Valgeir Sigurðsson has been an active figure in music production for some time now, having contributed and played with Sigur Rós, Björk, CocoRosie and others. In addition to these collaborations, he's managed to start his own imprint, Bedroom Community, which hosts a handful of promising artists. The first two records he released were from neoclassical prodigy Nico Muhly (another Björk collaborator) and Ben Frost, both of whose albums are considerably different from one another. Muhly's album is somewhat avant garde and almost exclusively for traditional instruments, whereas Frost's was an epic, dark ambient manipulation of Swans samples and electronics.
Even more of a departure is the label boss's own solo debut. Ekvílibríum is far from the more severe angle of either of the previous releases on the label, and rather is a lush, fully-formed pop album. Valgeir Sigurðsson's sharp techniques as a producer shine through in blazing colors here, with a spectrum of sound that is as deep and sensuous as it is bright and radiant. The first song, "A Symmetry," begins with what sounds like more common IDM rhythms but soon evolves into something altogether different with the use of bright melodic piano. (I'm not sure how or whether he's treated the piano sounds on the record, but it tends to sound unusually bright.) The logical companion to this opener is "Focal Point" which features some gorgeous piano melodic work from Nico Muhly along with some gentle and elegant viola courtesy of Una Sveinbjarnardóttir. It's probably my favorite track on the album, encapsulating all of the various aspects of the other songs (minus vocals) in one stunning 6-minute piece. The other instrumental pieces are nice as well, but at times more subtle; "Equilibrium Is Restored" is almost pastoral in its patient, dreamy pacing, and closing track "Lungs, for Merrilee" is a five-minute, vibrating meditation for piano and strings.
There are several vocal tracks on the album, including 2 contributions from Will Oldham (credited to his Bonnie "Prince" Billy alias), and one each from J. Walker and Dawn McCarthy. "Evolution of Waters" aims big in its sweeping arrangement for celeste, piano, strings and electronics, complementing Oldham's voice well. "Kin" falls toward the end of the album and also features Oldham's airy vocals over a comparable arrangement, very lovely stuff. J. Walker's collaboration on "Baby Architect" is a little more sleepy, built around guitar and oddly manipulated layers of flute, bassoon, strings and electronics, often falling back on a stuttering texture of Walker's voice, slowing down and speeding up through tape manipulations. "Winter Sleep" is the most dramatic of the vocal tracks, characterized by Dawn McCarthy's gorgeous voice, which ranges from a creamy alto to a bright operatic soprano. Her non-verbal vocals at times recall the soaring voice from Preisner and Kieslowski's The Double Life of Veronique, giving it an otherworldly quality at times.
It's a varied collection of songs and pieces that work well within and without one another; it flows quite well as an album, but these songs don't necessarily require one another to be appreciated. That there are just as many instrumentals as there are vocal tracks makes it all that much stronger, balancing between a sophisticated pop album and something more subtle or nuanced. It's a very well-produced, clean, smart collection of tracks that, especially when compared to the Bedroom Community repertoire thus far, indicates a world of possibilities for Sigurðsson's vision.
mp3: Focal Point | Winter Sleep
more information: Myspace | Bedroom Community
buy it: Directly from Bedroom Community's webshop | Amazon | iTunes | Bent Crayon | Forced Exposure | Tonevendor | Boomkat
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