Rameses III playing live in Luton in 2007 - photo copyright DTF

Rameses III


Rameses III ran as a band between 2000 - 2010 with Spencer Grady, Stephen Lewis and Daniel Thomas Freeman.

biography
featured recordings
selected reviews
selected gig photos

biography

Rameses III wanted to take time hostage - slow it down and put it on ice. Combining acoustic guitar, lap steel, samples, voice, keyboards and field recordings they atomized isolated notes, before stretching them into lush oceans of somnambulant sound.

These ambient explorations scored them gigs with such genre luminaries as Stars Of The Lid, Current 93, Murcof, Fursaxa, James Blackshaw, These New Puritans and Astral Social Club.

Several albums were released on such notable labels as Type, Important, Digitalis, Under The Spire and Celebrate Psi Phenomenon before the final three album + EP retrospective on Blink in the Endless in 2016.

After ten artistically satisfying years, Rameses III ceased all regular activities (except for going down the pub!) in 2010 and the members happily moved on to other projects:
- Spencer Grady and Stephen Lewis now create music together as Padang Food Tigers
- Daniel Thomas Freeman creates music and film as a solo artist



featured recordings

The following six releases contain over 75% of Rameses recordings (the rest is very early work or remixes).

For a full discography please visit the releases page and select 'Rameses III'.

I Could Not Love You More CD cover

 
'Parsimònia (Deluxe)' cover

 
'Jozepha (Deluxe)' cover

 
'Basilica Origins (Deluxe)' cover

 
'Across Wounded Galaxies' cover

 
NightOfTheAnkou album (re-release)

 


selected reviews

"a truly extraordinarily beautiful piece of music"
Jon Hopkins (official Spotify Digs playlist) review
"one of three landmark ambient albums from 2009"
whitelabrecs review
"one of the most vivid and inspired interpretations of an electro-acoustic universe"
music won't save you review
"a piece that really, really deserves to be heard"
The Silent Ballet review
"listening to it makes me feel a closeness to the past, a nearness, a uniformity even, to a forgotten yearning from years before"
Headphone Commute review
"like loss and loneliness, the enormity of those feelings, moving over our heads"
Line Of Best Fit review
"9/10 ... a powerful expression of love through music"
Foxy Digitalis review
"nebulous and majestic ... highly recommended"
Boomkat review
"amorphous, freestyle drones ... elegaic waterfalls of sound"
The Wire Magazine review
"focuses on squeezing as much beauty out of a given setting as possible"
Dusted review
"quite possibly the sweetest, dreamiest, driftiest, swooniest record we've heard in ages"
Aquarius Records review
"like Brian Eno circa Discreet Music collaborating with John Renbourn"
The Unbroken Circle review



selected gig photos


This is a selection of the best photos from the gigs Rameses III played between 2004 and 2010. You can click each image for a larger resolution image.

For more live performance info please see the full list of Rameses III gigs.

All images copyright © 2004 - 2010 Daniel Thomas Freeman unless otherwise stated.



The Forum, London, Saturday 29th May 2010

Artists playing live: Current 93 > Comus > Rameses III
Photo copyright © 2010 Simona Dalla Valle

Many thanks to David Tibet of Current 93 for inviting us to play at this gig celebrating 25 years of C93 and his 50th birthday and to Simona for the superb photos.

Photo 1 of Rameses III playing live at the Forum, London, 29th May 2010 Photo 2 of Rameses III playing live at the Forum, London, 29th May 2010 Photo 3 of Rameses III playing live the Forum, London, 29th May 2010 Photo 4 of Rameses III playing live the Forum, London, 29th May 2010 Photo 5 of Rameses III playing live the Forum, London, 29th May 2010 Photo 6 of Rameses III playing live the Forum, London, 29th May 2010 Photo 7 of Rameses III playing live the Forum, London, 29th May 2010 Photo 8 of Rameses III playing live the Forum, London, 29th May 2010


Union Chapel, London, Tuesday 11th August 2009

Artists playing live: Helios > Goldmund > Rameses III

Very special to play this amazing and amazingly reverberant venue, fitted the Rameses sound like a glove.

Photo 1 of Rameses III playing live at the Union Chapel, London, 11th August 2009 Photo 2 of Rameses III playing live at the Union Chapel, London, 11th August 2009 Photo 3 of Rameses III playing live at the Union Chapel, London, 11th August 2009 Photo 4 of Rameses III playing live at the Union Chapel, London, 11th August 2009 Photo 5 of Rameses III playing live at the Union Chapel, London, 11th August 2009 Photo 6 of Rameses III playing live at the Union Chapel, London, 11th August 2009



The Hat Factory, Luton, Saturday 1st December 2007

Artists playing live: Rothko > yellow6 > Rameses III > tomfire

The audience weren't interested in any of the music that night but thankfully the musicians were.

Cheers to yellow6 for agreeing to borrow my camera and take these shots.

Photo 1 of Rameses III playing live at the Hat Factory, Luton, 1st December 2007 Photo 2 of Rameses III playing live at the Hat Factory, Luton, 1st December 2007 Photo 3 of Rameses III playing live at the Hat Factory, Luton, 1st December 2007 Photo 4 of Rameses III playing live at the Hat Factory, Luton, 1st December 2007 Photo 5 of Rameses III playing live at the Hat Factory, Luton, 1st December 2007



Notting Hill Arts Club, London, Saturday 10th July 2004

Artists playing live: Gravenhurst > Rameses III
DJs: Cherrystones > Spykid > Theremin

Some music, some beers ...

Photo 1 of Rameses III playing live at the Notting Hill Arts Club, London, 10th July 2004 Photo 2 of Rameses III playing live at the Notting Hill Arts Club, London, 10th July 2004 Photo 3 of Rameses III playing live at the Notting Hill Arts Club, London, 10th July 2004 Photo 4 of Rameses III playing live at the Notting Hill Arts Club, London, 10th July 2004 Photo 5 of Rameses III playing live at the Notting Hill Arts Club, London, 10th July 2004



12 Bar Club, London, Monday 7th June 2004

Artists playing live: Rameses III > Sodapop > Cass

One of earlier gigs where we were changing from our original avant-folk focus into the ambient / folk / drone sound of Jozepha and Parsimònia.

Photo 1 of Rameses III playing live at the 12 Bar Club, London, 7th June 2004 Photo 2 of Rameses III playing live at the 12 Bar Club, London, 7th June 2004 Photo 3 of Rameses III playing live at the 12 Bar Club, London, 7th June 2004 Photo 4 of Rameses III playing live at the 12 Bar Club, London, 7th June 2004 Photo 5 of Rameses III playing live at the 12 Bar Club, London, 7th June 2004 Photo 6 of Rameses III playing live at the 12 Bar Club, London, 7th June 2004 Photo 7 of Rameses III playing live at the 12 Bar Club, London, 7th June 2004


All content © Daniel Thomas Freeman 2011 - 2024 (except where otherwise marked)