(01.10.05) Deaf Center is the collaborative project of Eric Skodvind (probably better known to most as Xhale) and Eric Totland, and this EP specifically is the result of a holiday spent in a Norwegian log-cabin, a product of their absorption of the landscape and atmosphere around them as well as the field recordings and samples made of just about everything they could think of. The result is one of the most striking debut’s this reviewer has ever heard. The Neon City EP was the third release on the sublime Type label and is the first of their TY-EP releases, a series of extended-play singles available on both vinyl and CD. As the only release of this type on the label thus far and with Type’s own illustrious full album releases to compete with, Neon City runs the risk of being overshadowed. Such an occurrence would be a tragedy, however, as Neon City is indisputably one of Type’s essential releases. The CD format is extremely welcome, incidentally, as it’s hard to imagine that such a seamlessly constructed release could possibly be as effective on vinyl. There’s nothing you’ll want less than to get up and turn the record over in the middle of such spellbinding beauty. It may be a little expensive (depending on where you purchase it), but like the rest of the label’s output, this release is worth the investment.
Neon City is book ended by “Dial,” first in its original form and latterly as a superb remix by Helios. “Dial” ranks as one of the finest compositions of 2004, presenting in six precious minutes a showcase of everything that the Type label is about. This piece effortlessly blends electronica, samples of pulse-tone telephones, film samples, delicate, classically-scored piano and gentle, rolling guitar together so completely that the distinction between these elements vanishes, resulting in a poetic and completely immersive experience edited with the precision, complexity, depth of focus and mise-en-scene of the finest auteur film-director. This extraordinary work segues into the long, slow exhalations of “Walk,” where echoing, distorted guitars drift above an eerie and indistinct looped scratching, followed by “City,” which shimmers gently amidst the sounds of stirred ice-cubes, cars passing on wet roads, half-heard fog horns… and every few moments is lit up by bursting showers of glittering piano keys. Possessed of the same chiaroscuro of meticulously balanced and almost imperceptibly blended source materials, the deep, melancholy whirls and repeated, sampled voices of “Limn” and the oriental chimes and stutters of “Asia” are no less beguiling. Impressively, Helios’ considered remix of “Dial” has been produced such that its presence is stirring rather than jarring, a welcome reprise of the EP’s richly detailed opening piece after the minimal, Zen-like chimes of “Asia.” Warmer and more rhythmically active than the rest of the EP (and indeed than much of Helios’ own material), the remix brings the powdered-snow percussion that appears in the opening moments of the original version to the fore, using it to season a greater proportion of the track.
Possessed of a rare timelessness, the genre transcending Neon City EP is utterly flawless in its composition, dazzling sound-design, elegant pacing and heart stopping melody to the point that it almost defies description. It is, hands down, both the finest single and one of the best overall releases of 2004.
Neon City EP is out now on Type Records.
