Peder Mannerfelt – Lines Describing Circles
Talk about a transformation. Peder Mannerfelt is best known to this writer for his work as The Subliminal Kid, a project that focused on dance floor techno, but how the Scandinavian producer is perceived is set to change with the release of Lines Describing Circles. It seems that Mannerfelt has forsaken streamlined rhythms in favour of something much more experimental and freeform. The label claims that it is Mannerfelt’s intent to ‘crush the listener into a perfect, metal cube’, which sounds painful and uninviting. That said, there is no doubt that Lines Describing Circles is in places a demanding listen, but a rewarding experience nonetheless.
It begins with bursts of static noise and woozy reverb on “Collapsion”, followed by the death pace beats and lumbering bass of the title track. Its gloomy sound is reminiscent of early Human League or In Aeternam Vale’s proto-techno grunge. As an outro, it features the sound of clattering metal – and this is where the fun really begins. “Affricate Consonants VS 2” continues in a similar vein, comprising a series of distorted tones and static hiss that threatens to run up your arm like a rogue current, while shrill, cranium-piercing alarm bells and malevolent beats are combined on the claustrophobic “Gulo Gulo Caesitas”.
There is the occasional glimpse of Mannerfelt’s techno past, but it’s only a fleeting one, audible on the jittery rhythm, machine gun beats and wild acid of “Derrvish” or the plucked bass and hypnotic tones of “Alpha Waves”. These are exceptions to the rule and Mannerfelt’s willingness to test the listener’s endurance prevails. At one end of the spectrum there’s the creepy robotic vocals on “Evening Redness in the West” hinting at an atrocity with the words ‘bowie knife’, ‘blood, blood’ repeated, while “Nihilist 87”delivers atmospheric hum and shadowy background samples. It’s probably just as well that the album closes with the Jan Jelinek-esque jazz loopisms of “In Place of Once Was” and the soft-focus chords on “Rotterdam Anagram” because there’s a limit to the synapse-melting experiments that new and existing Mannerfelt disciples will be able to endure.
Richard Brophy
Tracklisting:
1. Collapsion
2. Lines Describing A Circle
3. Affricate Consonants
4. Gulo Gulo Caesitas
5. Alpha Waves
6. Derrvish
7. Nihilist 87
8. Evening Redness In The West
9. In Place Of Once Was
10. Rotterdam Anagram