KIASMOS Schallplatten & CDs

Review: As of now, Kiasmos - the duo of Olafur Arnalds and Janus Rasmussen - are superstars on the international progressive electronica circuit. It crept up on us that they've only released one other album to date, with the bulk of their output having been limited so far to EPs and singles. II is the follow-up to its apt nominal counterpart, Kiasmos (I), and yet this time hears the pair strike out against the stark piano and electropop influences for which they were initially celebrated. Another key difference is that while the first Kiasmos record was made in the space of two weeks - getting at the sense of effortlessness that might accompany the initial burst of inspiration felt by artists when they start a new alias - II was made over the course of ten years and charts a remarkably different approach to music production.

Review: Kiasmos are a Reykjavik based duo comprised of BAFTA awarded composer Olafur Arnalds and Janus Rasmussen from the band Bloodgroup. The sounds of classical music and electro-pop collide fantastically on this release. First track "Drawn" is a sublime and emotional serving of trip-hop with Arnald's signature piano style floating on top of Rasmussen's immaculately programmed beats. And then that lush string section comes drifting in, its magnificent! "Gaunt" features some mutant pan pipes accompanied by a bleepy melody and sub-bass pulsations, but once again balanced out by Arnalds' lush piano and strings arrangements. On the flip "Swept" is a dreamy and melancholic deep house cut that could have come out on Kompakt, it's that good. There's even a remix of it by men of the moment Tale Of Us, who revise the track into one of their signature dark and adrenalised journey tracks, it's well done!