(July 2010) As a product of the 80’s, I oftentimes make cultural references from that era when
describing the sonic qualities of an album or an artist. Trentemøller is a Transformer.
Whether building technological tracks meant for the dance floor, or designing mood
altering works of art, he manages to stamp his unique Trente-quality into the melodic
or dissonant layers. This latest album runs with that same defining quality and morphs
robotic, organic into an intellectually blended, mind-soul-body experience.
Because of its one-of-a-kind, artistically reaching, yet palatable structure, this album is
a great “intro to experimental electronica” for your experimental-curious friends and
neighbors. Moments of calm ambiance dotted with unusual sounds and aural tricks, flood
into more recognizable, pop-y tracks and vocals. With or without a passion for abstract
music, the broader audience can enjoy this musical sojourn.
Ever loving the retro elements, Trentemøller romances the 40’s and 50’s smoky blues,
with vocals and throwback loops as only his signature style can. “…Even Though
You’re With Another Girl,” another unrelenting ballad featuring Danish chanteuse,
Ane Trolle, projects the same mournful woe and Etta James-era despair as their first
collaboration, “Moan.”
Other retro-esque tracks act as bright stops along the seamless path that Trentemøller
blazes, with his part organic, part robotic brainchildren leading the way. We visit the
old West in spaghetti fashion, with galloping horses, cacti and desert stretching for
miles, lit and burning, colored, by the brilliant flare of the sun. We cool off, however,
slipping across the sand into the surf 60’s style with “Silver Surfer, Ghost Rider,
Go!” While we’re doing “The Swim” we realize that we’ve drifted out to shore, away
from everything, as our artist has gently carried us back out to the floating beauty of the
abstract. No matter who we are, captivated by the magnetic sound, we let it wash over us
like the ever-pulling tide.
Thinking back, perhaps this product of the 80’s had it wrong in the beginning. Maybe,
through the artist, it is we who are the Transformers, we who are transformed forever by
the musical journeys that we take.
Into The Great Wide Yonder is out now on In My Room.
