fight, The Spirit" review, dancefloormayhem.com, May 25, 2010. Retrieved April 18, 2014. Kool Keith, and Markus Nikolai of Perlon Records.
Reverse Commuter
The first released Reverse Commuter track, The Organ That Killed Me, was released on a compilation titled Grand Slang on City Slang in 2000. There was a gap of no releases till 2003 with The Direction EP on Hallucination Recordings. Outside of a string of remixes and compilation tracks, there wasn't another official release till 2014 with a new album titled Exposure on DJ Three's Hallucienda label along with a 12" EP titled Vinyl Exposure One including a Doc Martin remix. Exposure featured tracks with vocals by Gibson, Douglas McCarthy (of Nitzer Ebb, Recoil), and his wife Kelly Johnston-Gibson.Khawaja, Jemayel Get Lonely In The Desert, Vice.com, Retrieved 15 Sept, 2015Tewksbury, Colin Erase The Face premiere / review, Earmilk, Retrieved 15 Sept, 2015219 DJs and Artists Look Back on 2014 , Bigshotmag.com, Retrieved 15 Sept, 2015
Adjunct Audio
Kenneth along with Konstantin Gabbro (also co-founder of Orac Records, Zoombézoom)Segal, Dave Beatseeking Missives - Orac Records , thestranger.com, June 5, 2005, Retrieved Aug. 21, 2015. founded the electronic music record label Adjunct Audio in 2005. Adjunct releases a range of styles from deep house and minimal techno to dub and ambient. Producers such as John Tejada, Bruno Pronsato, Dapayk, Blakkat, Kit Clayton, Mathias Schaffhäuser, DubLoner, Sutekh, Dilo, Mikael Stavostrand, Mr. C, and [a]pendics.shuffle himself have worked with the label. Adjunct is distributed by Kompakt records.Yoder, Sean-Michael apendics.shuffle & Mr.C "Something Strange" review , Ibiza-Voice.com, Retrieved Aug. 20, 2015.Adjunct Volume 1 review , Boomkat.com, Retrieved Aug. 20,2015.Jackson, Glenn apendics.shuffle feat. Blakkat review , xlr8r.com, Retrieved Aug. 20, 2015.
Music for television and film
Gibson composes music for TV and Film. According to IMDB he has music in shows such as Shameless, The Simpsons, The Last O.G., Weeds, Californication, and Saturday Night Live and films such as Relay, Christy, The Best and The Brightest, Drones, Don Peyote, and 7 Minutes. Hough, Q.V. "Far From Home" on the soundtrack, https://vaguevisages.com, Retrieved 31 May, 2026Admin , ‘’Imdb.com, Retrieved 31 May, 2026Paine, Jake "Kenneth James Gibson is Electronic Music's Man of Many Aliases" , LAweekly.com, Retrieved Dec.18, 2014.Weeds "Ducks and Tigers" , IMDB.com, Retrieved 30 September 2015.7 Minutes (film) , IMDB.com, Retrieved 30 September 2015.The Best and The Brightest (film) , IMDB.com, Retrieved 30 September 2015. Gibson appeared as himself as music producer on an episode of VH1's MC Serch hosted show Miss Rap Supreme.Admin Kenneth James Gibson cast on Miss Rap Supreme episode 1.5, www.imdb.com, Retrieved 7 April 2017
Discography
with Bell Gardens
Albums
Full Sundown Assembly (Southern Records / Burger Records, 2012) Slow Dawns For Lost Conclusions (Rocket Girl, 2014)
Singles & EPs
Hangups Need Company (Failed Better / Burger Records, 2010) Take Us Away (Rocket Girl, 2014)
Compilation appearances
Various – International Connection Collection (Dublab, 2010) Various - The Kitty Comp (Burger Records, 2010) Various - Rocket Girl 20 (Rocket Girl, 2019)
with Furry Things
Albums
The Big Saturday Illusion (Trance Syndicate, 1995) Moments Away (Trance Syndicate, 1998)
Singles & EPs
Hide / Your Two One (7") (Rise Records, 1994) Still California / Car Songs Unlimited (7") (Trance Syndicate, 1995) Headphones (Trance Syndicate, 1996) Frequent Lunacy (Trance Syndicate, 1997)
Compilation appearances
Various – Cinco Años! (Trance Syndicate, 1995) Various – Green Light GO! (Bottlecap Records, 1995) Various – Angelfood Electronics Vol Two (Kakemix Records, 1997) Various – Letters To Aliens (Undercover Inc., 1997)