Slowshift - 'HurtS'
Scandinavian group slowshift are set to release their new single, “HurtS,” an atmospheric masterpiece, on 8th December via Amuse.
slowshift has roots in x-Highasakite, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Of Monsters and Men, x-Motorpsycho, and Årabrot, formed by musicians Kristoffer Lo, Brynjar Leifsson, Tomas Järmyr, and sixteen-piece Norwegian orchestra TrondheimSoloists. After Lo’s band x-Highasakite disbanded, he pushed himself to make something new, so he reached out to fellow creatives Leifsson and Järmyr who were excited about the new initiative, wanting ‘something authentic yet challenging. (Kartel Music Group, 2023)’ Soon, slowshift came into being. In November, they played at the Iceland Airwaves festival in Reykjavik, Iceland, and are due to perform at Eurosonic in Groningen, Netherlands, next month.
“HurtS” comes before slowshift’s much-anticipated album, world going one way, due for release on 26 January 2024 via Amuse. Lo says about the album, “It is a world where everything is allowed, where every feeling is available and there are no limits. It is the mixture of all our influences, of everything we love and everything we want to play. (DISCO, 2023)” world going one way will be a ‘testament’ to the artists’ multi-faceted talents.
The single is an enigmatic piece where the album’s themes Lo discusses are carefully composed and articulated. The dramatic cinematic elements and ambient tones in “HurtS” create a rich landscape of texture, and, as Lo said, every feeling is truly available here. When listening to “HurtS,” I see a mountainous landscape brought to life by the foreboding piano chords and breathless strings; something other-worldly shining through the catharsis. Intensity grows stronger in the latter half, where a definite ‘breaking open’ moment occurs, a penultimate arrival in the listener’s musical journey. The song ends with a pulsing and scraping instrumental vista; one section rises higher while the other descends with the beautiful strings, pulling the listener into the slow-moving outro of slowshift’s debut single. I feel this song depicts great pain with its title of “HurtS” and the music conveying such an emotional scene. Despite all of the heaviness, there’s a gradual lifting; an easement of the torment endured, reminding me of a climb up a steep hill. Lo, Leifsson, and Järmyr have done precisely what they set out to do: removing the old and making way for groundbreaking new art with the help of an inspired collaboration.
slowshift have created something mindblowing in “HurtS.” Keep the 8th of December marked in your calendar to have a listen to their new single! On a more personal note, I look forward to indulging in more slowshift with world going one way in January.
Words by Sydney Kaster
