Inlandsis: Premier Froids
Arbouse

Apparently the Danish word “Inlandsis” literally means “ice of the interior of the country” and Premiers froids roughly translates as “first cold days.” But, oddly enough, both meanings are in direct contradistinction to the warm sound crafted by Inlandsis members Jean-Sebastien d'Anchald, David Chenel, and Olivier d'Hoogh; perhaps it's the ice-smooth surface of their music that accounts for that cool dimension. On Inlandsis's forty-minute collection of pretty electronic music, whistling synth melodies waft gently through bright and cloudless skies, as tracks such as “Interstices” and “Fréquentations” spin breezy variations on lush, melancholic IDM.

The recording doesn't totally focus on a single style, however. The trio cites hip-hop, post-rock, techno, pop, and contemporary minimalism as influences and related sounds do occasionally emerge during the disc's eight tracks. A hip-hop swing animates the streaming synth melodies in “Funambule” while a hint of funk emerges during “Un idéal retour au froid…” A slightly darker undercurrent surfaces alongside clockwork martial rhythms in the Plaid-like “Masque de Lune,” suggesting that the Inlandsis sound might not inaccurately be characterized as a polished fusion of ambient and IDM.

March 2008