Deaf Center - Low Distance

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) was quite an eclectic endeavor, Erik K Skodvin & Otto A Totland draw their sound back into something more quiet and 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 abstractation 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 the studio for the first time since 2011, the recordings came from a 3-day session in 2017. It was then mixed at both EMS Stockholm and at Erik´s home studio over a more extended period to create a blend of deeply layered as well as stripped-down pieces. Both Erik & Otto have been active individually since their last meeting as Deaf Center: Otto released two solo piano albums, while Erik has furthered his descent into musical abstractation 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.