deaf center - low distance - LP

[Standard vinyl edition] Low Distance is Deaf Center's third full-length studio album and perhaps the most focused effort by the Norwegian duo to date. After their last record Owl Splinters (2011), which was quite an eclectic endeavor, Erik K Skodvin and Otto A Totland draw their sound back into something quieter and more minimal. The record starts with a piece of sweeping analog electronics. It's a spacious, yet dynamic opener that leads directly into the static tones and piano motifs of "Entity Voice", which balances a new sense of abstraction with the classic Deaf Center sound. It´s warm and close while sounding like it's set in the outer horizon. Overall, Low Distance feels both alien and familiar with its atonal synths, close pianos, and drowned-out noises. After meeting in studio for the first time since 2011, the recordings came out of a three-day session in 2017. It was then mixed at both EMS Stockholm and at Erik's home studio over a longer period to create a blend of deeply layered as well as stripped-down pieces. Both Erik and Otto have been active individually since their last meeting as Deaf Center: Otto has released two solo piano albums, while Erik has furthered his descent into musical abstraction both under his own name and as Svarte Greiner. It's long overdue to hear them connect their personalities into something new. Low Distance is a welcome return replete with beauty, mystery, and uncertainty.
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