Marcus Fjellström - Epilogue M
by Adrian Janes
published: 13 / 6 / 2013

Label:
Aagoo Records
Format: CDS
intro
Evocative instrumental EP from Swedish composer and multimedia artist, Marcus Fjellstrom
Marcus Fjellstrom is a Swedish composer and multimedia artist, and fittingly the music on this EP is highly effective at conjuring atmospheres and visions, as if for the soundtrack of an unmade film. A vinyl-like hiss pervades each piece, as though the whole is an old record Fjellstrom has unearthed and set playing in a dark, abandoned mansion as he moves from one vast room to another, the music often seeming tantalisingly distant. Opener ‘Dance Music’ is dominated by an almost musical box melody that evokes a sort of Western gamelan, as eerie sounds spiral in the background. ‘Sinnesloeschen’ and ‘Puretos’ are more atmosphere than music, at different times employing simple piano phrases, waves of strings and trumpet, reverberating drums and touches of cymbal. The latter piece is especially effective: Bernard Hermann is an acknowledged influence, and this is like something for a present-day Hitchcock. Although there is a common feel to the pieces, there is also a subtle variety in the instrumentation and textures Fjellstrom deploys. Probably the majority are generated by electronic keyboards, but suggest more traditional instruments. Thus ‘Penrosum’ uses a gentle harpsichord-like tone set against bells and a slow descending keyboard, while the sound of the pianoharp on ‘Explicator’ resembles a vibraphone, its percussive notes contrasting with mournfully beautiful orchestration. Concluding the EP, ‘Pristine”’ very slowly pulsates as strings rise and fall, reaching probably the most intense point on the EP, before the music drifts away, to be almost submerged in the ever-present hiss by the end. This music has a strange power, at once self-effacing yet gripping. Fjellstrom and his collaborator, graphic artist Bas Mantel, apparently intend Epilogue M’ to evoke the immensity of outer space. This listener hears (and sees) it rather differently. But it seems beyond dispute that, if heard attentively, it will reverberate in inner space.
Track Listing:-
1 Dance Music 32 Puretos
3 Sinnesloschen
4 Penrosum
5 Explicator
6 Pristine
Label Links:-
http://www.aagoo.com/https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aagoo-records/147333939795
https://twitter.com/Aagoo
most viewed articles
current edition
Peter Doherty - Blackheath Halls, Blackheath and Palace Halls, Watford, 18/3/2025 and 21/3/2025Armory Show - Interview with Richard Jobson
Liz Mitchell - Interview
Lauren Mayberry - Photoscapes
Deb Googe and Cara Tivey - Interview
Max Bianco and the BlueHearts - Troubadour, London, 29/3/2025
Garfunkel and Garfunkel Jr. - Interview
Maarten Schiethart - Vinyl Stories
Clive Langer - Interview
Sukie Smith - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Davey Woodward - Mumbo in the JumboNigel Stonier - Wolf Notes
Wings - Venus and Mars
Kate Daisy Grant and Nick Pynn - Songs For The Trees
Only Child - Holy Ghosts
Neil Campbell - The Turnaround
Philip Jeays - Victoria
Darkness - Dreams On Toast
Suzanne Vega - Flying With Angels
Charles Ellsworth - Cosmic Cannon Fodder
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart