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Take a strong drink and have the
painkillers at the ready. This album from one of
Iceland's musical heavyweights will demand that you
use at least one of them!
The invented word, Ghostigital, perfectly sums up this opus from Einar �rn, formerly rapper with Bj�rk's old band, The Sugarcubes, which
proves to be an exploration of unusual sounds, utterances and melodies. Be warned though, this is not
comfortable music to play while you're warming your
toes in front of the fire...
It's clear that Einar has been
hanging out with a variety of musicians and has taken
in a lot of influences. Several names jumped to mind
in the course of this album - Cabaret Voltaire,
for the sheer virtuosity of the electronic writing; Tricky, especially on the three tracks where
rapper Sensational is employed; and Spring
Heel Jack, recent purveyors of bleak yet
stimulating, improvised musical pictures.
Having listed all those possible influences it cannot be doubted that �rn
possesses a vivid imagination when it comes to
producing rhythms and soundscapes. Most of Ghostigital
could be the incidental music to a demonic movie,
particularly in the truly disconcerting vocal hisses
of Dirty Fly or the screaming electronica sounds that
come with Mess Up.
The opening track Suicide
features the rising trumpet star Kaktus, who you'll be
astonished to hear is just 11 years old! Thirsty Fly is an exercise in
fractured drum and bass, whilst Drunk Piano is just
that - a sinister piano bar artist gatecrashing onto
industrial rhythms.
The spectre of The Sugarcubes
looms large, as does Bjork's Post album, with the
booming bass and mechanical noise of Calm Water No. 35
evoking memories of Army Of Me.
�rn conjures some
extraordinary sounds in Monday, a seething cauldron of
acidic sounds, rather like a trip to a surreal
Icelandic dentist! And then if you think that's mad,
the closing Losing It will finish you off, its cross
tempo meaning that it can be interpreted as either a
very fast drum and bass record or a moderately slow
beat packed with fill-ins.
Throughout the album there are several levels on which
you can hear the collage of sounds - if you
concentrate intensely on the background you'll hear
all sorts of vocal snippets and electronic gadgetry
used, while in the foreground there's snatches of
melody, texture or simply noise to latch on to. The
music never rests, ploughing relentlessly onwards, and
if you're listening on headphones the effect is even
more dramatic and, at times, disturbing.
A challenging listen then, which
should particularly appeal to fans of electronic acts
such as Squarepusher and Autechre. Of
course if you grew up with The Sugarcubes it's a
compulsory listen, but the chances are you'd like it
even if you didn't know who it was.
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