STARE

Description

On the occasion of the 5th anniversary of their label Erased Tapes, composers Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm present to our amazed ears "Stare," a joint EP: Although the three tracks were created together, it doesn't take repeated listens to reveal a litany of majestic and soothing landscapes in the two tracks recorded in Ólafur Arnalds' studio in Reykjavik, while "b1?" offers a no less ethereal but much darker color, grounded in a troubling yet fascinating urbanity that characterizes Nils Frahm's Berlin. Two atmospheres. Distinct and evident. "a1?" and "a2?" are immediately airy and bright, while "b1?" is darker and more electric. The floating ambient sound of Reykjavik contrasts with the suffocating electro-acoustic vibe of Berlin. A hypnotic use of Anne Müller's cello on "b1?", recorded at 5 a.m. after a concert, faces a calmer counterpart that accompanies the flight of "a2?". Two of the same artists in two nearly identical configurations but in two different locations create two genres of music that, nonetheless, fit perfectly together. Day and night flow naturally into one another, with nothing needing to be explained.