Abdulla Rashim has certainly made quite a name for himself on the back his hypnotic, glacial techno tracks, both on his own eponymous label as well as Prologue and Semantica. While perhaps immediately reminiscent of Donato Dozzy’s shamanist dance music tendencies, Rashim brings an unmistakably Nordic sensibility to his music, one that his new label Northern Electronics seems to underline in triplicate. Northern Electronics had a busy 2013, with five (according to Discogs) intriguing releases from Rashim as well as his friends Varg and Acronym. Ulwhednar, a collaboration between Varg and Rashim, was at the helm of three of those releases: two cassettes, and an LP of mesmerizing, immersive techno.
Ulwhednar, excerpts from LP
LP‘s structure is rather straightforward: four static, tripping cuts of techno with three short interludes, one at the beginning, one at the end, and one in the middle. Those short tracks are nice, beatless palate-cleansers, but the real meat of the record is found in between them. Each of the four tracks might at first sound like loops, but while they progress imperceptibly over their run-times, they create hypnotic whirlpools one could conceivably get lost in for days. “Synden Mot Den Helige Ande” hits hard with overdriven kicks and strobe-lit elements, while “Kornguden I VaÌŠnga” seems almost frostbitten with its ghastly atmospheres and rumbling percussion. “Dömd Till Elden” is more austere, with frozen 303 notes and submerged drums, while “NaÌŠjden FraÌŠn Norra Västbyn” is the warmest of the four. Despite its name, LP certainly doesn’t give off the vibe of an album, but rather of an ambitious EP, one that clocks in just under 30 minutes. Album or not, it’s an engrossing listen all the way through, whether holed up in your apartment while sheltered from arctic winds, or as a key component of a DJ’s record bag. Northern Electronics has carved out a space for itself and is well worth keeping an eye on.
