Diskjokke – En Fin Tid review

Our first encounter with the sounds of Joachim Dyrdahl (aka Diskjokke) was his brilliant breezy disco injection to Lykke Li’s “Everybody But Me”, then later with another impressive remix for the xx’s “Basic Space”. Dyrdahl, much like his Norwegians counterparts Prins Thomas and Lindstrom, keeps disco interesting by exploring new avenues, while still retaining a style very much his own.

His second album, En Fin Tid (“A Happy Time” in Norwegian) on Smalltown Supersound, is a brilliant space opera soundtrack. Weaving inspirations of Brian Eno, Tangerine Dream and Arthur Russell throughout his spacesuit, Dyrdahl creates cosmic sounds that are incredibly full and vibrant, pushing it further with tinges of Italo and afro here and there.

Stroll into zero gravity with its lush openers “Reset and Begin” and “En Fin Tid”, while the bold “Big Flash” engages you into battle mode with its feverish 4/4, claps, and stabbing synths wavering in and out. The following track, “Rosenrød” takes the cake, as its beatless sweeping build-up for the first half is the most beautiful moment on the album. The synths quiver here over huge atmospheric sweeps and echoing bleeps, as though a beacon floating in the distance beckons for the beat to drop. Other great standouts include “1987”, and “Bastard Alliance” (with its cowbells reminiscent of “Brazilian Love Affair”).

With a total play time just under an hour with only 8 tracks, Dyrdahl still delivers top-notch cosmic material on his latest, where you can really feel that putting it together was definitely a fun time. Somebody please give this man a soundtrack to bless. Shingo Shimizu