Isola Dusk are a recently-formed Scandinavian collective combining elements of acoustic instrumentation and traditional Scandinavian and Spanish music with more recent electronic forms such as broken house, dubstep and garage, and this debut four track EP on Dark Clover offers up the first taste of their sound. Opener ‘Another Day’ manages to recall the fluttering downbeat electronics of Bjork or Mara Carlyle more closely than anything else, as wistful female vocals float against a florid backdrop of feathery plucked acoustic guitars and icy-sounding synthetic whirs, the harsh rhythmic snap of the treacherously broken beats nicely counterpointing the more delicate, dreamy elements whilst also adding a sense of unresolved tension to the vocal.
By contrast, ‘Call Your Name’ sees chiming folk guitars intersecting with broken house rhythms, as deep hoovering bass drops wander amidst the skittering hi-hats and murmured female backing harmonies in a manner that leans closer to the likes of Caribou’s acoustic-strewn explorations, before ‘Gonna Break’ unleashes the flowing garage-influenced beats with what’s easily the most extrovert dancefloor moment to be found here, buzzing sub-bass drops and grime-meets-batucada rhythms merging beautifully with an ebbing backdrop of flamenco-tinged guitar textures and warm female soul harmonies. Finally, the moody ‘Not My Own’ keeps the fractured garage rhythms snapping away at its core as rattling percussion runs and ominous swathes of stormcloud-like synth atmosphere prowl around the very edges of the ghost-like female vocals, the entire fusion evoking a nervous skittishness that calls to mind the tics and stutters of Burial’s sweeping nocturnal soundtracks. An extremely impressive debut offering from Isola Dusk that’s well worthing tracking down.
Chris Downton
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