Style: Modern Classical, Ambient
Incredible collaborative LP from hot-lipped Belgian producer / lifeguard / all-round aquaphile Roméo Poirier and Norwegian poet Lars Haga Raavand with their Kystwerk LP on Kit Records. Drawing inspiration from Norway's ragged western coastline and the intimidating depths of the North Sea, Poirier's expansive sound palette draws on deep, wind-tunnel ambience, swelling strings, billowing, electronically-processed brass and effervescent digital micro-detailing, providing the perfect backbone for Raavand's intimate Nordic poetry. I'll be honest, I don't understand a word of what he's saying but the distinctive 'sing-song' tone of Northern Scandinavian languages adds this beautiful melodic character to Poirier's water-bed dub chords and smudged piano hits. Nature's influence is never too far from reach, be it in the subtle field-recordings of waves sloshing, tweeting sea birds or the icy blasts of ambience that mimic the North Sea trade winds, and whilst this work is entirely unique it's easy to cross-reference this against really disparate artists gone previous, be it Zoviet France's deep tape-loop experiments on Shouting At The Ground, Lars-Gunnar Bodin's avant-garde Scandi radioplays, Jon Hassell's characteristic breathy trumpet style AND Vladislav Delay's frosted glitch experiments. I could go on! Yeah, proper floored by this, a screamer. (New Stock / Mint / Includes booklet with English translation).
