Hugo Randulv ‎– Radio Arktis - samlade ljud från den norra polcirkeln

Ding ding, round 1 - first of two on FFFM to land this week. If you've been following the Gothenburg scene (which let's face it, if you're reading this, you definitely have been), you'll know Hugo Randulv as a key face, notable for his contributions to Amateur Hour, Typical Girls, Skiftander Enheter, Cortex A9++ With that much output, it's a surprise to learn that Radio Arktis is his solo debut, and he uses it as an opportunity to explore the outer edges of his interests, replacing his trademark guitar for some heavy synth action. Six impressionistic, lo-fi drone-based pieces that stretch out like infinite snow fields and are underscored by the bite of the Nordic winds. That imagery might be a bit on the nose, but this does feel like very Scandinavian music, dense, lonesome, elemental. In short, you can tell where this music is from, and like a lot of his Swedish contemporaries (Blôd in particular), Randulv is drawing melody from a folk tradition, while the sonorous and explorative compositions speak to an avant instinct that's so present in Gothenburg music right now it must surely be taught in schools (though of course, nothing here sounds academic or studied). And though they're utilising a different instrument, there's a commonality with the recent Jon Collins collection, alone as it feels in the wintery world. Edition of 250.