In 2007, Studio released their only full-length; nine years later, that single album seems to be enough to help the Swedish duo from falling into obscurity. Celebrated upon its release (and being named as one of the year's best by several publications), West Coast gained the outfit a cult following over the years, thanks to its repetitive, moody electro grooves that bring to mind Krautrock, electro-pop and dark wave.
That's why the release of the first solo LP from Studio's Dan Lissvik (not counting 2014's limited release of the LP Meditations, under the name Atelje) comes off a bit disappointing. At eight tracks (each named after a letter in the word "Midnight") and 43 minutes long, Lissvik both rushes and takes his sweet time with each instrumental, blending tight, funk-inspired bass lines with ambient song structures. Bringing in a slew of analog instruments, mostly to give each track its own disposition, Lissvik pulls together swinging piano, shuffling guitar, drums and loads of modular synth lines, and though he does a great job of keeping the album instrumentally diverse, he falls into the same textural and spatial avenues throughout much of the album.
The result is that Midnight is a fine piece of work — unfortunately though, Studio haven't waited nine years for "fine."
(Smalltown Supersound)That's why the release of the first solo LP from Studio's Dan Lissvik (not counting 2014's limited release of the LP Meditations, under the name Atelje) comes off a bit disappointing. At eight tracks (each named after a letter in the word "Midnight") and 43 minutes long, Lissvik both rushes and takes his sweet time with each instrumental, blending tight, funk-inspired bass lines with ambient song structures. Bringing in a slew of analog instruments, mostly to give each track its own disposition, Lissvik pulls together swinging piano, shuffling guitar, drums and loads of modular synth lines, and though he does a great job of keeping the album instrumentally diverse, he falls into the same textural and spatial avenues throughout much of the album.
The result is that Midnight is a fine piece of work — unfortunately though, Studio haven't waited nine years for "fine."
