Skyphone - Oscilla (2023) [Hi-Res]

Danish trio Skyphone return to Lost Tribe Sound with ‘Oscilla’ (out Nov. 3rd), their first offering since 2019’s Marsh Drones. With ‘Oscilla’ Skyphone continues to build upon their expansive, driving, and richly detailed style of electro-acoustic music that blurs nearly every line between rock, jazz, folk, and electronic.

The album is inspired by the ancient Roman ritual of using masks, oscilla, in religious festivals. The oscilla would swing in the wind as symbolic offerings to the gods. That to and fro motion led to the English word, oscillation. Much like its origins, the movement of ‘Oscilla’ is flickering and propulsive, evoking a slow fluctuating journey through overgrown landscapes. The opening song, “Æteren” (the ether) lifts off with metallic clangs and the soft patter of rain on leaves which evolve into kinetic conversations between colorful acoustic strings and modular synths; pulsating like fast-traveling lights just beyond the tree line. Elsewhere, “Verneånd” (guardian spirit in Norwegian) trudges along with heavy strides from the low register of the guitar, subtly lifting as drifts of wind, perhaps divinity from the ancient spirits wishing for luck on the journey. While “Arbonought” could be crude machine made of roots, stone, and earth, a strange thing met on the journey down the gnarled forest path.

The new Skyphone record original began as a project to explore long form close-miced acoustic sessions. The trio worked to record and capture the intimacy of various acoustic instruments. The recordings were very meticulous and long, and were largely meditations over harmonies and fugue-like movements of guitars, bass, synths, piano as well as mandolin, bells, wind instruments and acoustic drums. The trio spent a lot of time building the right sound, exploring endless loops and atmospheres before editing and deconstructing everything to capture the essence of the sessions. This slow chiseled refinement left a real depth of sound to the final songs. Hints of field recordings coloring the periphery, while lumbering rhythms hold a steady pulse, freeing the guitar and bass to create a myriad of melodies and counterpoints opposite the synthesizers. The record also features an incredible barrage of effects, in large part thanks to the 80’s era TC-2290.

One thing is certain, Skyphone’s surrealist take on mechanical meets nature never fails to inspire, and always leads to some wholly satisfying sounds and wondrous geography. ‘Oscilla’ also sees the return of cover artist Martin Sønderlev Christensen (Hildur, Marsh Drones) this time in collaboration R. Keane of Lost Tribe Sound. In addition, Emil Thomsen of ET mastering once again lends his magical touch to the final sound.

Tracklist:
1.01 - Skyphone - Æteren (4:20)
1.02 - Skyphone - The Spines (2:59)
1.03 - Skyphone - Verneånd (5:30)
1.04 - Skyphone - Arbonought (4:10)
1.05 - Skyphone - The Spiral Itself (5:33)
1.06 - Skyphone - End of the Tether (4:58)
1.07 - Skyphone - Will to Change (4:06)