Perhaps it is the fact that the mid winter seasons are sparse of light, or their climate leaves for bitter temperatures, which in turn nurture bitter musical rhythms.
Either way, haunting, experimental, extreme, droning and visceral are all perfect adjectives of what to expect from the best of Scandinavian music and Kobi are no exception to the rule. In fact they come close to the reason the rule exists!
Norwegian nationals, Kobi is the accumulation of founder Kai Mikalsen, Fredrik Ness Sevendal, Per Gisle Galaen, Kjell Olav Jorgensen, Petter Pogo, Bjarne Larsen, Jon Birger Wormdahl, Tore H. Boe and Michael Duch.
And if you thought that list had some long names then just check out their song titles with such ‘beauties’ as “Anchored To a Central Core of Saturated Intensity” and “The Evening Was Unusually Sultry and Heavy”.
On first glance such song titles might bring preconceptions of affectation as oppose to talent. However, if you think Kobi are overcompensating for lack of substance than think again as you will be whisked to another world with Dronesyndrome, Kobi’s second album to date.
Take your first tentative steps into the realm of Dronesyndrome with “Faint Echoes Ran Round The Unseen Hall (Part One)”, the first track on the album. Its brooding mystical sound will lead you down a discordant corridor filled with anticipation and edge via Kobi’s myriad of instruments, both electric and acoustic.
“Coined And Put Into Circulation” emerges neatly into an ambient sound reminiscent of Esa Ruoho’s groundbreaking work, as wave after wave of electronic serenity increases in volume – all the while hinting at a darkness beneath the surface with faint hisses and clicks in the background.
“Interspersed with Semi-conscious Moments” begins with surreal, Aphex Twin- sounding beats and loops that casually progress with hisses, creaks, hums drones, and echoes that sound like knives being slowly sharpened. Gaseous noises, like steam escaping from pipes, help conspire to create a sound chilling and industrial.
Imagine walking through an abandoned factory only for the machines to suddenly warm up and begin to operate around you, and you’re close to the feeling this track provides. “This Inclusion Is Not A Simple Operation” is yet another powerful track. Centred around an old scratched recording of a folk tale, “This Inclusion…” acts like another menacing prelude to an unseen event.
This stimulation of thoughts forms the precise beauty of Dronesyndrome; that the sounds conjured play on your psyche, providing just enough atmosphere for you to create any malign scenario within the minds eye.
So go ahead, purchase this album, press play and see where Kobi takes you. It will be a creepy, surreal place, that is certain, but it will be one you’ll want to return to again and again.
Truly inspired!
