“… eleven tracks of pure and lighthearted bliss, ideal to lift your spirits and quench the thirst mind…”
Release Notes
Label: Erased Tapes
Date: July 5th, 2024
Mastered By: Zino Mikorey
Lacquer Cut By: Andreas Kauffelt
Artwork By: Studio Torsten Posselt
“When Kiasmos started out in the late 2000s, little did they know that their part-time supergroup would go stratospheric.” I think that statement from the press release is spot on. First appearing on a split EP with Rival Consoles, the enigmatic duo teased us with a few EPs before releasing their full-length on Erased Tapes records, revealing this project to be the perfect combination of melodic sentimentality from the soul of Ólafur Arnalds and the upbeat rhythmical progressions from Janus Rasmussen. If you’re interested in the origin of this project, be sure to read this studio feature with Kiasmos from 2014, and you can also read the follow-up 2020 revisit with Janus here. I think it’s fair to say, again, that the self-titled debut was a success, which plenty of online outlets have hailed to be an engaging listen, triumphantly bridging cinematic and modern classical sound with micro-sculpted tech-house beats. Fans and followers of music by Max Cooper, Christian Löffler, Moderat, Rival Consoles, and, of course, Jon Hopkins will agree.
For the sophomore full-length album, simply titled II, the duo returns to Erased Tapes with eleven tracks of pure and lighthearted bliss, ideal to lift your spirits and quench the thirsty mind. Featuring a string quartet (I spot Viktor Orri Árnason on the violin) and orchestral services of SinfoniaNord (an Icelandic project founded by Þorvaldur Bjarni Þorvaldsson and Atli Örvarsson), the duo set out to build upon their signature sound with deeper and even more textural sound design [a lot of tasty synth slabs and arpeggios in here] combined with striking, pulsing, and driving percussion, held up by that organic string section. Although the first album took only a few weeks to create, this follow-up is a more mature, experienced and cohesive statement of what the duo intend to state.
We took our time this time, while the debut was essentially made in under a month we slowly worked on this album over the course of a couple of years. This gave us time to revisit and rethink a lot of things as we slowly got back into the groove of making music together again. I would say this album is more layered and textured, and we worked on a lot more details.
— Ólafur Arnalds (“Q&A with Kiasmos”, Bleep)
The duo is about to kick off their world tour, starting in Brno at the end of July, and then traversing Europe through September before reaching the shores of Japan, China, and North America (Canada, US and Mexico) near the end of the year. This sounds like fun, but also looks a bit exhausting. See the full 2024 tour schedule here. Meanwhile, you can pick up the album as a digital release, on a Compact Disc or a 2×12″ black vinyl. If you hurry, a few copies of a limited edition double translucent orange or double clear vinyl are available directly on Bandcamp. Lovely artwork by Studio Torsten Posselt.
