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Review/ Kiasmos & Rival Consoles: "65/Milo"

  Tobias

Olafur Arnalds has never been one to shun the dialogue with different genres. In fact, the Icelandic composer has always actively pursued the exchange of ideas with artists from the most diverse corners of the musical spectrum – don't forget, after all, that the first recordings of this man were string miniatures for German EmoCore band Heaven Shall Burn! And yet, even the most devoted fans must surely have scratched their head at least once when they heard about Arnalds' love for minimal techno and clubbing: How did that love for physical pleasures, hedonism and dark desires match his penchant for ethereal ambiances, atumnal tristesse and subliminal sounds at the verge of silence?

As the first offering of Kiasmos, his latest project with compatriot Janus Rasmussen proves, these two aspects of his personality are not that schizophrenic as one might initially have suspected. Admittedly, the raw and brutishly catchy stomp of „65“ or the freetonal reductionism of „Walled“ are not just stylistic extensions, but veritable forrays into unknown territory: Arnalds has consciously withstood the temptation of superimposing his heavenly Piano harmonies or backwards delay techniques on Rasmussen's edgey rhythmics. On the other hand, these tracks are also built on a subtle balance between repetition and variation and on a fine blend of emotional immediacy and cool precision. Interestingly, they leave you wondering whether his solo pieces might actually have been influenced by the processes and aesthetic ideals of techno in the first place. Which makes this pairing highly insightful for insiders and stimulatingly contageous for anyone else.

On the flipside, Rival Consols rival this achievement with three pieces whose sweet, sultry and seductive neo-romanticism between electro and IDM brands them as bith recognisable and unique. Thanks to its mysterious minor-key string chords, „Func“ even evokes comparisons with Synth legend Klaus Schulze – yet another cross-genre dialogue which this short, yet deeply rewarding EP manages to award complete plausability to.
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