Articles
2009 Ten Favourite Labels
Simon Scott's Navigare
Traxx's 10 Chicago Tracks

Albums
Aerosol
Andrasklang
Aquarelle
Matt Bartram
Bassnectar
Bell Horses
Broadcast & Focus Group
Angus Carlyle
Celer
Ytre Rymden Dansskola
Do Make Say Think
Dorosoto
Isnaj Dui
Shane Fahey
Jan Garbarek Group
Lisa Germano
Rachel Grimes
Halogen
Hellothisisalex
Christopher Jion
P Jørgensen
Leyland Kirby
Klimek
KZA
Elisa Luu
Mountain Ocean Sun
Marcello Napoletano
Andy Nice
Nicolay
port-royal
Rameses III
Sankt Otten
Danny Saul
Simon Scott
Sleep Whale
Susanna & Magical Orch.
Syntaks
Traxx
Claude VonStroke

Compilations / Mixes
5
Crookers
Favourite Places 2
Music For Mathematics
Snuggle & Slap
Sander Kleinenberg 2
Y9

EPs
DJ Bone
DJ Nasty
Duque and Baxter
Filterwolf
Ghenacia & Djebali
Ikonika
Kez YM
King Roc
Vadim Lankov
Lavender Ticklesoft
Lo-Fi Soundsystem
Niko Marks
Seuil
Subeena
Mark Templeton

Aerosol: Airborne
n5MD

Rasmus Rasmussen's sophomore Aerosol collection collects nine grandiose electronic-shoegaze settings into a transporting whole. The Copenhagen, Denmark-based producer first established himself as a member of Limp, the post-rock outfit that counted Jonas Munk (Manual), Jakob Skott (Syntaks), and Jess Kahr as fellow members, before bringing Aerosol to life in 2000 and eventually issuing his debut full-length All That Is Solid Melts Into Air six years later.

By imbuing the opener “Midnight Ride Down the Mental Freeway” with the acoustic warmth of piano, organ, and acoustic guitar, Rasmussen brings forth the wistful nostalgia and melancholy that's at the composition's heart. Justifying its eight-minute length, the graceful piece builds subtly until electric guitar playing reminiscent of Rasmussen associate Manual appears three-quarters of the way along. With piano chords guiding the way, “Transition” at times sounds like an alternate take of “Midnight Ride Down the Mental Freeway,” even if Rasmussen dresses up “Transition” in a more expansive arrangement. Apparently composed in reference to a tour around Morocco, “Psychedelic Coffee Buzz” oozes a languorous slow-burn that hints that something more powerful than caffeine was ingested. The title track opts for serenading shoegaze, while “Dreams Flow Wide” and “Sleepy Sunset” likewise gravitate in the direction of pastoral electronic.

It should be obvious by now that the style offered up on Airborne isn't far removed from that of Manual or Syntaks—not that that's a bad thing—though the Aerosol style, while as gauzy and densely layered as the music of his compadres, exudes a slightly more pronounced “sun-kissed,” psychedelic vibe—a trippy character clearly implied by song titles such as “Infinite Expanse” and “Psychedelic Coffee Buzz.” Even so, when (acoustic and electric) guitars move to the forefront, as they do during “Let the Seasons Drift” and the lilting closer “Softly Slipping,” it's hard not to hear Aerosol as being so close in spirit to Manual that their styles become almost indistinguishable (a likeness strengthened even more when Rasmussen's preferred electric sound is a Manual-like chime).

November 2009