Loke Rahbek & Frederik Valentin’s ‘Solina’ captures the decay of digital soundscapes in its longing for a recent past

, 20 February 2020
sound

Loke Rahbek & Frederik Valentin are releasing LP Elephant via Copenhagen’s Posh Isolation on February 28, with preview track ‘Solina’ premiering on AQNB today. The duo has previously released music under other solo and collaborative projects, including Croatian Amor, Kyo and Damien Dubrovnik. 

The album evokes a sense of lo-fi nostalgia with granulated field recordings and hardware synthesis. ‘Solina’ offers an entirely different gesture, beginning in a quaint ambience and culminating almost immediately in a pianissimo that feels like a stifled version of composer Ryuchi Sakamoto’s ‘Opus’. The keys are eventually overwhelmed by a commanding flurry of synth stabs that begin to dissipate almost immediately after their introduction. In capturing the decay of maximalist digital soundscapes, the opening track signals the Elephant album’s wistful yet bare-boned synthesis, affirming a longing for a not-so-distant past.**

Loke Rahbek & Frederik Valentin’s  Elephant album is out via Copenhagen’s Posh Isolation on February 28, 2020.