Uneasy listening – improvsed excursions to the outer limits.
Before we get to the sounds on the new album by Norwegian duo SKRIM and their accompanying guest musicians, I must mention the album design. The sleeve art features an arresting ariel photograph of the intricate traffic system in Osaka, Japan. It's modern, complicated, confusing yet somehow planned and purposeful. Open the gatefold sleeve on the vinyl edition and there's a larger shot from a different angle, that expands the view.
In many ways these photos perfectly represent the music within. It's at times similarly confusing, multi-layered and complex, perhaps designed to take the listener out of their comfort zone and to question what the role of sound and music is. There are no songs as such on The Crooked Path. Instead the album is broken down into two improvised, free-ranging parts – 'When Mammals Go Dancing' and 'Akihabara by Night', each taking up one side of the vinyl.
So who are SKRIM? Morten Qvenild and Gard Nilssen were previously know as duo sPacemonKey. (That's their chosen upper/lower casing by the way, not my bad typing!) The pair renamed themselves SKRIM for this release after the mountainous region of Norway that separates the cities of Kongsberg and Skien. SKRIM are joined on this album by Ståle Storløkken (organ/electronics) and Stian Westerhus (guitar/electronics).
Much like the mountainous region the duo named themselves after there are peaks and troughs within this music. Full on electronic cacophony at times, in other places quiet, sombre passages with space for melodies to breath and weave. There are times when riffs emerge and the quartet make a brutalist post-punk noise. Even when there's a seemingly all encompassing barrage of drums and atonal electronic squawks, there are still melodies to be found, albeit buried. Perhaps a ploy to make you listen harder, they act as gifts and rewards for making the effort.
The Crooked Path will be unlikely to find an audience outside of late night Radio Three and 6Music Feakzone listeners but I guess SKRIM are not making music to become popular. More likely their mission and purpose is to explore the possibilities of what can be achieved with four open-minded musicians in one room. If you're looking for a lesser travelled path this could be just the unsettling experience you're after. Be brave, be bold, and travel to the furthest reaches, you may enjoy it there!
