Voice of Eye
Voice of Eye is a Taos, New Mexico based experimental ambient music duo whose members are Bonnie McNaim and Jim Wilson. Formed in 1989 in Houston, Texas, their sound is one that blends electronic soundscapes, dark ambient, drone, and world music, particularly with Middle Eastern overtones, and tends to evoke an atmospheric or shamanistic quality. Many of the instruments used are home-made or heavily modified. Using this "odd palette of instrumentation," their music has been described as "largely indescribable, but totally inviting." A ten-year musical hiatus began in 1997 as the duo shifted their focus  from music to building an off-the-grid sustainable earthship and studio in New Mexico. They returned to touring and recording music in 2007. History. Bonnie McNairn and Jim Wilson first began performing together in the experimental band Cruor with Ure Thrall and Tim Sternat in 1988. Ure Thrall and Jim Wilson originally formed Cruor in 1987 with a revolving lineup of members based on who had a PA system. Following the crucifixion of Ure Thrall, Sternat, Wilson and McNairn formed Esoterica Landscapes 7. This was an industrial noise band based around the embrace of chaos and "majik". Eventually the  embrace of these elements took its toll and Voice of Eye was formed as a vehicle to explore profound aspects of consciousness using music as a shared tool for entering different states of being. “The motivation behind forming Voice of Eye was for us to connect to a deeper truth we first sensed within our music. This unformed presence first revealed itself to us through music and has continued to manifest, taking shape throughout our life’s journey and leading to profound mystery.” Method. Voice of Eye process real-time acoustic events through electronic devices and digital manipulation to achieve  their signature sonic atmospheres. They invent and construct many of the instruments heard on their recordings. The use of non-traditional, found, misappropriated, primal, and world instruments also play a prominent role in their music. McNairn and Wilson feel that the physical translation of movement and breath into sound cannot be equaled. “To literally touch the vibration, to feel it in your body, is a magical feedback to the source of all sound, the timeless vibration of the Universe.”