Markus Artved - Tøbrud (Lauge rework) [Self Release]

The Slow Music Movement
4 days ago
1 min read

Markus Artved is a Danish composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist with a history of composing for performance arts and a fondness for blending jazz, ambient, field recordings and minimalism into electroacoustic soundscapes. On this new single he's teamed up with Henrik “Lauge” Laugesen, who also hails from Denmark and is an accomplished ambient producer, not to mention a notable ambient playlister, so we have something of a Danish ambient dream team on our hands here.

Taking a suitably improvisatory approach, "Tøbrud" ("thaw break" in English) expresses Artved’s fascination with nature’s spontaneity and transformation. Apparently in Denmark, as in England, snowy and icy winters are becoming increasingly rare, and although "Tøbrud" suggests a harsh winter, it's an apt title for this hopeful, spring like, drone anchored ambient track.

Starting off with some tonal twinkles as the track edges over the horizon, a reassuring drone eases it's way across the hard ground, the low frequencies reverberating into the frozen soil signalling it's time for the frost to soften its grip on the land. As the track rises to it's midday peak, the hard work done, it then eases in intensity as the the sun's warmth reintroduces itself to the locals, even encouraging the local fauna to tweet their approval at the impending arrival of the growing season and bountiful food supplies. It certainly gets my approval too.