Moon Relay — IMI
Moon Relay are made up of an eclectic selection of musicians from within the Oslo Avant Garde scene, namely Daniel Meyer Grønvold, Håvard Volden, Ola Høyer and Christian Næss. The band were formed in 2012, and each member has an excellent pedigree having worked with the likes of Jenny Hval, Cortex and Jessica Sligter to name but a few. The band’s previous releases were focused on a more traditional rock format of guitar, drums and bass, whereas with IMI this sound has been augmented with synths, and various other electronics, to take the band in a new and interesting direction.
Each track on the album doesn’t have a name as such, they are merely a selection of characters, thus I will just name them as track one through to six. Anyway, on to the music. The album opener gets things under way with a huge electronic drum beat and heavy pounding bass, giving the track a dancey vibe. Stabs of guitar and various electronic effects are layered over the top of the kosmische style motorik beat as the intensity of the track builds before it breaks down around the midpoint, before starting to build again in the second half of the track. This seems to be a popular theme across the album, with several tracks building intensity from fairly minimalist beginnings. The second track opens with some guitar feedback and sampled effects before electronic drums and a rhythmic guitar line enter the fray once again building that intensity in the lead up to its breakdown around the midpoint. A distorted surf rock style guitar line plays throughout much of the track, adding something a little different to what is a pretty heavy, bouncy track. Track three is merely a short interlude using vocal samples and some vinyl pops and clicks to give it an aged feel.
The second half of the album gets under way with track 4. Built around some fairly heavy and hypnotic sounding synth lines and electronic drums, the track begins layering up the sounds by bringing into play some fairly unusual surf guitar and heavy bass lines. Once again the track builds over time as more synth, guitar and percussion is added in to the mix. Some of the guitar is harsh and jagged sounding, this juxtaposed again the warmth of the synth sounds has a particularly jarring effect, but in a good way. Track five has a real Autechre vibe about it with some heavy electronic drums and bass. The myriad of electronic effects and samples give the track further interest. This is one of my favourites on the album. The final track opens with a high tempo and a full range of instruments from the off. Various effects and samples come in to play as the tracks grows and develops before climaxing shortly before the midpoint, where it breaks down before once again picking up the intensity again in the track’s second half. This second half reminds me very much of the music on the Grinderman albums Nick Cave was involved in.
There are a mass of different and varied influences on show here from Krautrock and alternative rock to dance and industrial music. Despite these very diverse influences the album works well both as a series of individual tracks but also a whole. The musicianship is top notch and the whole thing has an undeniable groove that will have listeners writhing and dancing along. A very enjoyable but fairly short album, running at just below forty minutes long. I think too often today’s music outstays its welcome by running at an hour or over, so it is always pleasant to hear something short and sweet.