Album Review: Rural Tapes - 'Contact'
Stunning instrumentals carves sounds of yesteryear with Contact - his third under moniker Rural Tapes.
Avid maestro, multi multi-instrumentalist and producer Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen has been a vital cog in the turning of Norwegian's expansive industrial indie scene for more than 15 years. Over the last few years, he has been working within collectives I Was A King, Heroes & Zeros and most recently, The No Ones. Now, Arne returns to the fray for a bit of solo work with Contact - his third series under moniker Rural Tapes, following on from Inner Space Music (2022) and Rural Tapes (2021). A sparring lead in drawing a whole array of influences from jazz, warped electronics and German krautrock, Contact dazzles and gleams off into the unexpected with every possible curious machine imaginable used in music. On Contact, Arne plays organs, synthesizers, mellotron, piano, drums, drum machines, percussion, acoustic guitar, zither, gamelan, tuba, field recordings and tape units. He is joined in parts by Lars Løberg Tofte (bass), Marin Stallemo Bakke (violin), Sigurd Thomassen (acoustic guitar) and Øystein Braut (electric & steel guitar). All in all, it creates an unabridged future-sounding project, shaped by the equipment of the past.
Mathisen's dexterity on strings, keys and percussion is something of a marvel. His ability - and others around him - to weave and curve such an airy record with so many moving parts is not easy feat to achieve. Reminiscent of a lulled Kraftwerk or the subtleties of Tortoise works out to be a perfect combo for a deeply impressive record - evidently timeless in a constant hustle-and-bustle society.
11-minute gargantuan lead Patchwork embraces his willingness to experiment, experiment, experiment - an immovable pillar of contemporary electronics that diverts into every unexpected nook and cranny. By Dawn is a jittery alarm-clock soundscape delighting you in a 3-minute snooze button. While Run Rapid is a song with a more traditional "four-piece" set-up, 8-minute outro Waves features first vocal splices throughout the record as we're hit with gorgeous acoustics and lush synth-pop electronics that the likes of Frenchman M83 would admire.
In a seemingly busy world with no intention of slowing down, Contact is your excuse to go more organic with it all.
Words by Alex Curle
