Multi-instrumentalist Dave French – most widely known as the powerhouse drummer of Yob – arrives with his solo venture Semantron, and the project’s entrancing debut LP, Secrets Of A Krummholz Heart.
Dave French has not only performed around the globe as a member of Yob, he’s played drums with Tad Doyle’s Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth, been a live collaborator with Steve Von Till and his Harvestman project, produced records for members of Soundgarden, and much more throughout his life in music. For several years, he’s been traveling with a classical guitar, writing songs in backstages and hotels, during ferry crossings, in remote landscapes, and quiet moments on the road. These pieces gradually evolved into Semantron. The name of the project comes from an ancient monastic instrument: a plank of beech wood struck rhythmically with branches to call monks to meditation. The word itself is so old that its original pronunciation has long been lost to time. French chose the name because the music shares a similar purpose—slow, resonant, and meditative.
In the Winter of 2023, French rented an off-grid cabin at the foot of Mount Adams in Washington State, where he began recording the core guitar tracks for fifteen songs. Six of those pieces became Semantron’s debut, Secrets Of A Krummholz Heart. The title draws on the alpine phenomenon of krummholz—trees near the limits of survival that become bent and twisted by relentless wind and harsh weather. For French, the image became a metaphor: a heart shaped by the forces of life yet still rooted and alive.
Performing every instrument on Secrets Of A Krummholz Heart, recording acoustic foundations in the mountain cabin before completing drums, bass, electric guitars, and vocals between his home studio and the rehearsal space of Yob, French blended acoustic and electric textures with field recordings gathered from the natural world: ravens and owls, alpine wind, rivers, stone percussion from mountain talus slopes, rhythms played on living trees, and even the slow dripping of meltwater from an Icelandic glacier. The record was mixed by Nathan Yaccino (Soundgarden, Norah Jones, A Storm Of Light), mastered by Tad Doyle (Tad, Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth), and completed with art/layout by Dave French.
The result is deeply immersive music that unfolds patiently, drawing the listener into a meditative landscape of sound. The result is immersive and deeply personal music—patient, atmospheric, and elemental—echoing the expansive spirit of Pink Floyd and the ritualistic beauty of Dead Can Dance.
But Semantron is not a side project. Secrets Of A Krummholz Heart is the first chapter of a body of work Dave French has been quietly cultivating for nearly four decades. Fans of Steve Von Till/Harvestman, Dead Can Dance, Pink Floyd, Earth, Brian Eno, and Nest will want to embrace this project now, as much more is in store for the months and years ahead.
With the album’s first single, French reveals, “‘At The Feet Of Friendship’ is at once an homage to the spirit of friendship and an offering laid at the feet of that spirit, and I now place it at your feet. Blended with the ‘conventional’ instrumentation of guitar, bass, synth, voice and drums, are sounds I recorded in nature: trees knocking together in the wind, stones settling in a high mountain rockslide, ice breaking underfoot, the voice of a raven chopped into percussive sounds, and more.”
About Semantron
As a child he experienced synesthesia, perceiving musical sound as shifting shapes and movement in his mind. When he first sat behind a drum kit at twelve years old, formal instruction lasted only two lessons. Learning other people’s music felt like it would interfere with translating those inner forms into sound, so he chose a different path—one built around exploration rather than imitation. At eighteen he picked up the guitar and began writing songs before learning traditional chords, focusing on composition rather than studying existing music. For years he kept that creative world separate from his public musical life, playing in bands exclusively as a drummer while quietly developing his own language as a songwriter.
Around that same time, he acquired a cassette four-track recorder, beginning a recording journey that now spans more than three decades. Soon after he formed his first band performing his own songs. A move to France, first Paris, then a small village in the south, became a turning point. In the musical isolation of rural France, he began to shape a sound that finally felt personal enough to share.
After returning to Seattle, French took over a recording studio and began producing records professionally, including recording and producing the first solo album by Ben Shepherd of Soundgarden. During the same period, he maintained his own band featuring Shepherd on guitar while also joining Tad Doyle’s band Brothers of the Sonic Cloth as drummer.
French’s career soon expanded into the live music world. He ran sound at music venues around Seattle and later toured as a sound engineer for artists including Sleep, Om, and Boris. He also spent years working as a stage technician for artists such as Soundgarden, Neurosis, and others.
In 2020 the pandemic brought that chapter to an end, but another chapter was already unfolding. French joined the live ensembles of Steve Von Till—both his solo project and Harvestman—performing synth, Moog bass, percussion, guitar, bass, and backing vocals. Soon after, he was invited to become the new drummer for Yob, replacing the longtime drummer of twenty years.
Yet throughout the years of touring, another body of work had quietly been taking shape. That now arrives as Semantron.
Review copies of Secrets Of A Krummholz Heart will be issued shortly. For interviews and coverage of Semantron, please contact [emailprotected].
SOURCE: Official Bio
LINKS:
https://Semantron.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/_Semantron
https://www.facebook.com/SEMANTR0N
https://www.youtube.com/@Semantron_band