LURCHING LIKE A TOYTOWN DRUNKARD FROM BUSKING CLOCKWORK ROBOT TO A FREEFORM IMPROV GROUP COMPOSED OF WIND-UP TOYS LEFT TO PLAY THEIR INSTUMENTS AT RANDOM, VOKS' SOUND IS SIMPLE YET QUITE DERANGED. THE TEN TRACKS ON VAKS VANSKAB AK HOLD A FASCINATING MELANCHOLY DESPITE THEIR JOLLY, ENTHUSIASTIC LO-FI ELECTRONIC SOUND. BEAMED FROM SOMEWHERE IN THE DISTANT PAST OF CHILDHOOD TV PROGRAMMES, WHERE MYSTERIOUSLY ARCHETYPAL CUTOUT FIGUES PARADE TO THE RIPPLING GLOCKENSPIEL AND DRIBBLED PIPES OF PAN JUNIOR OR THE DISTANTLY-PACED REEDS AND DRUMS OF "OBO OMO", THIS IS A MUSIC WHICH IS STRANGELY NOSTALGIC FOR AN IMAGINARY PAST WHEN THE WORLD REALLY WAS NEW AND STRANGE.
THE CURIOUS FAUX-MIDDLE EASTERN TECHNO OF "TUUIE" PICKS UP A HALTING RHYTHM WITH THE FRENETIC ENTHUSOIASM OF AN AUTISTIC JUVENILE INTENT ON MAKING THEIR OWN MUSIC, REGARDLESS OF THE FORMULA; IT MUST BE SAID, SOMETIMES WITH AS IRRITATING A TENDENCY TO NAG AWAY REPEATEDLY TOO ON SOME PIECES, LIKE THE PATIENCE-TRYING WHEEZING OF "ANKERGANG". PLINKING AND WANDERING FROM ONE IDEA AND TRACK TO THE NEXT, VAKS VANSKAB AK IS A TRIUMPH OF IDIOSYNCRASY, MAGPIE INSERTIONS AND CRAZY ARRANGEMENTS FITTED CAREFULLY TOGETHER LIKE A TOWERING SPRAWL OF LEGO - SIMPLE TO DISCERN WHAT IT'S MADE OF, BUT NOT NECESSARILY SO EASY TO UNDERSTAND - OR ENJOY - WITHOUT A WILLING SUPENSION OF (ADULT) BELIEF.
LINUS TOSSIO / FREQ

THOUGH HE LIVES IN COPENHAGEN-BY-THE-SEA, VOKS' MUSIC INHABITS A DARK FOREST WHERE STRANGE CREATURES FROLIC AND DEEP MYSTERIES ABIDE. OVER THE TWENTY MINUTES OF THIS 3-INCH MINI-ALBUM HE HAS PRODUCED AN ASSEMBLAGE OF FUTURE NOIR, SINISTER LITANIES AND DARK NURSERY RHYMES THAT RECALL UNSEEN CREATURES SPEAKING IN TONGUES UNHEARD SINCE MAN TAMED THE WILDERNESS. 'SKELET TOGT', WHICH, IF MY PIDGIN DANISH STILL WORKS, TRANSLATES ROUGHLY AS 'DEAD SKELETONS', SOUNDS LIKE PORTISHEAD AND GOLDFRAPP MEETING IN A BLACK FOREST, WHILE 'FLATERNE KOMMER' SOUNDS LIKE EVELYN GLENNIE TAPPING AWAY ON THE RIBCAGE OF ONE OF THOSE SKELETONS. IT'S ELECTRONICA, BUT IT'S NEVER SOUNDED SO AGED AS THIS. MAGNIFICENT.
FELA LEWIS / LOGO

