FEW NOLDER
New Folder
ZIQ238
Planet Mu 2009
09 Tracks. 71mins33secs

Buy: CD

While most record labels are getting hesitant when it comes to releasing CDs, Planet Mu are currently dishing them out at light speed, with old and new acts sharing this bolt of energy. Enters Linas Strockis, a musician hailing from the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, who, until last year, had only released a handful of tracks on Lithuanian imprint Partyzanai. In 2008, Strockis, who records under the dyslexic-tinged moniker of Few Nodler, released an EP on Mike Paradinas’s Planet Mu, and it is now time for him to dispatch his debut album.

A somehow rather ambitious and thoroughly eclectic collection, New Folder (get it?) brings together elements of minimal techno, fluid house and lush electro and combines them into very effective compositions. Strockis keeps things simple here, with straightforward linear beats, crisp synths and warm round bass lines, all geared up to carry clever melodies, without falling into clichés and gimmicks. Finding his roots in various eras of the last twenty years and building up from there to develop something fresh and imaginative, Strockis caters for the dance floor, with storming stompers such as the minimal No Mo, El Snig, which features a vocal contribution from local songstress Rut, or Chika, or with the rather more upfront electro Malyska, with its eighties-style synth riff, or the euphoric Top, which builds and builds before finally releasing the tension just before the five minute mark and give it up to the groove. Elsewhere though, he his caught in more meditative mood, as on Pillow, propelled by a hypnotic bass, dreamy synth waves and percussive slabs of electronics, or on the surprisingly soulful Fluttery, which kicks off with vocal flourishes before slipping into a pretty slick groove and gently evolve into a wonderfully sun-drenched tune over its course.

New Folder can initially seem to lack focus and consistence, so different are its various components, but repeat listens highlight the impeccable outlook of this record and its undeniable party tone. Indeed, this album is eclectic, but Linas Strockis juxtaposes genres and moods very cleverly, making this one of the most thoroughly enjoyable electronic records released this year.

4.3/5

Few Nolder (MySpace) | Planet Mu
Buy: CD