(04.25.07) Loden’s discography is not vast, but it is impressive. After releasing a 7″ on the far sighted Eat This Records, Loden lay low for a period on the releasing front until he returned on Crunch’s Colony Productions with the Nachtvorst EP in 2005. In the same year, Loden returned to Eat This for his first full length release: Valeen Hope. The album was held so highly among the electronic community that it is now being re-issued on Mush
Records.
Valeen Hope opens with “(in),” a wonderfully short and concentrated piece of electronica. Distorted guitars, playful computer bangs, Gameboy beats all coming together to create a snippet of fresh and clever IDM. “Vlugt (and more for you)” sees Loden twisting and toying with sound, meshing sample (or is that just keys) into sound as electric chords twirl and beats crackle on an open flame of circuitry. “Tenofour” has a much more organic opening than its forerunner, as water samples fold before the laptop scratched drums squirm and subtle melodies form. Refracted string lines break the track before it fades out and “A Star on Your Shoulder” unveils itself with Boards of Canada tones. The longest track on the album, “A Star on Your Shoulder” breaks shortly after its beginning as Loden distorts his creation with glitched up sounds whilst keeping a clean keyboard melody. Muffled samples drift like wraiths as the distorted tones, almost bordering on heavy, tramp across the delicate backdrop. The track has a raw, but unmistakably fragile quality; as grates of metal are swung and splintered while fine keys roam before the track is tapered into nothingness.
“Komop” comes to life from a junk pile of contorted strings as waves of sound are layered over whilst clicked up beats tremble. The title track of “Valeen Hope” strums in next with rich acoustic tones. The spectral elements echo on into this dense electronic collage. Computer and organic elements are meshed together into a tapestry of sound. Crescendos rise and lull, as Loden warps and torments this wonderful electronic number. Similar aspects follow on into “Our Exploding Lives,” but pushed even further. The track breaks with vintage electro ghoul tones, but in Loden’s context they are transformed into an eerie mist. Samples reverberate and resonate across as beats pull and the haunting continues. “Tears for the Thirsty” recalls the BoC vintage synthesizer sound with warm, simple keys. Scrunched beats are turned over before Loden ushers in tormented and lost lyrics.
“So this is Reality” moves towards a more beat centred sound before the train crash, tinker toy madness of “Sugar Tea” is blasted in. “Ideal Skies” calms the album after the glitch torrent, smooth organs and crisp beats are moulded into a harmonious and uplifting piece of IDM. “KNKK” complete this multifaceted album with soothing, melting chords. A beatless lullaby to ease the listener out of the complex catacomb of sounds that Loden has created with Valeen Hope.
Loden’s Valeen Hope is an album of varying genres and sounds. Loden has not just created electronica, he has taken elements from techno, parts from electro, segments from ambient; he has borrowed different styles, different tones, different genres and used them to produce his own music. Valeen Hope is refreshing, yet it is deep and complex; it is an album that, because of Loden’s ability to bend and shift sound, will call the listener back again and again.
Valeen Hope is out now on Mush.
