(July 2009) Scandinavia has a penchant for producing great music. Iceland alone has brought the world Björk, Múm, and Sigur Rós – not to mention the surprisingly consistent musical contributions from the other three countries (Jaga Jazzist, Pan Sonic, The Tough Alliance, to name the tip of the iceberg). So naturally, when I started listening to Weirdcore Vol. 1, a compilation of experimental electronic music from Iceland, my expectations were high.
Fortunately, I was not disappointed. Perhaps a more fitting tag for this collection of music would be “IDM,” though, instead of “experimental.” The vast majority of these songs could be easily mistaken for Flashbulb productions – suffice it to say there’s a lot of post-millennial IDM influence here. The compilation’s tracks run the gamut of electronic genres, from drum’n’bass to broken beat to hip-hop. Plastik starts the album off with “Fads and Fables,” something that sounds like a cross between Porn Sword Tobacco and Boards of Canada, with a hip hop beat churning in slow motion, detuned lead synths, and a nice flute solo near the end that takes the song beyond mere imitation. Skurken delivers a funky, swinging track of epic lounge music, “Hoffmann,” with some nice touches of Japanese percussion and rambling synth parts. Ruxpin, perhaps the only immediately recognizable name on the compilation, contributes “Your Body Smells Of Cinnamon,” a slow breakbeat burner with nostalgic keyboards and occasional acid stabs that sounds a lot like Wisp.
The rest of the album pretty much runs through the same paths the first three tracks do, covering pleasant ground along the way. One of the standout tracks is “Bata” by Frank Murder, which reminded me a lot of Autechre and o9, with its Amber-esque bassline, distorted, rumbling snares, and overall mechanical feel. Tonik goes a little too heavy on the cheesy synth sounds on “Radio Edit (radio edit)” (how clever) but adds pan flute and a half-step rhythm to the mix to make things memorable. Finally, “Acid Upbeat” by Biogen is a dead ringer for a Tim Exile track in some places, a vicious drum’n’bass thriller with (you guessed it) acid basslines, adding in a chopped up LTJ Bukem break.
Even if this is a compilation covering no new musical ground, it still is an impressive show of talent. Since these producers are able to imitate these styles so well, there could be some very exciting music coming out of Iceland if they choose to focus their energy towards creation rather than mere mimesis.
Weirdcore Vol. 1 is out now and available as a free download on Weirdcore.
