|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CD
|
|
RCD 2071CD
|
This is the second full-length release by Danish trio Skyphone for the Rune Grammofon label. Keld Dam Schmidt, Thomas Holst and Mads Bødker are childhood friends who grew up in the rainy marshlands of southern Jutland. Having played in various rock outfits during most of the '90s, they slowly moved towards the electronica scene and the German dub scene before starting Skyphone in 1999. Since then, they have steadily developed their own style, combining traditional rock instruments with electronics; scratching and carefully damaging the surface of the digital sounds, creating melodic pop songs without singing, leaving it to the listener to infer what the songs actually could have been and what is lurking virtually beneath the constrained, deliberately ambiguous surface of the song. With Avellaneda, they have further developed these ideas into a seamless blend of acoustic and electronic elements, rich in detail and sonic refinement, with the occasional touch of Scandinavian folk music providing a strong melodic base. The album title refers to Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda (a pseudonym) who wrote an unauthorized follow-up to Miguel de Cervantes' classic Don Quixote in 1614. The band haven't decided to what extent the amusing myths surrounding these books are relevant to the album. Thomas Holst plays bass and is responsible for the darker and sometimes moody atmospheres of Skyphone. He is also in charge of their vast archive of field recordings. Keld Dam Schmidt is the major tunesmith of the group and most often responsible for the simple but beautiful melodies. He plays modular synths and guitars, often acoustic. Mads Bødker, the youngest member, plays analog synths, samplers, toy instruments and a variety of things that go snap, crackle and pop.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
RCD 2033CD
|
"Fabula is the debut release from Danish trio Skyphone. Aged between 29 and 31, Keld Dam Schmidt, Thomas Holst and Mads Bødker are childhood friends who grew up in the rainy marshlands of southern Jutland. Having played in various rock outfits during most of the nineties they slowly moved towards the electronica scene and the German dub scene before starting Skyphone in 1999 in the leftover room at a painters studio in Copenhagen. Since then they have steadily developed their own style, combining traditional rock instruments with electronics; scratching and carefully damaging the surface of the digital sounds, creating melodic pop-songs-without-singing, leaving it to the listener to infer what the songs actually could have been and what is lurking virtually beneath the constrained, deliberately ambiguous surface of the song. In the Rune Grammofon catalogue Skyphone is probably closest in spirit and musical ideology to Alog and Phonophani, especially in their extensive use of acoustic elements, either sampled or played by themselves. Thomas Holst plays bass and is responsible for the darker and sometimes moody side of Skyphone, occasionally in the shape of Joy Division sounding basslines and atmospheres. He has also gathered material from Mongolia and Nepal for their ever-expanding and quite vast archive of sounds. Keld Dam Schmidt plays modular synths and guitar, often acoustic, giving many of the tracks an organic pulse. He is also the man behind many of the simple but beautiful and effective melodies that are so characteristic of Fabula. Mads Bødker, the youngest member, plays analogue synths, samplers, effects, a wide variety of battered toy instruments and things that go snap, crackle and pop. Originally a saxophone player, he has retained a certain jazz sensitivity in programming the pulsating, layered rhythms."
|