[truncate=550]I don’t know what they put in the water up there in Scandinavia, but whatever flows through the pipes makes for some interesting listening. Whether it’s the doom-mongering black metal popular in the region, or this, the space disco developed by Lindstrom and his cohorts, particularly Prins Thomas and Todd Terje. Terje started life as a bit of a protege to the aforementioned Prins Thomas, and was soon a leading light in Oslo’s space disco scene. Mixing sequencer era Tangerine Dream and proto synth bands with disco, both the pop end and the underground end, was a dizzying combination. That was all way back when of course, and yet still the genre is going strong. Lindstrom’s ground-breaking ‘Where You Go I Go Too’ back in 2007 was an epic that probably hasn’t been bettered, particularly the spectacular title track, a near 30 minutes of sheer synthetic disco bliss, but there’s been notable releases since, particularly Lindstrom and Prins Thomas’ collaborative LP ‘II’.[/truncate]

[truncate=550]I must admit, I’ve been slow on the uptake of this record but after putting it on heavy rotation the last couple of weeks, it’s really started to embed itself in my consciousness. Balam Acab a.k.a Alec Koone, crafts deep, dreamy soundscapes that gently sway on their light static beats and lyric less floating vocal tracks, whilst simultaneously appearing to bury a startling and dark atmosphere just under the surface. The moments of light relief, such as when the opening track ‘Welcome’ breaks out from its tense beginning into beautiful clarity, with swirling, emphatic vocals and a pause in the stati or the gentle strings of ‘Expect’ provide moments that feel as if a great weight has been lifted from your shoulders, and are as remarkable for the emotional impact they have on you as they are for the perfectly craft sounds Balam Acab creates.[/truncate]

[truncate=550]Four Tet has continued to go from strength to strength with his last LP - There Is Love In You - arguably his strongest work to date. That was a record seemingly more flavoured by the club scene rather than his more delicate earlier work, a process which is seemingly set to continue. More recently Hedben seems to be most enamoured by goings-on in the bass scene, exemplified no least by recent collabs with broody dubstep man of the moment, Burial.[/truncate]

[truncate=550]The world that James Ferraro’s ‘Far Side Virtual’ inhabits is one of a dystopian future. Synthetic, superficial, endlessly optimistic to the point of falsehood. A soundtrack to Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror themes perhaps. Vocal samples discussing how our lives could be better, Skype and Windows sound samples, lilting brite-piano pieces and the goofy 80’s inspired artwork. Gordon Ramsey and others’ services are offered by fake voiceovers. The song titles reference Pixar, Google, Dubai and other such symbols of the 21st century and its developments, for better or for worse. Like some eternally running advert for soma, or insurance you don’t need. Ferraro himself has admitted he’d like the album to be ringtones. Whilst this might sound like some kind of supressing nightmare, which in a way it is, listening to the record is completely fascinating.[/truncate]

[truncate=550]Away from the Wighnomy Bros, Robag Wruhme has been around for a while as a solo artist. However, while he released his first solo album back in 2004, his solo output since then has just consisted of the odd single. Nevertheless his sound is highly engaging for those who have the patience to trawl his material. With his idiosyncratic approach to electronic music Wruhme has bubbled along in the background of the recent rise to prowess of German minimal techno. That is until this year however as 2011 has been Wruhme’s busiest yet. In January he released a brilliant ambient mix album on Kompakt, followed up by a this full length LP entitled Thora Vukk, a record which very much occupies the more elegant side of minimal techno music. Like his ambient mix, the palette for Thora Vukk is made-up of a series of field recordings including more organic sounds such as splashing raindrops and childrens chatter. This has already led many to draw comparisons with Nicolas Jaar’s stripped back electronic LP. There are similarities for sure, but Wruhme’s record is clearly a techno long-player at heart rather than something more minimalist. Although there are some ambient style minimalist soundscapes present, the record still maintains a clear techno backbone, even if there aren’t any club thumpers with pounding 4x4’s. Instead Wruhme takes a considerably more nuanced approach to techno music, combining the wonderfully motorik percussion with a delicate ambient instrumental palette.[/truncate]

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