So far, in the first quarter of the year, the two best albums of 2022 have curious coincidences. Both are made up of two albums, and both come from the north. And their two creators are two of those artists we have at the altar in the 1051 Magazine office.
One of them is released today, and we have already talked about it in our virtual pages, and the other will have to wait until April 15th to be released. We have had the privilege of enjoying it more than just hearing it.
LUZ and Quest For Fire is the title, and its author is a DJ, producer, remixer and label owner called Axel Boman. Considering it’s been almost ten years since his previous album (we won’t count Le New Life as an album, because it was supposed to be a double EP to commemorate Mule Musiq’s anniversary), the excitement to hear this new work from the Swede was tremendous.
Born and raised in Stockholm, he then moved to Gothenburg to study Fine Arts and it was there that his musical dalliances began. From starting with an Electro Punk band to DJing and releasing his first records in 2008, Axel left other occupations to dedicate himself to music, and he hasn’t done badly. Already in 2010 his name starts to be heard a lot thanks to his Holy Love released on Pampa Records, DJ Koze’s label. Just in that year, the first release of Studio Barnhus also arrived, a kind of Brill Building in Stockholm founded and manipulated by the authentic Swedish House Mafia, Kornél Kovács, Petter Nordkvist aka Pedrodollar and Axel himself.
Since then, the name Studio Barnhus has become unmistakably synonymous with high quality music, with a catalogue that has seen some of the biggest names on the international underground electronic music scene. And, of course, its three founders.
Axel has released a long list of EPs on his own label as well as on the aforementioned Pampa, Hypercolour and Moodmusic, but his first and only album until now saw the light of day in 2013 on Studio Barnhus. Family Vacation was a critically acclaimed international hit, an excellent album.
But now, almost a decade later, Axel has matured musically, and has also freed himself from certain burdens that might have been present on that Family Vacation. Boman himself said in an interview that before dedicating himself professionally to music he worked as a chef cooking delicious dishes in French restaurants, and LUZ and Quest For Fire are two excellent menus full of exquisite musical morsels.
LUZ begins with Acid Distortion, a title that might at first mislead you into expecting a shot of Acid House but is anything like this. The title refers to a pattern that starts this downtempo that opens the album with a dense but relaxing atmosphere . BHUKA introduces us to the dancefloor in an inciting way, with the vocal collaboration of Off The Meds frontman Kamohelo. On that dancefloor we continue with Nowhere Good, with another collaboration, that of Gabriella Borbély aka Bella Boo, a DJ and producer from Stockholm who also records at Studio Barnhus. A piece that navigates between Balearic and warm rhythms with extraordinary elegance. We slow down again with Gröna Dalen, midtempo that gives way to Edgeware Rd, where the Axel of yesteryear returns with a cut that maintains a constant rhythm with an almost minimal vocation and tremendous beauty. Suddenly, we travel to the tropics with Atra and Kristian Harborg’s strummed saxophone, a real delicacy with a batucada rhythm. Then comes the impossible-to-classify piece, Out Sailing, featuring his partner and friend Petter Nordkvist (since Man Tear were Petter and Axel…) and Stockholm vocalist Inre Frid. Out Sailing is a marvel in which the background could be a perfect piece of electronic pop, but Axel transforms its rhythmic base into a rainbow of filtered sounds, full of effects and repetitions while the melody is full of killer beauty and elegance. Grape follows with luminosity and Hold On closes the album with another melancholic and enchanting tear of minimalist electronic pop that could remind us of those unforgettable tracks by the great Justus Köhncke.
The second part of this great work is Quest For Life, the second album that opens with a huge Future Disco House gem entitled Sottopassaggio, with the Swedish duo Miljon collaborating on it. Once again Axel plays with sounds in a masterful way, with the confidence of someone who has been twisting rotary potentiometers for many years, with a bridge in the middle in which an orgy of flangers, echos and other sonic syncopations develop, making the track a real banger for any dancefloor. Continous play on our speakers so that we can finish believing what we are hearing.
Then comes the relaxation of One Two, almost cosmic Jazz, to then enter another of the most beautiful moments of the two albums, Stone Age Jazz, a perfect soundtrack for any sunset with light Dub aromas. These two tracks are followed by Cacti Is Plural, another midtempo passage with a very interesting luminous density, which gives way to the other collaboration with Kristian Harborg, Roman Plumbing. A track of two halves, with a beautiful introduction with Harborg present to get to the second part, with a drum that could be a slowed down funky drummer beat and a synthesized pattern.
After so much relaxation, Ostende brings the album back to its more danceable vibe, with a warmly inspired rhythmic pattern and colourful melody, Balearic House for dancing on a night by the sea. Regret Lasagna follows this line, with more elegant Disco House and without stridency, which opens the way to the most energetic cut of the two albums, Jeremy Irons, with a powerful bass line and congas in its final part. The journey closes with Les Lèvres Rouges, pure Dub with almost acid arpeggios.
No one will be able to say that they are bored after listening to LUZ and Quest For Life. It is impossible. Axel Boman has delivered what may be his most complete work yet.
Releases April 15th, 2022, pre order here
