At the turn of the 21st century, beyond shoegazing and drone-rock, there was Neil Campbell's Vibracathedral Orchestra, a Leeds-based collective that draws inspiration from avantgarde composers of the 1960s and 1970s such as LaMonte Young and Pauline Oliveros.

Campbell learned his craft in the the A-Band, a project he shared with future gurus such as Richard Youngs and whose opus was collected on Artex (Siltbreeze).

The Orchestra was him jamming with friends and long-time collaborators Bridget Hayden, Adam Davenport, Julian Bradley and Michael Flower (cassettes and singles such as Falling Free You and Me/ Filling Sacks With Coloured Scraps document the early stages when they were only a trio).

Working with a variety of acoustic instruments (violins, lutes, zithers, horns, bells, guitars, percussions) as well as electronis, the classic lineup of Neil Campbell, Michael Flower, Julian Bradley, Bridget Hayden and Adam Davenport turned their early albums into mystical experiences. The naive and dadaistic jams of Lino Hi (Giardia, 2000 - recorded between october 1998 and january 1999), such as the noisy Chasing a Rabbit or the droning and drum-less Can I Put My Thumb In Your Pudding Please, can stand as artistic manifestos, but it is with the brutal threnody of TB Radio From A Shady District to steal the show, an epic journey into the ugliest caves of the mind. The 16-minute Sink Me is instead a relatively relaxed "acid" trip, a jam of dense, spaced-out collective droning.

Versatile Arab Chord Chart (VHF, 2000 - recorded between June and November 1999) contains hypnotic pieces such as The Least Painful Earrings (8:54), an exercise in collective pounding, and Aeolian Cistern (7:00), a radiation of distorted drones. Japan Banjo (16:00) is more than just hypnosis: it's like an unadulterated version of the Velvet Underground drumming and droning ad libitum, armed with a sitar instead of a viola, in the company of a jangling banjo. Sound of Sleat (14:44) abandons the percussion for a cosmic excursion of drones only, with moments of romantic melancholy abandon.

Other early recordings include: My Gate's Open (Roaratorio, 2001 - Lexicon Devil, 2004), their first vinyl release, which contains seven untitled jams; MMICD (Ikea Packaging), a compilation of 2001 recordings; Long Live The Weeds, collecting live performances from 1999 and 2000; Hollin, basically leftovers from the Lino Hi sessions; Hot Booty, a 1999 live performance; Music For Red Breath, the soundtrack for a film; The Vibracathedral String Quartet (1999), a 37-minute concerto for two cellos, acoustic guitar and mandolin; and self-released cassettes such as Mothing (1998), Copse (1998) and Their Spines Crumble For A Hug (2000). While a little redundant, these works are effective attempts at redefining dreamy, cosmic free-form noise for the post-shoegaze generation.

How The Garden Is (Harpendedn, 2001) was a collaboration between Neil Campbell and Richard Youngs.

The usual quintet of Flower, Campbell, Hayden, Davenport and Bradley recorded Dabbling With Gravity (VHF, 2002). Let Steam Rule & Luck Lose and the 14-minute The Body is the Arrow the Arms form the Bow wink at Indian ragas and at the Third Ear Band's pan-ethnic psychedelic jamming, and evoke discombulated hare-krishna street dances contamined by John Fahey-style stream of consciousness. Mystical Coughing is the looser and most abstract piece, like the beginning of a raga that never coalesces in the actual raga. These chaotic sonic barbeques immolate logic to the religion of imagination.

Tour (VHF, 2003) documents live performances with Sunroof.

The Queen of Guess (VHF, 2003) is mainly divided between two lengthy tracks. Ramshackle Sunrise is another otherworldly fusion of free-jazz, raga and minimalism. Goodnight Stars Goodnight Air is pretty much the opposite, a static, contemplative, ambient fresco.

Ridin' Free (Eclipse, 2004)

Neil Campbell also released Sol Powr (Lal Lal Lal, 2002 - Music Mundane, 2007). and the hour-long drone of Foment - Maximum Version For Astral Flora (2004).

Pontiac Lady (VHF, 2004) is a three-CD live album.

The Vibracathedral Orchestra finally adopted a more professional sound for Tuning To The Rooster (Important, 2005), recorded in a regular studio with a regular producer. All the tracks were previously released, but in this album they are given their definite form. The highlight is the 17-minute Wearing Clothes of Ash.

After the limited-edition Ragged & Right (Hot Boots, 2006) and the long-playing The Sun Balance/ The Open Knot (Qbico, 2006), the Vibracathedral Orchestra rediscovered its original free-form chaos on Wisdom Thunderbolt (VHF, 2007), adding drummer Chris Corsano, Matthew Bower of Skullflower and Sunroof, Pete Nolan of the Magik Markers and John Godbert of Skullflower to the core group of Neil Campbell, Mick Flower, Bridget Hayden, Adam Davenport, displaying better skills at amalgamating synths and horns (the twelve-minute cosmic Rainbow Whirlwind).

Michael Flower debuted solo with Returning To Knowing Nothing (Qbico, 2007), that harked back to LaMonte Young's droning minimalism.

Astral Social Club is Neil Campbell's disco project, that released dance ditties such as Monster Mittens (Dirty Knobby, 2008). Astral Social Club's entire output was released as a series of 16 albums, later collected on just two volumes: #1-7 and #8-16 (2008). The music ran the gamut from droning freak folk to free-form noise. #18 (2009) and #19 (2009) collect live performances.

Neon Pibroch (Important, 2007) and Super Grease (Important, 2007) returned to Vibracathedrals' spaced-out ragas.

Astral Social Club's Octuplex (VHF, 2009) marked a more serious turn for the project. This all-electronic tour de force is a wild reservoir of psychedelic techno music such as Caustic Roe and cybernautic musique concrete such as the eight-minute Pilgrim Sunburst Muscle Adductor and Hot Toxer are the "hits". In between lies a vast territory of unexplored genres: the cyclic distorted magma of Mugik Churn, the grotesque industrial pantomime of Aggro Vault, the fibrillating and droning multi-layered soundscape of Sweet Spraint, and the chaotic accumulation of aural events of Radial Hermaphrodite.

Further confusing the ASC program, Plug Music Ramoon (Dancing Wayang, 2009) and Psychic Smog 1-7 (Qbico, 2009) instead indulged in the old-fashioned Neil Campbell droning sound. Neil Campbell also collaborated with French musician High Wolf as Iibiis Rouge on Iibiis Rouge (Dekorder, 2011) and Hespherides (Weird Forest, 2012).

The Radiant Mirror (2007), The Four Aims (VHF, 2009), The Chocolate Cities (2009), and You'll Never Work In This Town Again (2010), were visceral collaborations between Michael Flower and drummer Chris Corsano.

Mick Flower and Adam Davenport hired John Moloney of Sunburned Hand Of The Man and John Godbert of Total for a new trilogy, each part highlighted by a lengthy piece: Joka Baya (Black) (VHF, 2010), with the psychedelic raga Rag Alap IV, The Secret Base (VHF, 2010), with the shamanic folk dirge Eyes Of Wood, and Smoke Song (VHF, 2010), with the propulsive space-rock jam Get It Got It Good.

Trojandropper (Zum, 2012) was a collaboration between Neil Campbell and Robert Horton, including some electronic dance.