Press Corner
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Press Corner |
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Releasing on June 21, 2024 About the album Still Time, the new Spotted Peccary release from Norwegian ambient electronic artist Sverre Knut Johansen, offers a departure from the cosmic themes of his prior work to an earthbound one: animal extinctions affected by climate change. With this latest work, the veteran composer blends traditional instrumentation and ambient vocalizations with the spacious textures that defined his previous work to capture both the beauty of the natural world and the urgency of its threat. Johansen uses human voices throughout the album to represent a warning of extinction. This effect is stunning on opener “Massive Extinction,” which begins with a rich and rumbling texture, the sound of wind through a wasteland. Then, a lamenting vocal melody floats over a building dirge of noise—the unstoppable tide of turmoil rising below its heralding hymn, until even that last voice falls silent. Yet the title track “Still Time (Saving Our Planet)” paints a picture of beauty rather than one of devastation. Here, glittering glockenspiels dance over rattles and trills, a quiet scene of insects flitting through a forest clearing, before a cinematic drumbeat erupts with heroic grandeur. And “Rhinoceros on Large Salt Pan” is complex yet serene, its warm chords shimmering like sunlight on sand dunes. Throughout this is a soundtrack of immense consideration. “The Desert Elephants of Namibia” features sounds depicting elephants created with the Sequential Prophet X hybrid synthesizer, used like brass over a marching drumline and orchestral trills before the piece climaxes in an accelerando of dissonant strings. Johansen again returns to this synth for realizing the sounds of flamingos on the ethereal “The Golden Flamingo Lake.” The album’s finale “Cheetah’s Realm (At the Masai Mara National Reserve)” captures all the Still Time sounds in one epic seven-minute journey, building from a yearning piano intro into a stunning climax of polyrythmic drums and desert-wide textures. Then, the piano refrain returns to beckon one final climax—a subtle IDM beat anchoring clattering tribal drums and yearning textures in a gripping harmony. Still Time is both urgent and hopeful, blending a myriad of organic and inorganic sounds to capture both the beauty of the natural world and the dire imminence of its destruction. But with this sense of urgency, Johansen’s stunning cinematic crescendos come both plea and warning—a call to save our fellow creatures and earth while we still can. Yet even in moments of darkness, Johansen leaves the listener with a sense of hope, imploring us that "there is still time to turn this around.” Sverre Knut Johansen
Norwegian electronic artist / composer Sverre Knut Johansen (pronounced Sva´-da Ka-nu´te Yo-ha´n-sen) hails from Mo i Rana, a lesser-known town in the northern-central Helgeland region of Norway, just below the arctic circle. He has composed electronic works since the early 1990s, developing a strong signature style through the use of melody and form often thought of as a classically-influenced, electronic symphonic compositions. He has previously released material on Origo Sound and his own Origin Music, and has collaborated with artists including Erik Wøllo, David Helpling, and Robert Rich. STILL TIME is Sverre’s seventh release on the Spotted Peccary Music Label. His previous releases are METAHUMAN (SPM-3006), DREAMS BEYOND (SPM-3005), PRECAMBRIAN (SPM-3004), THE VAST EXPANSE (SPM-3003), SECRET SPACE PROGRAM (SPM-3002), and EARTH FROM ABOVE (SPM-3001).
Mouth Water at Primavera Sound with New Single "Blackout"
Mouth Water, the electronic music project of multi-instrumentalist Lawrence Fancelli, is set
to take the stage at the Aperol Stage 'Island of Joy' This performance marks a significant period for the Italian-American artist, with a tour
scheduled
During the performance, Mouth Water will exclusively premiere the new single "Blackout", set to be released on June 21, 2024. "Blackout" represents a fusion of musical styles ranging from retro '80s and '90s synthwave to melodic house. The single explores themes of liberation and escape, inviting listeners to delve into the darker and more liberating recesses of their subconscious. Lawrence Fancelli began his career in New York and Florence as a sound engineer and bassist before founding OSB studio in a picturesque Tuscan farmhouse. This studio has not only become a major hub for major record productions but also the birthplace of the Mouth Water project, which debuted in 2019 under the Italo-American label Through The Void. Mouth Water's collaborations with artists like Rhye and Lindstrøm have solidified its standing in the international electronic scene. The Mouth Water live set will take place on June 1st at 19:25 at the Island of Joy, the Aperol Spritz stage, an official sponsor of Primavera Sound 2024. The artist will perform an original show where a sophisticated electronic soundscape will be accompanied live by Lawrence Fancelli himself, featuring inserts of clarinet, bass, and keyboards, offering a uniquely immersive and introspective experience.
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