Contact:        Seofon
                A TOI Mystery School
                775 East Blithedale #287
                Mill Valley, CA 94941-1564
                studio phone: (415) 388-0507
E-mail:         seofon@a-toi.com
Website:        http://www.a-toi.com
PROFILE (adapted from All Music Guide)

The Ambient Temple of Imagination is an open collective dedicated to activating the world's imagination through experimentation. Part ambient-trance group, part holistic listening-music healers, ATOI's Mystery School project was founded in 1992 by Richard Sun and Seofon in San Francisco, pioneering chill-out sound environments for raves around the area. With introspective chill spaces, ritual performance art, and spoken-word poetry, ATOI focused on the public ceremonial exploration of magick and sound. As the ambient-house style entered dance music as a whole during the next few years, Sun continued developing ambient events and providing alternatives to dancing. The duo also began recording, and released two albums for San Francisco's Silent Records, Mystery School and Sonic Acupuncture. Recorded live at a Christmas rave in 1996, Planetary House Nation was released the following September. ATOI followed this two years later with Y2Kaos, a double-disc tour de force containing highlights from their sprawling full-length volumes along with new recordings and remixes. 2001 sees the beginning of a new era for ATOI with the release of Zero Point: Lessons in being nothing, an unprecedented collaboration with ambient music luminaries Vidna Obmana and Steve Roach.

DISCOGRAPHY

1993: Volume 1 (Visible Records 12")
1994: Volume 2 (Visible Records 12")
1994: Mystery School (Silent Records CD)
1995: Sonic Acupuncture/Eleusinia (Silent Records 2xCD)
1997: Planetary House Nation (Mindspore Records CD)
1999: Thermal + Seofon present A Monument of Chance (Thousand CD)
1999: Y2Kaos (Mystery School 2xCD)
2000: Mystery School volume 1 reissue (Emusic)
2001: Seofon + Vidna Obmana, Steve Roach, et al. Zero Point: Lessons in being nothing (Foundry/Hypnos CD)

HIGHLIGHTS

Mystery School peaked at #18 during five weeks on CMJ RPM chart
Eleusinia recorded at live performance at San Francisco Cow Palace; 25000+ attendance
Planetary House Nation peaked at #29 on NAV Top 50 national chart
Y2Kaos and Planetary House Nation licensed to German label CTM
Zero Point ranked on best-of-2001 charts from Backroads Music, Stars End, Jim Brenholts, etc.

ADDITIONAL WEB PRESENCE

ATOI artist page at Emusic pay-per new release downloads
ATOI page at Mp3.com free song-clip and outtake downloads
Ambientrance feature extensive interview & reviews
Archipelago travel bureau


back