Staff Reviews

Pascal Pinon - Sundur

Review by Paul Faller

The most impressive thing about this record is its sense of intimacy»

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Pascal Pinon's third album is the Icelandic duo's rawest and yet most diverse musical statement within the frame of their Folk-influenced, minimalistic sound. Produced only by themselves, "Sundur" comprises material written over the course of 1 1/2 years. While most parts of the album are sparsely orchestrated and follow the experimental lo-fi-leaning aesthetics of the duo's previous two records, the overall tone has become rawer with its metronome-like rhythms, occasional synth lines and driving piano melodies. "Sundur" lends its title from the Icelandic proverb "sundur og saman" (meaning "apart and together") and could be considered the companion of 2013's "Twosomeness". Due to a conflict of schedules, Asthildur and Jofridur ended up recording the bulk of "Sundur" in only two days. Their father, composer Aki Asgeirsson, helped out with the engineering and contributed percussions played with scrap metal he brought with him, including discarded parts of airplanes. While few of those details will be audible on the surface, the unpolished sound design and added bits are crucial to "Sundur", the result of an intense musical collaboration between the three family members. "It makes the album feel more real and raw which is what it essentially is all about," explains Jofridur. "It's very sparse and a lot closer in the approach and in regards to the sound of our very first album. It's kind of funny that seven years later, we would go back to the same place where we were at age 14!" Here they are however, with a record which is as intimate as it is mature.
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