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Iceland, in recent years, has been known for its light-hearted pop oriented electronic music with the likes of Björk, Sigur Rós, Mugison and múm, but there is another group which is rarely mentioned in this musical circle and that is the abstract, beat oriented IDM of Einóma. Einóma consists of Bjami Þór Gunnarsson and Steindór Grétar Kristinsson. Starting with their first 12” on Uni:form Recordings (Floating Point by Zero) and going forward through their first full length Undir, Feilnótum to their second Milli Tonverka (both released on Vertical Form), one can have an inclination on what to expect with the Encam 12” on the newly established record label Trachanik Records.

Consisting of 4 songs, the Encam EP commences in similar fashion to ones of the past. The opener ‘Encam’ has a very dark aesthetic which leads to interwoven laid back hip hop beats backing the ever sonic fire of a raygun in the hand of a mythological space creature. ‘Vioveran’ follows where ‘Encam’ left off. An influence of Autechre can definitely be heard in this track, yet the signature of what makes up Einóma is heard throughout the song. The two remaining tracks are ‘Truflun’ (which follows the same patterns, but is more uptempo than the prior two) and a remix of the song ‘Encam’ by fellow Icelandic IDM artist Traject.

Overall, the EP is rhythmically sound and shows how IDM has progressed into even more abstract territories and epitomizes what contemporary IDM should sound like to an electronic music lover. The programming is top notch and for people that like the darkhop of Mick Harris’s Scorn project, this would be a great place to start if you’re looking for something more experimental in sound and with more variety.

Einóma is currently working on their third full length album to be released in the near future.

Reviewed by: J Bratton

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