#scandolearic | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thesunlounge · 4 years

Text

Reviews 315: Inre Kretsen Grupp

Sea-soaked guitars wavering in moonlight, basslines bouncing through playful echo panoramas, marimbas and vibraphones sparkling amidst tropical cloudforms, woodwinds calling out towards a spiritual sunrise, and skeletal rhythms moving between slow-motion dream funk, balearic boogie, exotic jazz, and dopamine dub…this is Dorisk Ordning, the debut 12” from Inre Kretsen Grupp. Though minimal and dominated by spacious, almost ghostly mixing, the music here is deeply transportive...the kind of immersive sonics that carry the mind towards sunset beach rituals, rainforest dance ceremonials, and cabana lounges on some hidden island. And given how cinematic and multi-colored everything is, you’d be forgiven for thinking Inre Kretsen Grupp is actually an ensemble. But despite the name, every sound here is sourced by a single soul named Martin Blomberg…a multi-instrumentalist from Mälmo with a deft command of that illusive balearic vibe. As well, Dorisk Ordning marks the welcome return of Fasaan Recordings, a chameleonic label working through the more outsider realms of dance music and deep listening that has featured such favorites as Prins Emanual, Golden Ivy, Free Arts Band, and Bufiman.

Inre Kretsen Grupp - Dorisk Ordning (Fasaan Recordings, 2019) “Loggia” sees cymbals tapping and reverb-soaked bass guitars slapping through funk motions while vibraphones fade in like morning mist. Kick drums and snare give the beat momentary shape before everything cuts away and in the remaining silence, pan-pipes blow spiritual ocean spells while mallet instruments lock into sparse yet affecting chord cascades...as if each hit is splashing through a tide pool haze. When the drums return their slow motion boogie glide, a dazzling melodic progression spreads out across multiple instruments, with pan-pipes leading to slap bass leading to sea-spray marimba chords…all while tremolo picked guitars fade in and out like some ghostly ether. There are moments where the rhythms cut away, resulting in witchy moonlight ceremonials of beatless funk ambiance. And towards the end, silvery streaks of string synthesis waft through the mix…these starshine tracers repeating like a siren. In “Campo Santo,” hi-hats tick and hand drums pop as howling winds carry laser-generated birdsong. Basslines sounding like a contrabass from another dimension bounce through drunken delays and soon after the track begins, the rhythms fade away in favor of mystical humming tones, virtualized jungle sounds, and lonely guitar meanderings, with sliding echo riffs reminding me of Fabror Resande Mac. Swaying chords waft in as the drums return to their tropical bop…a sort of moonlit dance of jazz exotica with ethnological percussion flashing all around the mix…and during another bass and drum fade out, these incredible orchestrations diffuse through the stereo field…with woodwinds and strings playing a bewitching sunrise incantation amidst ritualized vocal drones and Hawaiin guitar reveries. Then, as we morph majestically back into the beachside hypno-groove, fusion-colored organs alight on equatorial dream journeys.

The title track opens side B with distorted bass pulses working through lullaby motions amidst a multi-layered panorama of sundown guitar riffing, with interlocking licks generating meditative polyrhythms and waves of deep earthen warmth. Kick drums keep a rural pulse and lead guitars play themes for spaghetti western vistas and surf rock sunrises as the music brings my mind to the work of Douglas McCombs and Pablo Color. Deep in the mix, psychosonic electronics filter wildly, though their effect is barely perceptible, and some of the guitar fx are so naturalistic…almost vocal…creating the effect of someone blues scatting through layers of crystalline guitar fog. Elsewhere, we devolve into weirdo bass sequencing, stick clicks, and typewriter mutations…a strange passage of ambient abstraction before building back towards folksy psych-guitar majesty. True to its name, “Dubbad Dougong” presents Blomberg’s vision of dub, starting with gemstone arps and hand percussion leading a romantic intro groove through a cloud of reverberating sea-foam. Lofi riddims of kick, snare, and hissing hats diffuse in as synthetic trumpets soar over brassy e-piano percolations. During a sharp cutaway, guitars and angel pads sing together and big woozy basslines start grooving through delirium delays while starshine dubchords echo into the void. As the rhythms resume a dubwise skank, the body sways on currents of psychotropic groove transcendence while basslines slip and slide through time-shifting fx tapestries. Elsewhere, the kaleidoscopic dub jam devolves into spiritual ambiance, with guitars and mermaid choirs intertwining and reggae stabs breathing white noise into the mix. And as the track builds back towards an ever-shifting dub riddim zone out, synthesizers tuned like melodicas sing sea-shanty folk songs.

(images from my personal copy)

2 notes · View notes