There’s something different about the winter months. The crisp chill in the air, the lack of daylight, dead plants, leafless trees, twinkling blankets of snow – all small changes to the world around us that together change the atmosphere of day-to-day life for a few months every year. Such a shift needs music that reflects it, and in the brand new split from Berlin musician Fjældmark and Austria-based artist Wintarslāf we’re treated to just that.
Good splits feature two talented artists making good music, but truly great splits reveal a shared conceptual vision executed elegantly by both parties. Fittingly then, here Fjældmark’s atmospherically rich soundscapes, which comprise the split’s first four tracks, merge fantastically with Wintarslāf’s epic 21-minute closer, each side of the split building a mood that’s certainly apt for the cold months ahead.
Fjældmark explains: “The split collectively references loneliness, isolation, winter, desolation. The stark whiteness is like walking through an empty field during heavy snowfall. The tree is something we hold onto. It’s life, hope, shelter. Wisdom and surety. I want to hug the shit out of that twig.”
Fans of dungeon synth, noise, drone and ambient music will not to want to sleep on this. Thankfully, you can hear the release in full below, ahead of its release tomorrow on Trepanation Recordings.
Fjældmark/Wintarslā is out 13th December on Trepanation Recordings. Order here.
Words: George Parr
