Oyster Playlist: Efterklang
"Is 'Broken Heart' [by Spiritualized] maybe the best song ever?"
Danish post-rock noise-o-nauts Efterklang are back with a new album, Piramida (out now via 4AD/Remote Control). Last August, the band journeyed to an abandoned Russian settlement in Spitsbergen, an Arctic island near the North Pole. They spent nine days sourcing over a thousand sounds to sample — including the natural reverb of a deep underground chamber, the ambient outdoor sounds of wind and birds, and thousands of bottles played like a giant vibraphone. The trio wooed us at Vivid a few months ago with a live preview of the album performed with the Sydney Symphony, which was its world premiere.
Clearly the guys have an almost inhumanly amazing ear for music, so we're excited that bassist Rasmus Stolberg took the time to make us a playlist of stuff he's been listening to lately. Especially since they (unsurprisingly) included British legends, Spiritualized. We'll let him take it away:
'Broken Heart' — Spiritualized
From Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space. An old classic and longtime running inspiration for us. Is 'Broken Heart' maybe the best song ever?
'I've Tried' — Peter Broderick
This will be released on These Walls Of Mine on 20 October, and is a funny one. There is a lot of old material and also new songs, and at first it seems like a very odd collection — in one of them he reports about ducks at a lake and in another he sings in broken Danish — but if you allow yourself time to get involved this album opens up and you do not want to leave Peter's spaced-out world again. This is an incredible live video of him performing the song.
'The Old Man Is Back Again' — Scott Walker
We look forward to hearing his new album [Bish Bosch], which we believe will be released this year. In the mean time we are listening to 4 (again). The bass playing in this is just out of this world.
'Mountains Crave' — Anna von Hauswolff
About ten years ago we went to this incredible noise concert in the planetarium in Copenhagen. Michael von Hausswolff played and we were just shocked and in awe. Fast forward eight years and we get to meet his daughter Anna von Hauswollf and we realise we love her music, too. Much more melodic, but dark and twisted, as well.
'Sedated' — Choir Of Young Believers
This record [Rhine Gold] came out in the spring and deserves a much bigger audience. It is amazing. Incredible songs and singing and incredible grooves and soundscapes. Love it. Amazing bass line in this song — go Denmark!
Dijana Kumurdian
