“The long awaited fourth full length album from Finnish producer Recue is a two-part release that summarises the artists’ direction and sound development after previous solo albums on Rednetic and Audiobaum. The result of a time period starting after losing two family members during a short timeframe, echoes of this more upfront and hard hitting sound has returned on Forward is the Way Through.” ~ Press Release
Sparse concrete rhythms of austere 90s IDM
In some ways a slow burner, and in other ways a very intense album, Forward is the Way Through sees the folding of many styles into one coherent new sound. Upon first presentation, Recue’s slick production, tight modern bass and sharp snares make an impression of cutting edge modern trap, hip-hop even R&B, building the rhythmic foundation of the tracks. But as each track unfolds, often it first presents you with the sparse concrete rhythms of austere 90s IDM—that, however, is then colored with lush, evocative melodies which again seem atypical for either style.
There’s no question that this double album simply works, however, not for a moment are you left struggling to assemble these disparate influences—quite on the contrary—they seem to come together naturally, effortlessly, in a sort of obvious “why didn’t someone think of this before?,” way. The mood here is one of thoughtful introspection, at peace with the present, looking forward to the future. A good album for a long cold autumn. The accompanying remixes (including Sieren, Pixelord, RPK, Desto, Satoi, Pulseye and Hecq) all manage to maintain the same mood, flow, and pacing as the rest of the album but provide suitably different perspectives on each track to make it almost a true double album.
An IDM you might be able to play for your teenage kids and still enjoy listening to yourself? Another one that defies easy categorization.
Forward is the Way Through and Forward is the Way Through Remixed are both available on Bandcamp on Friday October 2, 2020. [Recue Bandcamp]
Below video (“Fathoms (Live Studio Mashup with Desto”) is taken from the self released Fathoms / Akrasia Deconstructed. Read the Igloo Magazine review of Recue’s original Fathoms & Akrasia single on MethLab, 2020. Also check out Forward is the Way Through single released in May 2020 featuring Beige, the Hecq remix and an instrumental version. Also featured is a Forward is the Way Through video teaser.
