It started with a rumour. It drifted down into the Oslo fjord from some mythical barn-cum-studio, sequestered in a Norwegian wood. Living at the edge of civilization, a shadowy figure emerged, presiding over a control panel with an infatuation for synthesizers and drum machines, and evoking the spirit of the funk.
Curiosity led us on a winding forest path to an open invitation where we would first encounter the music of Raaja Bones. It was a cassette. He called it Sleepwalks . Eventually it found its way on to Snorkel’s catalogue, and it left us wanting more. Boardwalks was born, and six balmy tracks over two sides of a lacquer disc emerged from our pressing plant this week.
From his studio retreat in the heart of the Norwegian forest, Raaja Bones astral projects to adistant paradise, glancing the frosty tips of Norwegian fir trees on his way to exotic locations.
Trading the Scandinavian fjord for a beach in Miami, Raaja finds a bounce in his step, moonwalking his way across groovy keys and shuffling beats through Boardwalks . A sonic palette echoing with the reverberations of bygone days, playing on a collective nostalgia, a Kodak moment turned gif, frozen on a telephone screen.
Hazy chords and playful melodies glisten against temperate rhythmical zones as they roll through the arrangement. Disembodied vocals float in a steamy fog above warm tones, as Raaja’s voice passes through the record like a spectral dream. A rusty vignette forms within crystalline tones as bold synthesizers are coerced into reluctant musical forms, ambling through cheery earworms and rousing rubber bass-lines.
LISTEN TO ´BOARDWALKS PREVIEW HERE.
Shipping Out April 24th