Asonat – Connection (n5MD)

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Asonat

Separately, Icelandic electronic producers Fannar Asgrimsson and Jonas Thor Gudmundsson are known for their releases on the N5MD label as one-half of Plastik Joy and Ruxpin respectively, but their collaboration with French vocalist Olena Simon sees them pursuing a more song-oriented downbeat pop path, compared to the IDM-based explorations of their other projects. Two years on from their debut album ‘Love In Times Of Repetition’, this follow-up collection ‘Connection’ sees them enlisting the skills of a number of other vocalists alongside mainstay Simon (though, sadly because of the lack of accompanying information, I’ve had trouble establishing their identities). Whatever the case, the ten tracks collected here see Asgimsson and Gudmundsson wrapping their elegant and refined synthetic production around a distinctly more human presence, in an offering that definitely represents the more accessible and pop-oriented side of the n5MD roster.

‘Quiet Storm’ sees a muffled techno pulse rolling beneath delicate refracted-sounding chords and icy flickering synth tones as Icelandic-accented female vocals stretch out over the sheeny landscape, in an opening track that feels lazy, wide-eyed and streamlined at the same time. Given the accent though, it’s certainly not hard to make associations with Bjork’s luxurious ‘Homogenic’ era, a comparison that many an Icelandic vocalist no doubt gets. By comparison, the percussion-laden ‘Before It Was’ sees vaguely New Romantic-tinged male vocals fusing with a fluid backdrop of rolling hip-hop beats and twinkling keyboards as neon-like synth trails dart and ripple through the mix, in an offering that sits closer to one of Royksopp’s polished downbeat synth-pop wanders.

Elsewhere, ‘One Step At The Time’ veers back towards the dancefloor as propu
lsive electro-house rhythms bolster shimmering layers of synth textures and treated backing vocals suddenly wash through the mix in a moment that echoes hints of Gusgus’ sheeny midtempo dance-pop, before ‘So Cold’ wanders down into more brooding atmospheres as feathery broken rhythms skip against melancholic synth swells and breathy female vocals, the delayed-out harmonic tones slowly building up like a woozy fog. Gorgeously refined downbeat electronics that sees n5MD off on a strong pop tip this time out.

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A dastardly man with too much music and too little time on his hands

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