When I bring to mind the music of Iceland, I can’t help but think of epic pop or twee music-box styled experiments. It’s a pleasant surprise then, that Gisli Thor Gudmundsson, aka Traject, draws inspiration not from the current crop of Icelandic superstars, but seemingly from the subarctic landscape itself.
Penrose opens the album, with deep breathy drones creaking and groaning under the weight of meticulously programmed deconstructed rhythms. There’s something sinister lurking in the tundra, and Gudmundsson has captured it’s essence here. Bjart Er Yfir follows with more of the drones and atmospherics that tie the album together. This time though, they’re accompanied by deep tribal drumming and looped distant vocal samples. On Umkringdur / Umsátur the icy electronic beats return, floating between resonant harmonics, and the ever present gloomy atmospheric drones. The metallic Hvergi drops any rhythmic element altogether, and leaves us with deconstructed plucked strings, choirs in the wasteland, and the sound of sheet metal crashing against the ice. Mistur continues the choral, cinematic theme, while Samkoman ties together elements of previous tracks with the beats united with treated piano, fractured strings, metallic clashes and sinister bass. 0718 picks up the pace, opening with Autechre-esque electronics, until percussive elements take hold and drive the track with a sense of urgency to it’s conclusion. The short Doom and Siesta Time is the closest we get to Icelandic pop, where the drones and beats leave us for a quiet interlude of melancholic harmonium and bells. Of the five remaining tracks, Metropolis, The Horns are Gone, and Campfire Scene deliver more of the sinister atmospherics and fractured beats. Stálómur srips back the palette, with minimal beats and wooden perscussion, but still accompanied by that sense of dread pervading the landscape. Eg Sofna closes the album, as softly as it can, atmospheric strings and voices leading us out of the icy wilderness.
A stunning collection of glacial IDM from Traject.
Ben Askins
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