Biography
The Gateless Gate began as the ambient music project of Allister Thompson, a singer-songwriter from Canada, who started it to explore his interests in ambient, psychedelic, post-rock and experimental music. Each release focuses on different aspects of these kinds of music. Musical influences on The Gateless Gate include: the masters of ambient music such as Brian Eno, Harold Budd, Thom Brennan, Steve Roach and Robert Rich; "world" music from Central Asia and East Asia; early "Krautrock" artists such as Popol Vuh, Tangerine Dream and Ashra; psych-folk; and the acoustic world/ambient music of Stephan Micus. The project's title is that of the classic book of Zen koans, Mumonkan (The Gateless Gate), used to this day in Soto and Rinzai Zen instruction. In 2013 The Gateless Gate became a duo with the addition of pianist/singer Teri-Lynn Janveau, who composed and played on tracks on the 2014 release, Near North.
The latest album is Sibir, released through Psychonavigation Records.
The latest album is Sibir, released through Psychonavigation Records.
