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Sweden's hyper-prolific producer Jonas "Varg" Ronnberg started out with the
ambient techno of
Misantropen (2013), with the eight-minute Nastrond;
the cassette EPs Nanefter (2014) and Varg (2014);
Linje 19 (Clan Destine, 2014), a collaboration with Hypnobirds,
that includes only four lengthy pieces, notably
Bandhagen and Ragsved;
the EP Gravrosens Bortglomda Band (Semantica, 2014);
the cassette Skaeliptom (2015);
Story Of K (2015);
Under The Roman Lash (2015);
the 21-song six-cassette box-set Star Alliance (2015 - Posh, 2016),
mostly a childish exploration of pitches and beats that only achieves some
narrative substance
in the eleven-minute Chandeliers/ Chastisement and especially in
the cosmic psychedelic synth-dance of Stroboscopic Observations On Ecstasy;
the EP Variations (2015);
the cassette Under the Roman Lash (2015);
the double-LP Ursviken (2015), with the ten-minute Ursviken;
the four-cassette box-set Brazil (2016), a collaboration with Hvide Sejl (Loke Rahbek) and Frederik Valentin;
and
the EP I'll Hold You Till We Die (Jealous God, 2017).
At the end of 2016, Varg launched the "Nordic Flora" series with the
mini-albums Heroine (2016) and En Ros Rod Som Blod (2016),
followed by the double EP Gore-Tex City (2017), that also contains a number of collaborations,
and the double-LP Crush (2018), with the ten-minute Love Economy/ Anti Police Music.
It is difficult to save something from his immense discography.
Star Alliance could be his best album, but half of it is filler.
Varg also launched the project Ulwhednar with fellow producer Anthony Linell.
They debuted with the six untitled jams of
Midvinter (2013): a piece of droning galactic signals,
eleven minutes of machine vibrations,
a brief and haunting cosmic vignette,
and a closing piece of stately drones.
Facile and amateurish.
This was followed by the mini-album
LP (2013) of trivial techno.
The five (untitled) beat-less ambient tracks of Withatten 1892 (2013) explore more
interesting soundscapes: dark booming drones in the first one (15 minutes),
a gothic spiraling abyss in the second one (11 minutes),
a terrifying blackness in the fourth one (8 minutes),
and a slowly revolving cosmic body in the fifth one (30 minutes).
This album is an impressive achievement in the realm of ambient music and their magnus opus.
1520 (2014) works as a sort of compendium up to this point, a varied
group of compositions that includes the
thumping dancefloor numbers Stortorget and Begravd under is next
to the macabre ambient music of Arke Fiene,
the gloomy industrial rhythm of Kattarens Dom,
the grating musique concrete of Askan Fran Balet and
the new-age ecstasy of Midvinter.
After the cassette Om Syndernas Forlatelse (2016) came
Modern Silver (2017), that includes both
energetic (Nettuno Marina) and
atmospheric (Aitik) techno
next to surreal vignettes like LKAB
and expressionist nightmares like Modern Silver.
Razor Mesh Fencing (2019) was another compendium of their styles:
the violent industrial rhythm and cold stately cosmic music of Transitio,
the frenzied tribal Dual Layer,
the menacing android rhythm and sounds of alien fauna of PIR Motion Detector,
the hypnotic relentless drilling noise ofJ Through Gates of Ice,
and above all
Razor Mesh Fencing, that mixes
Giorgio Moroder-esque ecstasy and
Suicide-esque neurosis.
Another peak of Ulwhednar's art although very different from Withatten 1892.
Varg continued his prolific career with some collaborations and the double-cassette Evanescence (2019).
Varg, Christian Stadsgaard and vocalist Isak Hansen formed
Empire Line that debuted with the
Pan Sonic-influenced subliminal
techno of Rave (Northern Electronics, 2018), like in
Herrensauna, that occasionally soars melodically, like in
Fast Forward.
(Copyright © 2020 Piero Scaruffi | Terms of use )
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