TEN LITTLE THEMES TO MOVIES FROM THE 1920IES NEVER PRODUCED? TEN STROLLS THROUGH THE WOODS TRYING TO FIND YOU OWN MENTAL HEALTH? TEN NARCOLEPTIC TRIPS THROUGH SOUNDS PRODUCED BY MENTALLY INSTABLE ARTISTS? TEN ELECTRONIC EXPERIMENTAL ESSAYS OR EVEN THEOREMS? WHO KNOWS. WHICH MOVIE ARE YOU IN?
ANOTHER STRANGE LITTLE RELEASE FROM THE LABEL THAT BROUGHT (TO ME) THE COMEBACK OF JOHN HEGRE AND ANOTHER SCANDINAVIAN ARTIST WHOSE WORK IS HARD TO DESCRIBE. THIS TIME IT IS VOKS, REAL NAME NOT KNOWN, FROM DENMARK AND ALL THE REAL INFORMATION I COULD GATHER WAS, THAT HE COMPOSES USING A COMPUTER, BUT I AM NOT SURE. IT COULD ALSO BE CHILDREN’S TOYS, OR MANIPULATED INSTRUMENTS OR CHEAP KEYBOARDS OR SOMETHING ELSE ANYWAY. ONE THING IS FOR SURE THOUGH, VOKS HAS AN OBSESSION WITH WEIRD LITTLE SYNTHIE-SOUNDS AND LIKES TO FORM THEM INTO CONCRETE PATCHES OF MUSIC THAT MOVE AT SQUARE BEATS AND ASKEW ANGLES. DO YOU REMEMBER HOW FUNNY PEOPLE USED TO MOVE IN REALLY OLD BLACK AND WHITE MOVIES (NOT COUNTING ON THEM BEING PLAYED IN THE WRONG VELOCITY), HOW THE SETS ALWAYS SEEM A LITTLE STRANGE AND UNREAL (BECAUSE THEY WERE ALL ARTIFICIAL BACK THEN) AND HOW THE ACTING SEEMS SO UNBELIEVABLE AND UNREALISTIC? NOW PUT THAT INTO MUSIC AND YOU HAVE NARROWED TO VOKS FROM ONE DIMENSION.
LEAVES ABOUT ONE OR TWO DOZEN OTHER DIMENSIONS OPEN TO EXPLORE ON THIS COLLECTION OF TEN ODD LITTLE DITTIES. THEIR SIZE RANGES FROM CHILDLIKE PLINKERING ON ONE KEYBOARD-MANUAL TO DECONSTRUCTED AND MANIPULATED SOUNDS, A MINORITY OF TRACKS ALSO HAS A BEAT, BUT OF COURSE NOTHING YOU’LL EVER HEAR ON A DANCEFLOOR. SOMETIMES “VAKS VANSKAB AK” IS LIKE LISTENING TO A LITTLE CHILD PLAYING TO HIMSELF, AT OTHER TIMES YOU ARE THROWN INTO THE THROES OF POSTMODERN REALITY, ESPECIALLY WHEN SOUNDS REMIND ME OF ASIAN RELIGIOUS MUSIC AND GET CONNECTED WITH HARMONICA-LIKE SOUNDS OR CHEAP SECOND-HAND-KEYBOARDS.
HAVE YOU NOTICED THAT I ALWAYS USE PHRASES LIKE “-LIKE” OR “SEEM TO BE”? BECAUSE THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN BE SURE ABOUT WITH VOKS. IS IT EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC WITH A THEORY OR THE WORK OF AN ARTIST EXPLORING HIS SUBCONSCIOUS? OR IS ONE LAYER HIDING THE OTHER? IT COULD ALSO BE ONE BIG JOKE. IF SO, I DON’T SEE THE PUNCH LINE. NO, MY GUESS IS, THAT HERE IS SOMEONE OBSESSED AND FOLLOWING A ROUTE THAT HIS LAID OUT FOR HIM AND ONLY FOR HIM TO SEE. SO I REALLY CAN’T TELL YOU FOR SURE, WHAT IS COMING NEXT. “VAKS VANSKAB AK” IS A WORK THAT LEAVES MORE QUESTIONS OPEN THAN IT ANSWERS, WHICH IS REALLY NO JUDGEMENT OF ITS VALUE.
IN THE MEANTIME I AM WONDERING, WHAT THE LABEL WILL HAVE IN STORE FOR US IN THE FUTURE?
CRACKED

MANCHMAL GLAUBE ICH, DASS DIE DÄNEN DA OBEN IN DÄNEMARK EIN BISSCHEN ALLEIN SIND. SO MIT LEGO, CARLSBERG, OHNE VORWAHLEN BEIM TELEFON USW. IHR WISST SCHON. MENSCHEN WIE VOKS ZUM BEISPIEL. HAT GOODIEPAL ZUM FREUND, HAT ÜBER IHN SCHON MAL EINE 7" AUF V/VM FLÜCHTEN LASSEN UND QUETSCHT JETZT HIER 10 TRACKS AUF EINE KLEINE 3"-CD, 10 SKETCHE, DIE ALLESAMT SO KLINGEN, ALS WÄRE DAS GANZE KINDERZIMMER IN DEN RECHNER GEZOGEN, WEIL DAS MIT DEN GROSSELTERN EINFACH ZU ANSTRENGEND WURDE IRGENDWANN UND EIN MITGLIED DER BONTEMPI-FAMILIE LIEBER ALS SAMPLE WEITERLEBT, SICH EWIG TRANSPONIEREN LÄSST, DABEI DIE DIGITALEN CLIPPINGS WIE FLIEGEN FÄNGT, ALS IMMER WIEDER NUR NEUEN TEE ZU MACHEN. MACHT SICH AUF JEDEN FALL GUT SO EIN KINDERZIMMER IM RECHNER, AUCH WENN ICH DIE BUSSE VERMISSE. VIELLEICHT DER SOUNDTRACK ZU TOYSTORY 5, VIELLEICHT WAHNSINN, VIELLEICHT ABER AUCH EINFACH SO WEIT DRAUSSEN, DASS DER BUS DA NIE HIN KOMMEN KANN.
THADDI / DE:BUG

DANS LEUR ESPACE LABORATOIRE INSTALLÉ DANS UN PETIT VILLAGE À CÔTÉ DE COPENHAG, VOKS IMAGINE UN PAYS IMAGINAIRE OÙ LES MÉLODIES ENFANTINES SE FROTTE À L'ÉLECTRONICA LA PLUS POINTUE, ET LES SONORITÉS AFRICAINES SE LANGUISSENT SUR DES MÉLODIES KRAUT-ROCK SUCRÉES. GUITARES LANGOUREUSES, ÉLECTRO NEURASTHÉNIQUE, ACCORDÉONS ET JUMBE NUMÉRIQUES , VOKS RÉUSSIT LE GRAND ÉCART ENTRE OVAL ET TORTOISE, ENTRE COMPILES « CLICKS AND CUTS » DE MILLE PLATEAUX ET CATALOGUE CRAMMED DISC. PLAGES PAYSAGISTES, VOKS INVENTE LA BO D'UN SONGE MUSICAL RACONTÉ PAR UN COMPTEUR AFRICAIN. SUPERBE...
LG / TRAX

EEN ANDERE RELEASE KOMT VAN VOKS. GEEN IDEE WIE ZE ZIJN, MAAR DE MUZIEK IS KLASSIEKE CUT-UP WAARBIJ RACHEL'S VERWARD WORDT MET FENNESZ. ZACHT EN LIEF KOMT DE TRACK NA 18 MINUTEN TOT STILSTAND, MAAR OH BOY, WAT EEN NUMMER. MISSCHIEN MAAKT HTTP://WWW.DEKODER.COM JE WAT WIJZER.
JOHAN / (K-RAA-K)3