There is something very special happening in Scandinavian music lately..most of the great experimental and marginal music is coming from that area. Where once the Nordic countries failed abyssmally at conquering the international pop and indie scenes, they have more than compensated for in the leftfield electronica industry.
Amongst a crop on new talent emerging from the area are Skare, who – despite the unfortunate nomenclature turn in an impressive debut for Glacial Movements in the form of Solstice City. In a continuation of the label’s obsessive remit of all things icy and stark, Skare’s Mathias Josefson, Frederik Olofsson, and Per Ã…hlund exhibit a work of profoundly elegant ambience that rivals the work of Lull and Sleep Research Facility, and maybe even Lustmord for sheer depth and dark, engulfing beauty. One short (To The Other Shore), and a duo of long form pieces (Through Wind and Broken Ice, and The Snow Angel Factory) bring the collection to around 60 minutes of sheer deep listening bliss.
Expect dark and haunting presences with protracted sequences of stark, shimmering atmospherics, tracing billowing lines through glassy tones. Occasionally these atmospherics are refracted through a backdrop of field recording elements, deeply abstracted crackles and obscure shapes that reinforce the sense of isolation and solitude in the midst of an Arctic winter. In rare moments, the filtered remnants of a piano break through, like sunlight emerging from dark clouds, giving a sense of hope and humanity..absolutely sublime.
Skare’s atmospherics are not unique, but they are exquisitely executed and faultless, and housed in a beautifully designed cover, with photography courtesy of Bjarne Riesto, this is another minimalist dark ambient masterpiece from Glacial Movements.
BGN
White Line, March 17, 2009
www.whiteline1.wordpress.com
the entire review can be found here.
