Infinite Expanse's maiden vinyl release* also serves as an introduction to Johannes Björk, a contemporary musician from Gothenburg who seems to have otherwise passed under everyone else's radar. This self-titled LP is his debut work, albeit one that had previously emerged in shortened form as a micro-release centred around a live performance in Stockholm earlier in 2023. So far, so obscure. It's somewhat curious this should turn up on Infinite Expanse, a British label known for various arcane tape reissues, and not any of the extremely capable local imprints that ordinarily trade in this kind of business. Indeed, Björk seems well suited to the Discreet universe, uniting lo-fi drone and electronics, ambient textures, skeletal guitar figures and spoken word vocals in ways that feel concomitant with the output of Treasury of Puppies, Arv & Miljo, Klas Trollius et al. It's what you might understand as a product of its environment, and one that affirms our shifting understanding of what quintessentially Swedish music is. I can't tell you why this isn't on Discreet (and don't let that prejudice your decision making - Björk is equal to many of his counterparts), but like with Loopsel and JJulius' move to DFA, does speak to a migrating Gothenburg sound that's extending beyond a specific space and time to become a legitimately significant, wide-reaching aesthetic. Gothenburg's centre of the universe just got a bit bigger.
* there's also a second LP from Infinite Expanse, a reissue of Michael Atherton's Windham Hill adjacent new age folk channeling Windshift. More info here
