Ja.La Media Activities: VÖK: invio digitale "Figure", il primo full length della band dream-pop elettronica islandese in uscita il 28 aprile per Nettwerk

mercoledì 15 marzo 2017

VÖK: invio digitale "Figure", il primo full length della band dream-pop elettronica islandese in uscita il 28 aprile per Nettwerk

DREAM-POP ELETTRONICO ELEGANTE E RAFFINATO

CHE SI MESCOLA AI SUONI RAREFATTI TIPICI DELLE TERRE ISLANDESI

UN SOUND BEN RICONOSCIBILE RICCO DI COLPI DI SCENA E REPENTINE VARIAZIONI MELODICHE, FREQUENZE DISTORTE E ATMOSFERE ONIRICHE

“FIGURE”

IL PRIMO AMBIZIOSO FULL LENGHT DELLA GIOVANE BAND ISLANDESE IN USCITA

IL 28 APRILE 2017 PER NETTWERK / BERTUS

“With Figure we took the music out of the computer and into a more live and organic environment.” – Vök

Dopo aver pubblicato i già acclamati EP “Tension” (2013) e “Circle” (2015) la band, fondata nel 2013 da Margrét Rán (voce della band) e dal sassofonista Andri Már nella bellissima Reykjavík, arriva ora al suo lavoro sulla lunga distanza. “Figure”, in uscita il 28 Aprile per la rinomata etichetta Nettwerk Music Group e prodotto da Jack Garrett in collaborazione con Brett Cox, è un disco audace e ambizioso dove il pop elettronico si mescola con frequenze distorte, melodie quasi sussurrate e una voce raffinata ed elegante.

'Figure' è una parola il cui significato muta in base ai diversi contesti di utilizzo: può significare “comprendere qualcosa”, ma anche far riferimento ad una figura nel buio, un corpo, una forma. Non c'è da stupirsi che la band islandese Vök, dal sound pop elettronico ma capace di improvvise e continue variazioni melodiche, abbia scelto proprio “Figure” come titolo per il suo album di debutto.

Molti gli elementi che hanno ispirato la scrittura dell’album: dalla discografia di band come The Weekend e Little Dragon al cinema sci-fi, coprendo così un intero spettro di suoni e sensazioni.

“Anger, obsession, negligence, death, love, happiness and hope. “The word figure can represent so many things. So does this album.” – Margrét

Photo Credit - Sigga Ella

"‘Show Me’ is a delicate multi-layered affair that fuses grace and drama of The xx with their own unique approach to production and texture." – Notion Magazine

“Vök shares the xx’s slow tempos, whispery female vocals, sparse but echoey bass lines and melancholy questions." - The New York Times

"Channelling The Beach soundtrack via 80s synth pop and the dark, modern sexiness of The Knife." - Noisey

“Truly special band.” - The Line of Best Fit

For Vök, Figure has been three life-changing years in the making. After winning Icelandic rising talent contest Músíktilraunir within months of forming, the group – instrumentalist Ólafur Alexander and new addition Einar Stef on drums – marked themselves out as innovative makers of smart, smouldering jams on 2015 EP Circles. Hailed by Noisey as “channelling the Beach soundtrack via 1980s synth pop and the modern sexiness of The Knife,” that EP won them plenty of praise, but was “a very electronic and computer-based release,” the band reflect now. With Figure, the goal was to merge their cold, spectral electronic sound with something more human. “We took the music out of the computer and into a more live and organic environment.” The result is a listen that’s as intimate as it is full of surprises: as well as packing experimental moments of autotune and percussive panic, there’s intensely personal tales of family and relationships under strain. ‘Polar’ – a defiant, smoky ballad with shades of Rihanna if the ‘Work’ pop star had James Blake layering grinding keyboard lines beneath her sultry vocals – was written two years ago when Margrét and her father were arguing. Other tracks capture tender moments of romance: ‘Show Me’ features pleas for a partner to open up emotionally, over xx-style minimalism and ringing synth sounds. ‘Don’t Let Me Go’ – one of the group’s favourite tracks from the record – paints a lush but heartbreaking picture of a dalliance that can only last a night before “the magic fades.” ‘BTO’ meanwhile is an anthem for the downtrodden that asks one powerful question, set over floating harmonies and chimes of guitar: “do you think about us?”

Figure was mostly written in Margret’s cosy studio, over “endless cups of coffee” in front of spectacular views of the city they call home. The tracks were then taken to drummer Einar’s home studio, where they recorded with producer and Jack Garrett collaborator Brett Cox, who was recently nominated for Young Producer Of The Year at the Music Producers Guild Awards and whose stamp is keenly felt on the finely detailed Figure. “Einar’s home is in a beautiful utopian neighbourhood in Reykjavik that is full of century-old corrugated-iron houses,” say the band, who list that peaceful location as one of the album’s inspirations, alongside “unromantic walks on the beach”, Margrét's dog Ringo, trip-hop pioneers Massive Attack and 2015 movie Ex Machina – a thriller, tellingly for Vök, about the blurring line between computers and humanity.

“We want this record to take us beyond Europe,” say the group, who describe having to “get out of our comfort zone” on this album. “We dream of experiencing Japan. North and South America are also places we strive to visit.” The most important thing to Vök however is that “we managed to create an album full of songs that we all connect to and care about, which means a great deal to us.” Brave, warm and emotional, Figure just might end up meaning a great deal to you too.

Membri: Margrét Rán Magnúsdóttir (lead vocals, keyboard, guitar, synths) - Andri Már Enoksson (saxophone, synths, sampler) - Ólafur Alexander Ólafsson (guitar, bass guitar) - Einar Hrafn Stefánsson (percussion)