Ordeal // Vätterns Pärla LP

This is a record released by experimental musician Ordeal aka Sewer Election aka Dan Johansson from Gothenburg, Sweden, on Belgian experimental label Aguirre in November 2023.

Contains 3 songs with drones flying low from beginning to end.

Below is a commentary by the label.

"As an important agent of Gothenburg's underground scene, Dan Johansson is active in experimental harsh noise projects like Sewer Election and as a member of lo-fi indie folk bands like Enhet För Fri Musik and Amateur Hour. Ordeal is his latest solo effort, and it may be the ash stuck to the brim of the furnace of his last career. It is not a culmination of his personal development, but rather a profound musical work woven in his own home. 

Constructed entirely of synthesizers, Vätterns Pärla is built on a shuddering, dissonant drone colored by feedback and reverberation, thickened by the no-fi quality of the recording, and conveys a menacing, gas-filled atmosphere. There is.In Johansson's words, Ordeal is "inspired by early '80s Maurizio Bianchi albums and filtered through the bleakness of Gothenburg's no-fi style."This album is about an inner journey, a childhood memory, and a place that has now lost its purpose and meaning."

There's certainly intimacy and nostalgia, but there's a claustrophobic, hypnotic atmosphere that envelops everything in a confined, small space.The emphasis is on texture over detail, color over progression, suspense over conclusion.The tension shifts, and at times the droning layers seem to disintegrate to filter the mood, but the ragged edges are never polished.We can feel the walls and the air, and although the air is polluted, we can somehow breathe it in.It's like waking up in a dark room, perceiving it with your ears and sense of touch, and experimenting with its dimensions and surfaces.The silence in the room is like the calm between the gasps of a storm.

There are no visible stars, and a closed-off corner of the night sky hides tons of industrial debris underwater.These remnants may be the pearl of the album title.Everything is dream-like, a heavy, mechanical soundscape punctuated by heavy but sporadic winds.The soil tries to make something grow, but the sprout remains suspended in the air, gripped by a dire premonition.A long shadow on the ground proves that darkness is coming.Then, as this shadow grows longer and looks like it's about to be shattered by a loud bang, the sound becomes whitish. "

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12 "black vinyl. 

Tracklist:

1. Huggormen 09:03
2. Falks Grav 08:12
3. Vist 17:22

Aguirre:

"As an important agent of Gothenburg's underground scene, Dan Johansson has been a member of several experimental harsh noise projects such as Sewer Election, and lo-fi indie folk bands like Enhet För Fri Musik and Amateur Hour. ordeal is his latest solo output, and might as well be ashes stuck in the blast furnace's edges of his last longing career. Not by means of summing up genres or as a culmination of his musical development, but as a profound music piece weaved in his own household.

With not much more than a synthesizer, Vätterns Pärla is built by trembling, dissonant drones stained in feedback and reverberation, thickly textured by the no-fi quality of the recording, depicting a menacing atmosphere congested with heavy fumes. In Johansson's words, Ordeal " takes inspiration from the early 80's albums of Maurizio Bianchi, filtered through a Gothenburgian no-fi bleakness. It's an album for inner voyage, childhood memories, and places that now lost purpose and meaning”.

There's certainly intimacy and nostalgia, yet a claustrophobic, hypnotic ambiance wraps it all up in a contained and narrow space. Emphasis is put on texture rather than on detail, on color rather than on progression, on suspense rather than on conclusion. Tension varies stiffly , sometimes a drone layer dismantles and the mood seems to filter, but ragged edges are never polished. We can feel the walls and the air, which although tarnished, can be breathed in somehow. It's as if waking up in a dark room and having to recognize it with our ears and tact, testing its dimensions and its surface. The stillness in the chamber is like the stillness between gasps of storms.

Without visible stars, an enclosed share of night sky hides a heavy load of industrial debris underwater. These remnants are maybe the pearl regarding the album's title. It all can seem like a dream, a grim mechanical soundscape deafened by hefty, yet sporadic winds. Soil strives to make something grow, but sprouting is kept suspended, held by a dismal presentiment. Long shadows on the ground prove that darkness is about to befall. And as these shadows stretch, almost about to break up in a loud strike, the noise turns white."

Artist: Ordeal

Label: Aguirre