Diminshed Men - Capnomancy

Photo by Frank Schmitt

Steve Schmitt

Dave Abramson

Simon Henneman

And now for something completely different...... 
By distorting hard boiled film and classic instrumental music through a dark, overcast lens, Diminished Men refocus their influences into something entirely unique.  Their jagged, hard-charging approach evokes images of slit jugulars and accelerated heart rates, all the while swathing you in a blissful claustrophobia.  Drawing elements of Link Wray, Morricone's dissonant horror scores, gritty noir and Joe Meek's sickly productions, as well as the provocative imagery of filmmakers like Wim Wenders and Jean-Pierre Melville, synthesizing them into something truly organic and original.

Formed in 2005 by guitarist Steve Schmitt and drummer Dave Abramson, Diminished Men are an integral part of Seattle's unique and prolific underground music scene.  Abramson, also a member of Master Musicians of Bukkake, has done time in Climax Golden Twins and has collaborated with Secret Chiefs 3, Eyvind Kang, Six Organs of Admittance, Grails, etc.  Multi-instrumentalist Simon Henneman has released two solo records and plays guitar in the free jazz duo WA with iconic Northwest drummer Gregg Keplinger.  

"Capnomancy" (Jan 2013), their second release on Abduction Records, run by Alan Bishop of the legendary Sun City Girls and the Sublime Frequencies label, is a collection of stark instrumentals, full of high tension energy and infected terror. Cloaked in a supernatural fog and electrical storms, chiaroscuro landscapes read like a sci-fi postcard with a Giallo ransom note attached.  One of the last albums to be recorded at his now defunct Aleph Studio, producer Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Earth, Wolves in the Throne Room, etc.) contributes greatly with his visceral, heavy production, making this album their darkest offering yet. Purchase

SIDE 1
1: Oblong Trance.mp3
2: Black Vapor
3: Kapnos Escape.mp3

SIDE 2
4: Hoarding Light
5: Tacombover
6:Capnomancy
7: Expulsion