Thomas URV – O Sweet Exorcism – DB12″ – PLOINK014

Thomas Urv, co-founder of renowned Norwegian techno label and event series PLOINK, readies his debut album. Whilst the label was launched in 2014, the event series celebrated 20 years in 2016 – releasing music from Scandinavian talents such as Prins Thomas, Mental Overdrive, Christian Tilt, +plattform and Skatebård. Alongside PLOINK co-founder Miss Mostly, Thomas Urv has been a key figure in Norway’s electronic music scene since acquiring a taste for it back in 1990 as a 14 year old. He’s since gone on to play alongside the likes of Jeff Mills, Marcel Dettmann, Radio Slave and Ben Sims at his PLOINK parties when not making appearances at fabric (London) and Berghain (Berlin), not to mention festivals like ADE and Bestival. All seven tracks on ‘O Sweet Exorcism’ were conceived over the last six years and generate a varied package from start to finish.  The long player begins with the lively melodies and shuffling effects in ‘Mjøndalen’ before the meandering drums and echoing nuances of ‘Conga Lightning’.  Distorted vocals join layers of sweeping gloomy sounds in ‘Cat’s Called Elektra’ making way for ‘Unease, which earns its name from its overall ominous aesthetic.  Past the halfway point the album becomes increasingly high-octane with the crashing snares and wild arpeggios of ‘HZ’, followed by the dark and abyssal ‘Kalle Rød’, and concluding with intricate synths and soaring pads in ‘Roland Og Fjellbunkeren’.