Posted by Budgie at January 29, 2006 07:57 PM

Praise be to Slartibartfast for creating Norway...

I mentioned in my last post about my current appetite for some of the dance records that have been creeping out of Norway in the past year or so. Well, it's about time I got my finger out and posted tracks by probably the most well known producers from up there, Lindstrom & Prins Thomas.

I had plenty to pick from, aside from their recent debut album and their own solo works, their remix catalogue takes in people like LCD Soundsystem, Tosca, The Juan Maclean, Freeform Five and many more. So many good pieces to choose from. Picking three was hard, so I hope you enjoy the selections below.

Track : BERMUDA TRIANGLE - "SECRET PILLOW (PRINS THOMAS REMIX PARTS 1 & 2)"

Bermuda Triangle are also from Norway, and here Prins Thomas gives their "Secret Pillow" track a stereotypical working over. I don't mean this in a bad way. With Prins Thomas & Lindstrom once you hear a few remixes, or their own tracks, you can pretty much guess what you're going to get. A warm live feel to the instruments, funky, head nodding basslines, great melodies and a sort of retro feel to the whole affair. "Secret Pillow" evolves nicely and starts to build with the advent of more and more percussion, but the best bit comes at the halfway mark when the track starts to echo off into some sort of Joe Claussell style workout with the bass and drums making slight appearances at just the right times to keep your head nodding.

Track : LINDSTROM - "I FEEL SPACE (M.A.N.D.Y. MIX)"

This is slightly different, as although it is a Lindstrom track, it's been given a darker workout by German remix and DJ duo M.A.N.D.Y. It's still got that same 120bpm style tempo that these guys seem to love, and another live sounding bassline, but this time the track stops and starts, throws in strange sound effects, disembodied vocals and the highlight, a fine melody that gives a passing nod to Jamie Principle's seminal Chicago House track "Baby Wants To Ride".

Track : LINDSTROM & PRINS THOMAS - "SYKKELSESONG"

It was Lindstrom & Prins Thomas' debut album that sparked off all this fixation with them, and other like minded Norwegian producers, when I picked it up in November of last year. Glowing reviews hinting at this new Balearic movement thing were enough to get my attention. The praise is justified. Long drawn out jams with a real warmth and a live feel about them. Big grooves that you can loose yourself in with snatches of guitar coming in to bring your focus back and the added achievement of them making a record that sounds like it could have been made anytime between now and the early 80's.

"Sykkelsesong" is one of the highlights on the album for me. As I mentioned above regarding the Bermuda Triangle track, you know what you're getting. But this time the hook seems to be a tweaked guitar sample from Spandau Ballet's "Chant No. 1"...

Enjoy.

Go Visit : Lindstrom & Prins Thomas @ Eskimo Recordings

Go Buy : Lindstrom & Prins Thomas - Lindstrom & Prins Thomas

Feel free to leave a comment about these tracks in The Pipe section of the forum.

Ta,
Budgie.