Bjarki leads a pack of international artists who in the past few years have taken a hauntological approach to re-moulding the scents of breakbeat, rave, jungle, trance and IDM into sounds that are entirely their own.
Already this year he began his own label bbbbbb with artistic sparring partner Johnny Chrome Silver, released under new alias Cucumb45, performed his new live show at clubs and festivals from Mutek ES and Peacock to Printworks, and recently announced a US tour for July.
TRP015 finds Bjarki in typical, monstrous, floor slaying form with four trance leaning tracks that have proved an inspiration for Nina Kraviz’s DJ sets over the past year. Bjarki takes key aspects of trance and takes it for a headspin into the unknown – mangled percussion, disorienting voices, unravelling textural layers, sub aquatic bass frequencies and intense melodies.
All make for a uniquely irreverent take on a much maligned genre that most of us secretly adore…
Nina Kraviz launched her трип (pronounced ‘trip’) label in December 2014, with a double vinyl concept album entitled ’The Deviant Octopus’, and has since gone on to release music by emerging talents and veteran producers including Terrence Dixon/ Population One, Parrish Smith, Nikita Zabelin, Deniro, K-Hand, Bjarki, Roma Zuckerman, Steve Stoll, Shadowax, PTU, Vladimir Dubyshkin, AADJA, Steve o’Sullivan, Carlota and Kraviz herself amongst others.
трип is a forward thinking record label for both the brain and body, where the music crosses boundaries and genres. In its short life span, трип has realised Kraviz' heartfelt aesthetic and love of idiosyncratic electronic music, as well as and unique events, the first of which took place in a magical Icelandic cave.
The label is known for its coveted concept albums, releases with a clear concept behind it, connecting the music and art, so each release functions on its own like a family relationship. Every трип concept album presents no hierarchy among the new or established producers, their place coming from the whole connection of the music, story and artwork.
On трип, even the seemingly senseless makes sense.
