Kiasmos
Kiasmos
27 October 2014
Erased Tapes
3.5 stars out of 5
Icelandic duo Kiasmos create minimal techno in the grand
sense of the term. There’s no guest vocalists or sampled film dialogue. Rather,
Ólafur Arnalds and Janus Rasmussen keeps things stripped down and simple, but
by no means boring. Using the album’s full fifty-minute running length as their
canvas, they paint in broad emotional strokes, sometimes warm and comforting,
sometimes cold and distancing. Formerly a metal and hardcore drummer, Ólafur
has made a career out of scoring for film and television and has won a BAFTA
for his efforts. Rasmussen hails from the Faroe Islands
and is part of electronic act Bloodgroup. For Kiasmos they decided to start from scratch, introducing no
pre-existing compositions into the project, recording only what they wrote from
that point on.
Kiasmos is a
unified album in all aspects. Even the song titles tell a story. Rasmussen’s drum
programming and Ólafur’s piano and string parts fit together seamlessly. Just
gritty enough to grab your attention but not abrasive enough to be intrusive,
Rasmussen’s beats repeat without seeming repetitive. Ólafur’s melodic restraint
is masterful, letting the tracks build from simple combinations of notes that mesh
into layered, complex, emotional tapestries. Kiasmos will keep you paying attention even as you slip into a
trance.
reviewed by Richard Krueger
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