SOS Gunver Ryberg – SOLFALD (Noise Manifesto)

0

A Danish composer and sound artist who’s previously received a BAFTA nomination for her work on the award winning computer game INSIDE, SOS Gunver Ryberg has a background in work for art installations, theatre and dance, though she also has a busy performance schedule, with recent appearances at the likes of Berlin Atonal, Berghain and Tresor. On the heels of last year’s collaboration alongside Paula Temple, Rrose and Aisha Devi on the second volume of Noise Manifesto’s ‘Decon / Recon’ 12” series, ‘SOLFALD’ offers up her debut solo EP, collecting together six new tracks, some of which are products of her previous live performances and installation work.

Opening track ‘Kredslob’ was apparently created from the sounds of the electromagnetic fields in the Opera House of Copenhagen, and it hums with a presence that shifts from austere to malign as sheets of resonating drones buzz and sweep around the stereo field, the atmosphere becoming more sinister as ominous bass tones rise up into the mix, the howl of the treated drones almost calling to mind background orchestration as it finally dies away.

‘Another State_Eurydike’ meanwhile originates from an AR game installation, and it’s certainly easy to imagine it soundtracking an exploration through a claustrophobic ill-lit landscape as dark bass tones and washes of distortion flex and echo against slowly pulsing rhythms and buzzing electronics, the sense of downbeat tension never really being released, even as the entire track breathes in a way that calls to mind industrial dub more than anything else.

Elsewhere, ‘Lazayak’ sees the techno elements coming to the forefront as zapping synth echoes and distorted percussive sequences grind against rattling muted kickdrums, the entire track gradually building up into a rush of layered drum textures that feels almost ritualistic, in what’s easily this EP’s most dancefloor oriented offering. In contrast, ‘Dispersion’ closes things out with a graceful wander out into crystalline synths and wavering tones that gradually gets overtaken by a dense web of furious IDM breakbeats, the crash of chaotic rhythms attempting in vain to disrupt the sense of serenity conjured up by the elegant melodic arrangements. ‘SOLFALD’ sees SOS Gunver Ryberg crafting a debut EP that’s both consistently intriguing and difficult to pigeonhole.

Share.

About Author

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

Leave A Reply