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LP
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EMEGO 156LP
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"Last winter we got snowed in, luckily we were at the studio, so with no food or drinks, we had to take our minds off the fact that we'll have to spend the time locked in until the snow melted, so we decided to work on new recordings influenced by the situation. The snow is all up over the windows -- it might be even up over the top of the house, and from time to time we had the feeling that we may have been asleep for a week, for all we know. We couldn't even tell what day it was, or whether we had slept one night, or two nights, or even longer. Looking out at the windows was like looking at a detuned TV set, reflecting just flickering green lights from the electronic equipment, sometimes vanishing and re-appearing in the blink of an eye. The only attempt of contact from the outside were by pointing powerful microphones through the masses of snow, trying to monitor any or little activity, whooshing noises, static bursts, buzzing melodies, even voices. As we doctored the tapes of our recordings we seemed to have created weaknesses in space and we developed a total, complete darkness, finding ourselves out of this world, traveling without moving, into the flickering green light." Made in Iceland and Germany. Cover images made by Franz Graf.
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CD
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DEMEGO 007CD
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A collaborative release between Icelandic experimental duo Stilluppsteypa (Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson and Helgi Thorsson) and Sweden-born BJNilsen. Based on a found tape from 1975 which served as guidance for the compositions, Man From Deep River opens up a new development in these artists' sound. Melodic passages with sweeping electronics and analog synthesizers mix with field recordings and disturbed voices, creating a multifaceted piece. BJNilsen defines his work as "focused upon the sound of nature and its effects on humans, and the perception of time and space as experienced through sound." He has numerous recordings on Touch and has collaborated with the likes of Chris Watson, Christian Fennesz, and Z'ev. Stilluppsteypa's electronic abstractions engage absurd theatrics that mar the pristine surface of minimalism. These lovable Nordic heroes are back with more intense listening and shining, isolationist compositions. Man From Deep River quickly develops between two lonely, desperate individuals, and the savage natives around him who turn against their own mountain god. This "illness" is caused by several deeply depressing circumstances and by the intense difficulty of other sickening situations. The musical expression of this story is described by Stilluppsteypa as "an environment of high tension, but also with moments of temporary insanity and auditory hallucinations."
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