Juv — Self Titled

Norwegian duo Juv deliver their debut release through Miasmah Recordings, fourteen years in the making, the album has been painstakingly edited from material recovered by founding members Are Mokkelbost and Marius von der Fehr. The component pieces of this particular record were committed to tape by the two friends back in the late nineties, until the pair, for one reason or another, ended their friendship and thus their creative output together. After stumbling across the recordings back in 2009, the pair decided to finally put all the elements together and present the material in the manner it was originally intended.

Ice cold soundscapes and spatial atmospherics, combined with healthy doses of droning noise and walls of feedback are the order of the day here. A familiar concoction when committed to writing, but an altogether different kind of beast upon witnessing. The feel of the tracks instantly bring to mind such references as Peter Rehberg and Stephen O'Malley’s KTL project, combined with the eloquence of Asva and improvisational skills of contemporary experimentalist Christian Renou. A heady mix of deeply disturbing yet utterly joyful pieces of work, the feeling of intense isolation and hints of otherworldly entities are ever prevalent, brandishing a primitive, almost occult like atmosphere, clearly having roots in the black metal scene that Norway is famous for.

The record plays out in sections, the first few tracks, leaving you awash in a sea of reverb and delays, the sounds mainly being torn from electric guitar, extensive field recordings and all manner of dissonant sounds which are brought together expertly, resulting in a truly astonishing journey. Around midway through the album, the tracks drop in tone as if moving from sweet oblivion straight into the pits of desolation and despair, before breaking back into calmer plains interjected by distant orchestral grandeur.

The story surrounding these recordings are enough in themselves to stir your curiosity, but the time spent developing and crafting the compositions clearly shines through, adding a greater depth of complexity and general sound appreciation. Clocking in a little shy of one hour and fifteen, it is definitely not easy going, yet is  utterly deserving of your time and attention. Juv have created something that has stood the test of time and have conjured up some truly breath-taking moments in the process, definitely track a copy down whilst you can!