Drykkjuvisur Ohljodanna
The second album from this meeting of Scandinavian drone merchants, Drykkjuvisur Ohljodanna finds Touch artist BJ Nilsen reuniting with Icelandic duo Stilluppsteypa for a collection of compositions described by the Helen Scarsdale Agency as "intoxicated visions of the sublime". This sets the album up as an altered state take on the bleak landscapes of the frozen north, and it's easy to go along with that observation based on the kind of environmental rumbles and glacier-paced ambiences of the music gathered here. Electronics dissolve completely into recorded sounds on opener 'Svefnlaus / Sömnlös' leaving you with an unreal dialogue between two different sonic worlds. This stream of narrative-free sound just seems to hang in the air with no other agenda than to transport you from reality into a hallucinogenic auditory fantasy realm where inexplicable low-end humming rises out of the natural atmosphere and distant industrial clanking takes on a loosely rhythmic character. 'Elstöt / Rafstud' is more aggressive, ratcheting up a grinding, almost distorted bass groan that starts out like a blaring fog horn only to very slowly and very spookily peter away into the distance. Possibly the most effective pieces here are the ones that seemingly have the least going on. The sub-frequency iciness of 'Supbröder / Drykkjufélagar' and the anonymous, motorised growl of 'Skuggbild / Skuggamynd' prove especially immersive, pulling you into the deepest realms of a drone-induced stupor.
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The second album from this meeting of Scandinavian drone merchants, Drykkjuvisur Ohljodanna finds Touch artist BJ Nilsen reuniting with Icelandic duo Stilluppsteypa for a collection of compositions described by the Helen Scarsdale Agency as "intoxicated visions of the sublime". This sets the album up as an altered state take on the bleak landscapes of the frozen north, and it's easy to go along with that observation based on the kind of environmental rumbles and glacier-paced ambiences of the music gathered here. Electronics dissolve completely into recorded sounds on opener 'Svefnlaus / Sömnlös' leaving you with an unreal dialogue between two different sonic worlds. This stream of narrative-free sound just seems to hang in the air with no other agenda than to transport you from reality into a hallucinogenic auditory fantasy realm where inexplicable low-end humming rises out of the natural atmosphere and distant industrial clanking takes on a loosely rhythmic character. 'Elstöt / Rafstud' is more aggressive, ratcheting up a grinding, almost distorted bass groan that starts out like a blaring fog horn only to very slowly and very spookily peter away into the distance. Possibly the most effective pieces here are the ones that seemingly have the least going on. The sub-frequency iciness of 'Supbröder / Drykkjufélagar' and the anonymous, motorised growl of 'Skuggbild / Skuggamynd' prove especially immersive, pulling you into the deepest realms of a drone-induced stupor.
The second album from this meeting of Scandinavian drone merchants, Drykkjuvisur Ohljodanna finds Touch artist BJ Nilsen reuniting with Icelandic duo Stilluppsteypa for a collection of compositions described by the Helen Scarsdale Agency as "intoxicated visions of the sublime". This sets the album up as an altered state take on the bleak landscapes of the frozen north, and it's easy to go along with that observation based on the kind of environmental rumbles and glacier-paced ambiences of the music gathered here. Electronics dissolve completely into recorded sounds on opener 'Svefnlaus / Sömnlös' leaving you with an unreal dialogue between two different sonic worlds. This stream of narrative-free sound just seems to hang in the air with no other agenda than to transport you from reality into a hallucinogenic auditory fantasy realm where inexplicable low-end humming rises out of the natural atmosphere and distant industrial clanking takes on a loosely rhythmic character. 'Elstöt / Rafstud' is more aggressive, ratcheting up a grinding, almost distorted bass groan that starts out like a blaring fog horn only to very slowly and very spookily peter away into the distance. Possibly the most effective pieces here are the ones that seemingly have the least going on. The sub-frequency iciness of 'Supbröder / Drykkjufélagar' and the anonymous, motorised growl of 'Skuggbild / Skuggamynd' prove especially immersive, pulling you into the deepest realms of a drone-induced stupor.