Far from being a new comer, Swedish musician Benny Jonas
Nilsen has released an impressive number of albums under
a variety of names in the last ten years. Born in 1975,
he become interested in experimental music at an early
age, eventually releasing his first album, The Crying
Age, under the pseudonym Morthond, at the tender
age of fifteen. For the next couple of years, Nilsen
continued his sonic explorations, inspired by the pioneers
of experimental electronic music, releasing two more
albums on Swedish label Cold Meat Industry, following
a slight change of name, as Morthound.
In the mid nineties, aged just twenty, Nilsen shelved
his original project and founded Hazard. With this new
focus, Nilsen turned to more natural soundscapes while
still taking advantage of the infinite possibilities
of computer-based music, releasing a series of albums
on Ash International, including a couple of collaborations
with ex-Cabaret Voltaire and Hafler
Trio mastermind Chris Watson, before joining Touch
in 2002 with the album Land. A split EP with
Biosphere and Fennesz and a live album later, BJ Nilsen
returns with his first proper album published under
his real name.
Built around three distinct pieces created during different
seasons, and then edited, arranged and assembled during
the summer of 2004, Fade To White is an impressive
ambient journey through sounds. With outdoor field recordings
sourced mainly during travels in Central Europe during
2003, and indoor recording made across Northern Europe
in 2004, forming the basis of these six compositions,
Nilsen also used acoustic and electric instruments recorded
in open spaces, capturing the natural atmospheric substance
of these moments to add more textures to his work.
The album opens with a series of pseudo mechanical sounds
reminiscent of his work as Morthond, but, three minutes
into Purple Phase, the sound of a distant drone
begins to creep in, continuously gaining depth and substance
until it becomes omnipresent. Its abrasive surface is
matched by bleak sonic waves slowly waxing and waning
in the background to set the tone for this record. The
five remaining tracks all appear to draw elements from
Purple Phase. On Dead Reckoning, Nilsen
plays with what could be radio interferences or sounds
of footsteps in snow, treated and arrange, contributing
to give this track an unsettling twist which continues
to grow as a dense cloud of sound emerges from the original
noise platform.
Never a sound seems to appear in its original form here.
Instead, Nilsen develops each one, crafting it to perfectly
fit within the greater scheme that is this record, applying
each sound precisely. Although his sonic assemblages
can appear monolithic, they are actually finely detailed
and intricately woven together, giving each track incredible
depth and density. There are elements of contemporary
classic and jazz, especially on Grappa Polar,
on which Nilsen develops a string-based source to become
at once drone and evolutive soundscape, yet his music
is ultimately rooted in ambient, finding some affinities
with some of Biosphere’s
most recent work, notably the austere grounds of his
Autour De La Lune
album.
Fade To White is a beautifully crafted record,
each track setting its own atmospheric scope, yet also
contributing to the overall mood of the album. Although
recorded over a long period of time and in various situations,
Fade To White remains consistent in sound and
structure, and proves a welcome addition to Nilsen’s
extensive body of work.
4.6 |
