- Studio Barnhus has earned praise through willful strangeness, but this one takes the cake. A label debut from Lukas Nystrand von Unge, a prolific Swedish producer who's evidently been at it since 1987, this six-track EP is about as disjointed as they come, and it's all the stronger for it. Maybe the strangest thing is how well Studio Barnhus EP No. 1 holds together anyway.
Most of the tracks have a bleary analogue quality, like they were dubbed off some old cassettes (which is entirely possible). "Förmodligen" starts out rickety and distant, looped harshly like a Kassem Mosse outtake, before softening into dreamy melancholy. "Melodi" sounds like it's been buried alive and its scraggly synth arpeggios are trying to crawl their way out and getting louder with each bar. "Bra För Dig" uses hiss as its lead element. It's strange choices like these that give von Unge's tracks personality.
"Gamla Skolan" is a feel-good piano rollick with a jaunty bassline and Mellotron strings. "En Slags Popmusik" continues the positive vibes, but this one sounds like it's melting, its strings slightly out of tune with the rest of the warped warbling. It paves the way for another bit of humid tropicália: "Det Borer På." Whether he's changing direction mid-track or mid-EP, von Unge never goes where you're expecting him to, and his eccentricity is the most enthralling thing about him.
Tracklist A1 Formodligen
A2 Melodi
A3 Bra For Dig
B1 Gamla skolan
B2 En slags popmusik
B3 Det Beror Pa