- While Frak's buzzing, less-is-more sci-fi beats bear all the hallmarks of a sound we techno nerds should have been feelin' for years, their discography—nearly all of it put out on cassettes issued by Sweden's long-running Börft Records—is intimidating to say the least. Luckily, more contemporary Scandinavian labels like Sex Tags Mania (for whom Börft has obviously been quite influential) and Kontra-Musik are beginning to preach the Frak gospel, and the latter label's second release from the trio (their first, "Triffid Gossip," flew off the shelves) exemplifies all that's ruggedly seductive about these guys.
You probably couldn't have Frak without tape hiss, that warm hum that penetrates their every reverby clap and 303 meander: you hear it from the moment "Dried Grapes" dials up, and even when the track's loud, lovingly saturated drum machines slink in, you can still sense its comforting presence there. It's even more present on the quieter "Lust for Love," which recalls contemporary electronic tricksters like Pye Corner Audio and DJ Sotofett even though its ethos long predates them. "Urgent" could be the template for Kontra-Musik in its entirety: all the right drum machines do all the right things at a more than leisurely tempo. And "Modest Trash," the slinkiest zappiest, and most devastating of them all, seems to cut off mid-sentence. Which begs one question of Kontra-Musik: can you make this a trilogy, please?
Tracklist A1 Dried Grapes
A2 Lust for Love
B1 Urgent
B2 Modest Trash