Melke

Kim Hiorthøy | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 15, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Smalltown Supersound
• ASIN: B00006NSHT
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #993,654 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Melke is less odds than sods since it's a catch-all record for Kim Hiorth y that nevertheless captures plenty of the Norwegian cut 'n' paste operator's coolest tropes. Over 13 B-sides, comp cuts, and the like (some topping out at money's-worth lengths like eight and ten minutes), Hiorth y explores ambient reflecting pools stippled with pinprick percussion raindrops. "On Sun Day"'s rhythms click on two or three different rhythms as layers of keys meander in the depths; more sputtering beats decorate the surface of "Doktor Warson-Trikset," which carves new melodic shapes from existing jazz horn samples. Later selections like "Ready 4 Love" or the lengthy "Nu Kommer Cathrine Inn, Hon Lutar Sig" incorporate mild experimental techno, the latter tracking a sleepy phone conversation over chattering electronics and quiet breaks suggesting little parcels of dreams. Melke also includes mixes of other Smalltown Supersound notables. Hiorth y accelerates Monopot's slow-motion treatise "Sane" with his usual beat detachment, but saves one of his most hard and direct percussive statements for Jaga Jazzist's "Going Down." The original's solitary guitar figure remains, but it plays out over a steady techno pulse, interrupted periodically by what sounds like a rusty, creaking gate opening and closing. The result lands quite a ways away from the expressive warmth of Jaga's Livingroom Hush, but it points to the restless nature of Hiorth y and his peers. They're unwilling to let the music rest, even though the material they create is inherently smooth and inviting. ~ Johnny Loftus, Rovi --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important albums of 2002, December 21, 2002

By 

"nmtbrandon" (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Melke (Audio CD)

Superb! This album has some of the best beats and melodies I've heard in a long time. Despite the IDM overtones Melke is quite original and very nostalgic in practically every way. From the energetic "As If" to the laid back "Doktor Watson-Trikset" each track fits perfectly together to make a remarkable release. This is definately something you dont want to pass up.

5.0 out of 5 stars Kim Hiorthøy - Melke, September 30, 2011

By 

scoundrel - See all my reviews

This review is from: Melke (Audio CD)

Oh, Kim Hiorthøy: how Norway has treated you well! MELKE, a compilation of various tracks, shows Hiorthøy's talent at melodic IDM, which extends in many directions. For instance, "Door Opens Both Ways" has a complex melody, composed of intertwining electronics and gamelan-tones that meet above as a ticky rhythm throbs underneath, while "Doktor Watson-Trikset" is jazzy with its calm horns and swinging beat. "Evil House, Evil Day" continues in the downtempo vein, even as it mines moodier ground it its searching piano line, and "Ting Som Virker" goes even quieter. But "On Sunday" gets back onto a glitchy track (and the gamelans return on "Det Blev Fel," which skips into some subtle breaks), though, in both cases, the delicate melodies remain intact. Given the general melancholy mood of the album, it then comes as a pleasant surprise that his mix of Kevin Blechdom's "Ready 4 Love" is as perky as it is and that his mix of Monopot's "Sane" takes a jazzy direction. But he seems adept at many different genres: "As If" almost gets into Alter Ego-like electro, and the remix of Jaga Jazzist goes for hard house. No, seriously! The final track, "Äppelträd" returns to moodiness for a near ambient journey, with the rhythm heavily subdued. A wonderful and varied album.